Great Balls of Fire! is a 1989 American biographical film directed by Jim McBride and starring Dennis Quaid as rockabilly pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis. Based on a biography by Myra Lewis and Murray M. Silver, Jr., the screenplay is written by McBride and Jack Baran. The film is produced by Adam Fields, with executive producers credited as Michael Grais, Mark Victor, and Art Levinson.
The early career of Jerry Lee Lewis, from his rise to rock and roll stardom to his controversial marriage to his 13-year-old cousin that led to his downfall, is depicted in the film. Until the scandal of the marriage depreciated his image, many had thought Lewis would supplant Elvis Presley as the "King of Rock and Roll" in the 1950s.
Jerry Lee Lewis (Quaid) plays piano (as opposed to a guitar like most other rock artists) during rock and roll's early years from 1956 to 1958. Jerry Lee is a man with many different sides: a skilled performer with little discipline, and an alcoholic. As Jerry Lee rises to the top of the charts with such hits as "Crazy Arms", "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On", and "Great Balls of Fire", he falls in love with Myra Gale Brown (Winona Ryder), the 13-year-old daughter of his first cousin (and bass player) J. W. Brown (John Doe), and eventually marries her (eloping to Mississippi), much to the anger and chagrin of her parents.
"Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 song recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun Records and featured in the 1957 movie Jamboree. It was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer. The Jerry Lee Lewis 1957 recording was ranked as the 96th greatest song ever by Rolling Stone. The song is in AABA form. The song sold one million copies in its first 10 days of release in the United States and sold over five million copies, making it both one of the best-selling singles in the United States, as well as one of the world's best-selling singles of all time.
The song is best known for Jerry Lee Lewis's original recording, which was recorded in the Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on October 8, 1957, using Roland Janes on guitar and JM Van Eaton on drums. It was released as a 45rpm single on Sun 281 in November 1957. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard pop charts, No. 3 on the R&B charts, and No. 1 on the country charts. It also reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, appeared on the New Zealand Singles Chart, and the Dutch Top 40.
Great Balls of Fire is a rock and roll album recorded by film star Mae West and released by MGM Records in 1972.
It was the third rock album release by the star and her final full-length recording. Originally recorded in 1968, the LP was released four years later, a few months before West turned 79. The record consisted of covers of rock classics and new songs. It was produced by Ian Whitcomb and featured background vocals by The Mike Curb Congregation. Great Balls of Fire was not a commercial success and did not chart. The album was never released on CD, however, it was made available in digital format in 2012.
The cover of Neil Sedaka's "Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen" does not feature the original words and instead features new tongue-in-cheek lyrics written by Whitcomb, referring to age 21 as West celebrates the coming of age of a devoted fan. That version is generally known as "Happy Birthday Twenty-One". West later performed this song in her final motion picture, 1978's Sextette.
"Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 song by Jerry Lee Lewis.
Great Balls of Fire may also refer to: