''The Golden Cream of the Country'' is the 12th album 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 ...

. It was released by the Sun Record Company in 1969.

Background

In June 1969, Sun Records founder Sam Phillips sold the entire Sun catalog to

Shelby Singleton Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Jr. (December 16, 1931 – October 7, 2009) was an American record producer and record label owner. Early life He was born Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Jr. in Waskom, Texas. His parents were Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Sr. and ...

which included a treasure trove of unreleased Lewis recordings. With Jerry Lee's rebirth as a country star for

Smash Records Smash Records was an American record label founded in 1961 as a subsidiary of Mercury Records by Mercury executive Shelby Singleton and run by Singleton with Charlie Fach. Fach took over after Singleton left Mercury in 1966. Its recording artist ...

, Singleton began releasing these older songs and packaged them in such a way that many buyers assumed they were recent recordings. Under the terms of the deal between Singleton and Phillips, the Sun International Corporation was formed with Phillips as a minority share holder, ensuring that Phillips would continue to get a piece of the pie and that the Sun name would remain relevant. As Colin Escott observes in his essay for the 1986 retrospective ''The Killer: The Smash/Mercury Years'', "After only seeing two Sun albums by Jerry Lee Lewis between 1957 and 1969, the market was suddenly flooded with three or four a year and even more recycled into budget compilations on Pickwick Records." Consequently, Lewis found himself competing with his own past. Much like

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 ...

, his masters had also been a part of the Singleton/Phillips deal. Singleton would milk these unreleased recordings for years following ''The Golden Cream of the Country'' with '' A Taste of Country'' later in 1970. "The Killer" was so hot in 1970 that Singleton issued one of Lewis's latter unreleased Sun recordings, "

One Minute Past Eternity "One Minute Past Eternity" is a song written by William E. Taylor and Stanley Kesler, and performed by Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer ...

", as a single and it climbed to number two on the country chart, following on the heels of Lewis's recent

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

smash " She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye". The album also includes two songs by

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

, one of Lewis's biggest influences, as well as the George Jones-penned "Seasons of My Heart," which Jerry Lee performs as a duet with his sister

Linda Gail Lewis Linda Gail Lewis (born July 18, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. She has recorded with Stephen Ackles, Van Morrison, and with her brother, Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an A ...

Track listing

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golden Cream of the Country, The 1970 compilation albums Jerry Lee Lewis albums Sun Records albums