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 Jerry Lee Lewis'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, and it also appeared on New Zealand Singles Chart and Dutch Top 40.

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. The recording was also released in the UK on London Records.

The Jerry Lee Lewis rendition 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.

Legacy

 * Monty Python references the song's title in the "World Forum" sketch, a fake game show, as heard on the live album Monty Python Live at City Center. Terry Gilliam, portraying Mao Zedong, says the song title as the only correct answer the "distinguished panel" offers in the early rounds.  The song was used for the New York City audience in place of "Sing, Little Birdie", which was the song title used in the original sketch.


 * Levi Kreis, portraying Jerry Lee Lewis, sang "Great Balls of Fire" in the Broadway musical "Million Dollar Quartet," which opened in New York in April, 2010; and Kreis covered the song on the "Million Dollar Quartet" original Broadway cast recording (copyright 2010 by MDQ Merchandising, LLC). Levi Kreis won a 2010 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis in “Million Dollar Quartet.”

Other recordings

 * Tiny Tim recorded a version as the b-side to "Tiptoe Through the Tulips"
 * New Grass Revival recorded a high-speed bluegrass version of the song on their 1972 album The Arrival of the New Grass Revival.
 * American Doo Wop band The Flamingos recorded a version on their album "Unspoken Emotions".
 * 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.
 * Amii Stewart recorded a version on her 1981 album Images.
 * OV7, originally called "La Onda Vaselina" made a version in Spanish called "Grandes luces de fuego" in 1989.
 * The Misfits recorded a version in 2003 for their Project 1950 album.
 * Teitur recorded a version in 2006, released on the Stay Under the Stars album.
 * The french singer Dorothée recorded a duet with Jerry Lee Lewis in 1992, released on the Une histoire d'amour album.
 * Offenbach included the song on the live DVD of the album Ultime (2007).
 * Dean Delannoit, record the song for his debut album (2007).
 * Ronnie James Dio and the Prophets covered this song on the "Dio at Domino's" album.
 * Fleetwood Mac, included the track on the 1999 release of the Shrine '69 live album which was recorded at the Shrine Auditorium in 1969
 * Johnny Winter, recorded a version on the album "Johnny Winter And.... Live".
 * Seamus, a stereotyped pirate from the animated show "Family Guy", performed the song in a church organist audition as seen on the episode "Boys Do Cry" (season 5).
 * A version of the song served as the theme song for the Madballs animated series.
 * Mae West did a version on the album Titled with the same name
 * Westlife performed the song on their The Greatest Hits Tour.
 * The Jolly Boys covered this song for the Old Jamaica Ginger Beer advert in 2010, and is also on their album Great Expectation
 * Top Gun "Goose" and "Maverick" perform this song while Goose plays the piano