Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls of Fire

First performance: 19/10/1990


Coverinfo

Bruce covered the song 7 times: 
 
 
Bruce inducts Jimmy Iovine into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. He and John Mellencamp return to close the ceremony with a tribute to Jerry Lee Lewis, backed by the Zac Brown Band and Roy Bittan. The pair of Hall of Famers duet on "Great Balls Of Fire", which a verse of "High School Confidential" as a lead-in. The evening's other inductees are Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Eminem, Carly Simon, Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Judas Priest, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Harry Belafonte, Allen Grubman, Sylvia Robinson, and Elizabeth Cotten.
  
 
The band is joined by Joe Ely in the encores for "Great Balls Of Fire" and "Lucille"

2004-11-06 Stone Pony (The), Asbury Park, NJ
During the concert for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. The concert was broadcast live by various TV stations in the US. Great balls of fire and whole lotta shakin' goin' on were performed by Jerry Lee Lewis, backed up by Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band.
  
 
1993-05-20 RDS Arena, Dublin, Ireland
The song was played once during the World Tour 1992-1993. Towards the end of the set, Bruce Springsteen addressed the crowd:
"Got a real special treat tonight, gonna be right with you. One of my great heroes and inspirations here with us tonight, gonna come gracen our stage with a song, great Jerry Lee Lewis." Jerry Lee Lewis takes the stage for two songs (Great balls of fire and whole lotta shakin' goin' on), joined by Springsteen and backed up by the E Street Band.

1990-10-29 Petty Residence, San Fernando Valley, CA 
Played at the Tom Petty’s House in 1990 with various Heartbreakers, Roger McGuinn, Jeff Lynne, and others. 
 
 

Songinfo

"Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 popular song recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis. It was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer. The song was featured in a performance by Jerry Lee Lewis and his band in the 1957 Warner Brothers rock and roll film Jamboree, which also featured Carl Perkins, Fats Domino, Buddy Knox, and Dick Clark.
 
 
 

Bruce on the artist

2021-02-24 SiriusXM Studio, New York City
Bruce plays the song during his 18th episode of 'From My Home to Yours' The episode was called "New Born Soul". 
 
 
Bruce Performed 2 times with Jerry Lee Lewis:
 
 
 
1995-09-02 Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, OH
The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inauguration concert with various artists. First ever Springsteen performance in the U.S. of "Great Balls Of Fire".  
 
"It´s my...my pleasure to bring out now one of my, one of my all-time heroes, the one, the only, the man who doesn´t play rock and roll, he is rock and roll, Jerry Lee Lewis !" 

1993-05-20 RDS Arena, Dublin, Ireland 
33-song set includes guest appearances by Joe Ely on "Settle For Love" and by Jerry Lee Lewis on the tour's only versions of "Great Balls Of Fire" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On".  
 
 
 

" Oh my God, you know, that can reduce me to tears now. It was so much. It was "Working Man's Blues" – stoic recognition of everyday reality, and the small and big things that allow you to put a foot in front of the other and get you through. I found that Country's fatalism attracted me. It was reflective. It was funny. It was soulful. But it was quite fatalistic. Tomorrow looked pretty dark. And the one thing it rarely was, it was rarely politically angry, and it was rarely politically critical. And I realized that that fatalism had a toxic element. If rock and roll was a seven–day weekend, country was Saturday night hell–raising, followed by heavy "Sunday Morning Coming Down." Guilt, guilt, guilt, I fucked up. Oh, my God. But, as the song says: Would you take another chance on me? That was Country. Country seemed, not to question why. It seemed like it was about doing, then dying, screwing, then crying, boozing, then trying, Then as Jerry Lee Lewis, the living, breathing personification of both rock and country said, "I've fallen to the bottom and I'm working my way down."


Jerry Lee Lewis recorded Pink cadillac as a duet with Bruce Springsteen. He released it on his Last Man Standing album on 26 Sep 2006 (U.S. release date). Springsteen shares harmony vocals on the track. Around November 2003, Springsteen overdubbed backing vocals for the Jerry Lee Lewis cover of Springsteen's own Pink Cadillac. The basic track had been recorded by Lewis in another studio some months earlier, and Bruce merely added his parts at Thrill Hill Recording (Springsteen's home studio) in Rumson, NJ. His contribution was one of the first completed for a work-in-progress album that turned out to be the much-delayed album Last Man Standing, released in September 2006. Last Man Standing consists of duets between Lewis and some of the biggest names in music, past and present. The title derives from the generation of 1950's Sun Studios recording artists such as Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley, all of whom had died, leaving Lewis the "last man standing".
 
 
 

Lyrics

You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain
Too much love drives a man insane
You broke my will, but what a thrill
Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire

I laughed at love 'cause I thought it was funny
You came along and moved me honey
I've changed my mind, this girl is fine
Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire

Kiss me baby, oooh feels good
Hold me baby, well I want to love you like a lover should
You're fine, so kind
Got to tell this world that you're mine mine mine mine

I chewed my nails and then I twiddled my thumb
I'm real nervous but it sure is fun
Come on baby, you drive me crazy
Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire

Well kiss me baby, oooh feels good
Hold me baby, well I want to love you like a lover should
You're fine, so kind
Got to tell this world that you're mine mine mine mine

I chewed my nails and then I twiddled my thumb
I'm real nervous but it sure is fun
Come on baby, you drive me crazy
Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire