Jerry Lee Lewis rocks Johnny Cash tribute
By BETH HARRIS, Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES -- Jerry Lee Lewis stole the show from Norah Jones and Kid Rock when the musicians performed at a taping of a Johnny Cash tribute.
Lewis, known as "The Killer" for his piano prowess, teamed with Kid Rock on the Cash classic "I Walk the Line." An upcoming biopic that goes by a similar name and stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon will be released in theaters Nov. 18.
Lewis later returned to the stage of the Pantages Theater in Hollywood on Tuesday night. Waiting for stagehands to make adjustments, a few fans yelled out to Lewis to perform his hit "Great Balls of Fire."
"I know what you'd like to hear. I know what I'd like to do," said the 70-year-old singer. "They got me down for a little bit lower key."
To entertain the restless crowd, Lewis started in on "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." After a few verses, the stage crew cut him off and the audience booed.
It was just a false start, though. Once the cameras were ready, Lewis played the entire song, with the crowd on its feet, clapping and singing along.
"I guess that was a take," Lewis said, smiling.
Jones was accompanied by Phoenix on guitar as she sang "Home of the Blues." Kris Kristofferson and Jones sang "Guess Things Happen That Way."
Shooter Jennings and his mother, Jessi Colter, who was married to Waylon Jennings, teamed for a rollicking version of "Jackson." Other performers tackling Cash tunes were Martina McBride, Allison Krauss and Dwight Yoakam.
The performances were taped for "I Walk the Line: A Night for Johnny Cash," airing Nov. 16 on CBS. Also on the show are Sheryl Crow, Coldplay, U2, Brad Paisley and Montgomery Gentry.
It's the second time the network has aired a music special tied to a major movie. CBS also promoted Jamie Foxx's Oscar-winning portrayal of Ray Charles with a star-studded tribute show.
The goal of the story comments section at NapaValleyRegister.com is to have an open, thought-provoking, civil community forum for all issues.
What gets your comment posted?
• Staying on topic
• Keeping your comment to 300 words or less
• Avoiding name-calling
• Addressing your comments to the message rather than the messenger
What gets your comment deleted?
• Personal attacks
• Derogatory remarks
• Name-calling of any sort
• Going off-topic
• Hate speech
• Racially-insensitive comments
• Implying guilt of a subject in a crime story before there is a court verdict
• Posting e-mail addresses
• Posting comments of a commercial nature
• POSTING WITH ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
• Linking multiple comments together with "to be continued..." to get around the 300 word limit.
The fine print
- Comments are either approved or denied. We do not edit comments.
- You are welcome to modify and resubmit a denied comment.
- Comments may take several hours to be posted.
- Comments posted are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of NapaValleyRegister.com, its employees or its parent company.
- Do you have information on a story? Please go to our
virtual newsroom to send us a news tip.
- If you feel a posted comment has violated our guidelines, please contact
online@napanews.com or add a comment indicating you have an issue and our moderators will review the comment in question.