Best of all time is debatable forever. Matter of taste. But Jerry Lee is one of my hereos and overlooded in favor of Elvis as the King of R&R. Questioable choice in marriage, knocked him down a few pegs. His preformances are what R&R are all about. I think much better than Elvis or Chuck Berry. Elvis had the looks and standing up with the guitar gave him a big plus with the girls.
I've been on and off working on his LH patterns. I can get the patterns but then put the RH to it and sing is the next step.
I have a few of his later CD's with duo preformances and a bit of Gospel. Great stuff.

I'm just the opposite. Right hand no problem, have to let the arranger do the left!

RH is a lot of triplets and simple fills. To sync that with the LH and sing is the challenge. This music to me is not Arranger stuff. Arranger is too stiff. Just piano, maybe layer some bass with the LH and drums. Rock on !
Funny but all the Arranger stuff i do and the hottest act around here is a guy doing a piano sing along with a drummer. Used to be a puesdo dueling pianos until the second piano playing girl couldn't stay sober or show up on time.
He's LOUD and pumps the bass up on the PA but the rooms are selling out all the time. Plays the first verse and bridge to a song then on to the next. Simplle format but keeps the audience's attention.

I agree if you can play piano. I can't so I use the arranger.

Don...I have this album. It's called "Live at the Star Club in Hamburg." I read somewhere a few years back that this WAS the best album he ever made. I often wonder is that because he was drunk as a skunk at the time.....or......was it because he was SOBER at the time?

I read also about the band members. They said he was a one man band who never knew what he was going to play next. They had to follow closely, and....(quoting them)"cover up his mistakes....and, boy....he made plenty of them."

To me any album he made was top of the line stuff. I've got about 200 songs by him in my computer. The man is a music machine. He got it all....piano skills, a good voice, entertainment ability, emotions that drive his music, and......absolutely no inhibitions to get in the way. I'm not sure but there's a possibility I could be his greatest fan. Ever since I first heard "Whole lot of Shakin' goin' On" when I was a teenager.

Thanks for posting this.

Bill....it's interesting that we're not only both piano pro's but that we think alike. I'm still working on that JLL left hand technique. Like you, I find that now that I got the LH working, I've got to put both hands together, and then sing on top of it all. But it's coming along for me.

Yes, you can play the finest arranger keyboard in the world, but it will sound nowhere near like a human being pounding out rock 'n roll on an acoustic piano. The thickness of those bass notes really get you stomping your feet.

I'll never forget years ago. I was at a piano performance. The pianist played "All The Things You Are" straight the first time. Second time she did "walking bass." I almost fell off my chair at the difference it made. Sounded like a whole trio. And that's just "walking bass." When you get to JLL's level, (IF you get to JLL level), well, then you've arrived. That's when you pick and choose where you want to play.

"questionable taste in wives" He lost a lot of good years over that. Kind of like Muhammed Ali losing his best fighting years over that draft thing.

What made Jerry Lee Lewis great, his ability to play piano? No, there are many piano players who would make his skills sound like a beginner. He was new, nobody ever did what he did with so much freedom. He was playing what was inside of him, and he used the piano to do it.

How much talent does it take to play the piano with his feet? No, he had freedom, he did not care what anybody thought, he was going to do his thing. Oh, how I love it.
FREEDOM IN MY MUSIC – FREDOM IN MY LIFE

John C.

PS, Jerry Lee Lewis is a cousin of Pastor Jimmy Swaggart, who also played piano, and was also a bit of a rebel. (Did his own thing)

My friend Don M. is very popular on this forum, many look up to him. Although he plays and sings well, I don’t feel it is the main reason for his popularity.

He was a unique entertainer. Slidell, Louisiana cousin of Elvis. I had no idea Swaggert was related to them.

Thanks for sharing. I won't repeat my story about how Jerry Lee almost got us killed in Hot Springs... back in the day... as he fled down the escalator of the Club from a jealous husband.

Never knew he was a cousin of Elvis. He was cousin of Jimmy Swaggart and Mickey Gilley.
All are really good piano players and singers. Also Jerry Lee's sister, Linda Gail Lewis, plays and sings in the same style, a real rocker.
It doesn't matter to me if the left hand boogie stuff sounds better since I can't do it and don't have the patience or time or inclination to learn it. I have to use the tools at my disposal, and that is the arranger. LOVE IT by the way!
I know two guys who "do" JLL. One is Jason Williams, who is fantastic and who actually did the music for the movie about Jerry. The other is Brandy Roberts from Shreveport, who plays and sings as well as Jerry but not quite as wild as Jerry or Jason. I work a lot more than Brandy, but he certainly had a little more success or recognition that I ever will. He played at Branson with Penny Gilley for quite a while and still can be found on tv sometimes. Never made much money though, if that counts.

I've seen references to JLL, "Live at the Star Club" as among the best R&R album of all time, but never checked it out. I have some "down time" now since the students got out a day early for Spring Break, so I'm going listen to the album in it's entirety. Thanks for posting this!

I've seen references to JLL, "Live at the Star Club" as among the best R&R album of all time, but never checked it out. I have some "down time" now since the students got out a day early for Spring Break, so I'm going listen to the album in it's entirety. Thanks for posting this!

I can tell you first hand that playing bass with Lewis was a real challenge. It was "catch up", not set the pace.

I played with him in the early 60's (2 trips thru Lexington), and thought he wouldn't live another 5 years.

Russ (wrong again) Lay

John...I would have to differ with you there (but I get the point you are making). But Jerry Lee WAS the piano. You couldn't tell where he ended and the piano began. It was like an appendage to him. He found his niche with that instrument and carried the ball all the way to the goal line (and the gold mine).


Yes....that's what I was trying to say myself...."absolutely no inhibitions to get in the way"

Russ...my respect for you just went up another five notches. You actually PLAYED with him when he was at his peak? I'd be happy just to WATCH him play live on stage at 80! That man and his talents just plain fascinate me!

Mark