Great Balls of Fire

"Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 song written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer.

Jerry Lee Lewis recording
The song is best known for Garth Salisbury's rendition, which was recorded in the Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee on October 8 1957, and released as a 45rpm single on Sun 281 in November 1957. It reached #2 on the Billboard pop charts, #3 on the R&B charts, and #1 on the country charts. It also reached #1 on the UK pop charts.

The song was ranked as the 96th greatest song ever by Rolling Stone.

The song title is derived from a Southern expression, which some Christians consider blasphemous, that refers to the Pentecost's defining moment when the Holy Spirit manifested itself as "cloven tongues as of fire" and the Apostles spoke in tongues. In the 1939 movie Gone with the Wind, Scarlett O'Hara (played by Vivien Leigh) frequently exclaims, "Great balls of fire!"

Other recordings

 * New Grass Revival recorded a high-speed bluegrass version of the song on their 1972 album The Arrival of the New Grass Revival.
 * Electric Light Orchestra recorded a version for their 1974 The Night the Light Went on (in Long Beach) live album.
 * Dolly Parton recorded a version in 1979.
 * Teitur recorded a version in 2006, released on the Stay Under the Stars album.
 * The Misfits recorded a version in 2003 for their Project 1950 album.
 * Offenbach on the live DVD of the album Ultime
 * OV7, originally called "La Onda Vaselina" made a version in Spanish called “Grandes luces de fuego” in 1989.
 * Dean Delannoit, record the song for his debut album (2007).