(1957) Sun 267 ''It'll Be Me'' b/w ''Whole Lot Of Shakin' Going On'' Jerry Lee Lewis

STUDIO SESSION FOR JERRY LEE LEWIS
AT THE MEMPHIS RECORDING SERVICE FOR SUN RECORDS 1957

SUN RECORDING STUDIO
706 UNION AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
SUN SESSION: PROBABLY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1957
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER - SAM C. PHILLIPS
AND/OR JACK CLEMENT

"IT'LL BE ME"*
Composer: - Jack Clement
Publisher: - B.M.I. - Knox Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - U 246 - Master (2:44)
Recorded: - January/February 1957
Released: - March 15, 1957
First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 78/45rpm standard single SUN 267-A mono IT'LL BE ME / WHOLE LOT OF SHAKIN' GOING ON
Reissued - 1995 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15802-4-3 mono THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 2

On the single's release, Sam Phillips had higher hopes for this side, "It'll Be Me", a song that Jack Clement had concocted on the toilet while contemplating the possibility of reincarnation. Before recording, the line, "If you see a turd in your toilet bowl, baby, it'll be me and I'll be starin' at you" had become "If you find a lump in your sugar bowl"; sex may have been in, but scatology was definitely out. Released in mid-March, the record wasn't fully promoted until Jerry returned from the tour in May, and by that time, Sam Phillips had ascertained that "Shakin'" was the side to watch. With Dewey Phillips behind it, "Shakin'" was sitting atop the local charts in Memphis, and on June 12 it entered the national country charts. Two weeks later, it entered the Hot 100 at number 70.

Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Jerry Lee Lewis - Vocals and Piano
Roland Janes - Guitar
Jay W. Brown - Bass
James M. Van Eaton - Drums

© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©

STUDIO SESSION FOR JERRY LEE LEWIS
AT THE MEMPHIS RECORDING SERVICE FOR SUN RECORDS 1957

SUN RECORDING STUDIO
706 UNION AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
SUN SESSION: PROBABLY TUESDAY FEBRUARY 5, 1957
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER - SAM C. PHILLIPS
AND/OR JACK CLEMENT

"WHOLE LOT OF SHAKIN' GOING ON"
Composer: - Dave "Curly" Williams-Sunny David (aka Roy Hall)
Publisher: - B.M.I. - Marlyn Music - Robert Mellin Music
Matrix number: - U 247 - Master (2:55)
Recorded: - February 5, 1957
Released: - March 15, 1957
First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 78/45rpm standard single SUN 267-B mono WHOLE LOT OF SHAKIN' GOING ON / IT'LL BE ME
Reissued - 1995 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15802-4-4 mono THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 2

Rockabilly pianist Roy Hall, who, under the pseudonym of Sunny David, wrote ''Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On'' with black musician Dave Williams, also recorded his own version, before Lewis inspired a generation of teens by injecting the song with his inimitable brand of boogie-woogie, country, gospel and rhythm and blues-infused hellfire. Released in May 1957, the single rose to number eight in the United Kingdom, reached number three on what was then known as the Billboard Top 100, and became an rhythm and blues and country chart-topper. In the process, it launched the career of the piano-pounding, rocket-fuelled wildman whose manic, overtly sexual live performances provoked parental nightmares. As it happens, the self-described ''Killer'' only enjoyed four Top 20 hits before the scandal of his marriage to a 13-year-old cousin brought the successes to a screeching halt. Yet, courtesy of a wide-ranging career that has now spanned seven decades and comprised an impressive body of work, Lewis’s legend has remained intact, and the tale of how he first came to prominence is, like the man himself, quite unique.

On this track, Jerry Lee's piano establishes the incessant and captivating rhythm before Van Eaton in, and a first his drum serves only to add backbeat emphasis to Jerry Lee's left-hand piano figure. Jerry Lee keeps playing it, the guitar enters, and Van Eaton is freed to embellish the rhythm as he sees fit. And he does that, including a drum roll that leads into the instrumental solo and goes on too long, much as W.S. Holland had done on ''Matchbox''.

There is more of an ''arrangement'' on this than on most Sun records. When Jerry Lee says, ''easy now'' and goes into his instructions on how to ''shake baby shake'', the musicians play softer but, even so, that rhythm never stops. At the end of that section, it falls primarily to Van Eaton to emphatically announce that the high energy performance is coming back (joined by a glissando in Jerry Lee's right hand). And the coordination of the piano and drum in ending the record is just lovely. (MH) (HD) (CE) (SP)

Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Jerry Lee Lewis - Vocals and Piano
Roland Janes - Guitar
James M. Van Eaton - Drums

© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©