"Lewis Boogie" is a song written by

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

in 1956 and released as a single in June 1958 on

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

, Sun 301, backed with "The Return of Jerry Lee". The recording was reissued in 1979 as a 7" 45 single as Sun 29 as part of the Sun Golden Treasure Series. The song was also released in the UK and Canada as a single.

Background

"Lewis Boogie" was recorded in the summer of 1957 at Sun Records studios at 706 Union, Memphis, Tennessee. The personnel were: Jerry Lee Lewis on vocals and piano;

Roland Janes Roland E. Janes (August 20, 1933 – October 18, 2013) was an American rockabilly guitarist and record producer, who was active at Sun Records between 1956 and 1963. Biography He was born in Brookings, Clay County, Arkansas, the second youngest in ...

on guitar; and

Jimmy Van Eaton James Mack Van Eaton (born December 23, 1937), known as Jimmy Van Eaton or J. M. Van Eaton, is an American rock and roll drummer, singer and record producer, best known for his recordings as the drummer in sessions with Jerry Lee Lewis and others ...

on drums. The flip side was "The Return of Jerry Lee". The first edition of the record label listed "The Return of Jerry Lee" on both sides and was credited to "Louis" rather than "Lewis". The editing and recording of "The Return of Jerry Lee" was done by Jack Clement and George Klein on May 30, 1958, and listed as Matrix# U-314. The single was released in June 1958 as Sun 301 with the Matrix # 315 as by Jerry Lee Lewis And His Pumping Piano. The 1957 Sun recording of "Lewis Boogie" by Jerry Lee Lewis was also released in the UK as a 45 single in 1964 on London Records as London HLS 9867 backed with "Bonnie B". The song was also released in Canada in 1958 as a 45 single on Quality Records. Jerry Lee Lewis recorded a live version of the song with the British band

The Nashville Teens The Nashville Teens are a British rock band, formed in Surrey in 1962. They are best known for their 1964 hit single " Tobacco Road", a top 10 UK hit and a top 20 hit in the United States. Early membership Art Sharp (born Arthur Sharp, 26 May ...

on the landmark 1964 live album ''

Live at the Star Club, Hamburg ''Live at the Star Club'' is a 1964 live album by rock and roll pianist and singer Jerry Lee Lewis, accompanied by the Nashville Teens. The album was recorded at the Star-Club in Hamburg, West Germany on April 5, 1964. It is regarded by many mu ...

'', regarded critically as one of the greatest live albums in rock and roll history. The track appeared on the 1984

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

collection ''18 Original Sun Greatest Hits'' which featured the most successful recordings by Jerry Lee Lewis on the Sun label. The song appeared in a new recording by Jerry Lee Lewis in the 1989 Orion Pictures biopic '' Great Balls of Fire!'' during the closing credits. "Lewis Boogie" is featured in the 2005

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

biopic ''

Walk the Line ''Walk the Line'' is a 2005 American biographical musical romantic drama film directed by James Mangold. The screenplay, written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is based on two autobiographies authored by singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, 1975's '' M ...

''. It was performed by

Waylon Payne Waylon Malloy Payne (born April 5, 1972) is an American country singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He is the son of the country singer Sammi Smith. Early life Payne was born in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of guitarist Jody Payne and Grammy ...

in the film and its soundtrack. In 2007, the song was featured on the live album '' Last Man Standing Live'', recorded in 2006 in collaboration with other musicians.

Development

Robert Palmer writes that the song "was a mixture of local black influences, the hillbilly boogie and rhythm and blues that were so popular on Southern jukeboxes when he was growing up, and—the most crucial ingredient—the Killer's individual musical genius."

Reception

Charlie Gillett Charles Thomas Gillett (; 20 February 1942 – 17 March 2010) was a British radio presenter, musicologist, and writer, mainly on rock and roll and other forms of popular music. He was particularly noted for his influential book ''The Sound of t ...

writes that at "his best-as in ..."Lewis Boogie (1958)" - Lewis epitomized the careless confidence that some people liked rock 'n' roll for."Charlie Gillett, ''The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll'' (Da Capo Press, 1996)
92

References

{{authority control Songs written for films Jerry Lee Lewis songs 1956 songs 1958 singles Sun Records singles Songs written by Jerry Lee Lewis