''When Two Worlds Collide'' is a studio album by the American musician

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 ...

, released on

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

in 1980.

Background

''When Two Worlds Collide'' was Lewis's second album after leaving

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

and peaked at number 32 on the ''Billboard'' country albums chart. The title track was released as a single, making it to number 11, while the Jerry Chestnut song "Honky Tonk Stuff" reached number 28. Lewis had previously recorded "Who Will Buy the Wine" with

Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, ...

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 ...

. The period leading up to the recording had been a difficult one for Lewis. In July 1979, his father died of cancer and, two months later, he was arrested for possession of pills prescribed by Dr. George C. Nichopoulos, the infamous "

Dr. Nick The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writ ...

" who had also prescribed pills to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. (In the 2014 authorized biography ''Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story'', Lewis would call Dr. Nick "a good man, a remarkable man.") The

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

was also after his assets and he was in poor health from a lifetime of excess. He went on an ill-advised British tour, appearing on ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'', and then came home to participate in a television special with

Mickey Gilley Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 1 ...

called ''A Family Affair'', looking gaunt as the cousins played side by side at the piano.

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote: "Drawing upon his encyclopedic knowledge of American pop-music idioms, from Sousa marches through ragtime to raunchy rock and roll, Mr. Lewis plays exuberantly throughout ''When Two Worlds Collide,'' his left hand thumping out the beat while his right races up and down the keys in imitation of the ups-and-downs of his career."

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

noted that "new producer Eddie Kilroy doesn't push Jerry Lee the way Bones Howe did on ''Jerry Lee Lewis''."

Track listing

#"Rockin' Jerry Lee" (Jerry Lee Lewis) - 2:35 #"Who Will Buy the Wine" (

Billy Mize William Robert Mize (April 29, 1929 – October 29, 2017) was an American steel guitarist, band leader, vocalist, songwriter, and TV show host. Biography Mize was born in Arkansas City, Kansas, United States, but raised in the San Joaquin Valley ...

) - 2:54 #"Love Game" (Hugh Moffatt) - 3:30 #"Alabama Jubilee" (George Cobb,

Jack Yellen Jack Selig Yellen (Jacek Jeleń; July 6, 1892 – April 17, 1991) was an American lyricist and screenwriter. He is best remembered for writing the lyrics to the songs "Happy Days Are Here Again", which was used by Franklin Roosevelt as the theme ...

) - 4:45 #"

Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues" is a song written and performed by Danny O'Keefe. It was first recorded by O'Keefe in 1967, but not released. It was recorded by The Bards and released in 1968 as the b-side to the song "Tunesmith" on Parrot Re ...

" (

Danny O'Keefe Danny O'Keefe (born May 20, 1943) is an American folk singer and songwriter. Career In 1968, O'Keefe was a member of a four-man heavy psychedelic rock band named Calliope. The group recorded one album, ''Steamed'', for Buddah Records before di ...

) - 2:22 #"When Two Worlds Collide" ( Bill Anderson,

Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping Country music, country and pop hits "King of the Road (song), Ki ...

) - 2:27 #"Good News Travels Fast" (Rick Klang) - 2:49 #"I Only Want a Buddy Not a Sweetheart" (Edward H. Jones) - 3:40 #"Honky Tonk Stuff" (

Jerry Chesnut Jerry Donald Chesnut (May 7, 1931 – December 15, 2018) was an American country music songwriter. His hits include "Good Year for the Roses" (recorded by Alan Jackson, George Jones and Elvis Costello) and " T-R-O-U-B-L-E" (recorded by Elvis Pre ...

) - 2:57 #"Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye" (Ernie Erdman, Ted Fiorito,

Gus Kahn Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including "Pretty Baby", "Ain't We Got Fun?", "Carolina in the Morning", "Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' By ...

) - 3:53

Personnel

*Jerry Lee Lewis - vocals, piano *David Kirby, Duke Faglier - guitar *

Kenny Lovelace Kenneth Lovelace (born August 18, 1936) is an American guitarist and singer best known for his former tenure with Jerry Lee Lewis. Life Lovelace was born in Cloverdale, Montgomery, Cloverdale, Alabama. He grew up in a small village 12 miles from ...

- guitar, fiddle * Bobby Thompson - acoustic guitar, banjo *Steve Chapman - acoustic guitar *Stu Basore - steel guitar *Bobby Dyson - bass *Bunky Keels - electric piano, organ *Jimmy Isbell - drums, percussion *George Tidwell, Ron Keller - trumpet *Dennis Good - trombone *Denis Solee - clarinet *The Lea Jane Singers - backing vocals *The Shelly Kurland String Section - strings *

Billy Strange William Everett Strange (September 29, 1930 – February 22, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and an actor. He was a session musician with the famed Wrecking Crew, and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Mus ...

- string arrangements

References

{{Authority control Jerry Lee Lewis albums 1980 albums Elektra Records albums Albums arranged by Billy Strange