HOW CAN THE
KILLER SAVE SOULS ??!
In honor of The One And Only Jerry Lee Lewis who, believe it or not will,
God
willing, turn 87 (!!) on the 29th, we take a little trip back.
Sixty-five years
back to be exact, to an unassuming little building at
706 Union Avenue,
Memphis, Tennessee where something called
“Great Balls Of Fire” has just been
brought, red hot,
into the Sun Records Recording Studio.
Our cast of esteemed characters:
J. M.
Van Eaton (drums)
Billy
Lee Riley (guitar)
J. W.
Brown (bass) (plus is
about to become Jerry Lee’s father-in-law!)
Sam C.
Phillips (producer
extraordinaire)
not to mention Jerry
Lee Lewis (pumping piano)
Jerry Lee Lewis: H-E-L-L.
Sam C. Phillips: I don’t believe it.
J. W. Brown: Great Godamighty, great balls of
fire!
Billy Lee Riley: THAT’S RIGHT!
JLL:
That’s it, that’s it. That’s it!
SCP: I don’t believe it.
JLL: It says, it says MAKE MERRY with the
joy of God, only! But
when it comes to worldly music, rock ‘n’ roll –
BLR: ROCK IT OUT!
JLL: – anything like that, you have done
brought yourself into the world, and you’re in the world, and you hadn’t come
from out of the world, and you’re still
a sinner. You’re a sinner – and unless you be saved – and borned
again – and be
made as a little child and walk before God – and be holy, and brother, I mean you
got to be so pure! And no sin shall enter there: No sin! For it
says, no
sin!It don’t say just a little bit, it says, NO SIN SHALL ENTER
THERE – brother, not one little bit! You got to walk and talk with
God to go to Heaven. You’ve got to be so good.
BLR:
Hallelujah!
SCP: All right.
BLR: You’re right.
SCP: Now look, Jerry. Religious conviction
doesn’t mean anything resembling extremism. All right. You
mean to tell me that
you’re gonna take the Bible, that you’re gonna take God’s word, and that you’re
gonna revolutionize
the whole universe? Now
listen! Jesus Christ was sent here by God Almighty.
JLL: Right.
SCP: Did He convict, did He save, all
of the people in the world?
JLL: No, but he tried to.
SCP: He sure did. NOW,
WAIT JUST A MINUTE. Jesus Christ came into this world. He tolerated man.
He didn’t preach from one pulpit. He went around, and did
good.
JLL: That’s right! He preached everywhere!
SCP: Everywhere!
JLL: He preached on land!
SCP: Everywhere! That’s right! That’s
right!
JLL: He preached on the water!
SCP: That’s right, that’s exactly right!
Now –
JLL: And then He done everything! He healed!
SCP: Now, now – here’s – here’s
the difference –
JLL: Are you followin’ those that heal? Like
Jesus Christ did?
SCP: What do you mean, I, I, what –
JLL: Well, it’s happening every day!
SCP: What do you mean?
JLL: The blind had eyes opened.
SCP: Jerry –
JLL: The lame are made to walk.
SCP: Jesus Christ –
JLL:
The crippled are
made to walk.
SCP: Jesus Christ, in my opinion, is just
as real
today –
J. M. Van Eaton: Let’s cut it.
SCP: – as He was when He came into this
world.
JLL: Right, right,
you’re so right you don’t know what you’re sayin’.
SCP: Now, then! I will say, I will say more
so –
JMV: It’s very commercial…
BLR: Let’s cut it.
SCP: You see, you see –
JVE:
We’ll cut it ourselves!
SCP: No, we’ll be with you in a minute.
JWB:
It’ll sell. It’s very commercial.
SCP: But look. Now, listen. I’m tellin’
you outta my heart. And I have studied the Bible, a little bit –
JLL: Well, I have too.
SCP: And I have studied it through and
through and through and through and Jerry, Jerry, when you, listen, when you
think that you can’t, can’t do good, if you’re a rock ‘n’ roll exponent –
JLL: You can do good, Mr.
Phillips, don’t get me wrong –
SCP: Now wait a minute, wait a minute, now
when I say do good –
JLL: YOU CAN HAVE A KIND HEART!
SCP: I don’t mean, I don’t mean just –
JLL: You can help people!
SCP: YOU CAN SAVE SOULS!
JLL: No – NO! No, no!
SCP: Yes!
JLL: How can the, how can the Devil save
souls? What are you talkin’ about?
SCP:
Listen, listen –
JLL:
Man, I got the Devil in me! If I didn’t have I’d be a Christian!
SCP: Well, you may have him –
JLL:
JESUS! Heal this man! He cast the Devil out, the Devil says, Where can
I go? He says, Can I go into this swine? He
says, Yeah, go into him. Didn’t he go into him?
SCP: Jerry. The point I’m tryin’ to make
is – if you believe what you’re sayin’ – you got no alternative whatsoever –
out of – LISTEN! – out of –
JLL: Mr. Phillips! I don’t care, it ain’t
what you believe, it’s what’s
written in the Bible!
SCP:
Well, wait a minute, what you believe
–
JLL: It’s what’s there, Mr.
Phillips.
SCP:
No, no.
JLL:
It ain’t what you believe, it’s just what I –
SCP:
No, by gosh, if it’s not what you believe, then how do you interpret the
Bible!
BLR: Man alive –
SCP: Huh? How do you interpret the Bible
if it’s not what you believe?!!
And THAT’S how rock ‘n’ roll records – real rock ‘n’ roll records – are
made.
Happy Birthday, Jerry
Lee.
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