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Song Stories

“Great Balls of Fire”

Jerry Lee Lewis | 1957

Despite the fact that "Great Balls of Fire" is now considered one of rock 'n' roll's early landmark tunes, Jerry Lee Lewis was spooked by the song when it came time to record it. "At one of these sessions, everyone in the studio got to drinking," Lewis biographer Nick Tosches explained. "Jerry Lee became filled with the Holy Ghost, and he decided that the song 'Great Balls of Fire' was of the devil and that to sing it was to sin." Eventually, Lewis reconsidered, and sung the tune, written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer -- with Blackwell also enjoying success penning hits for Elvis Presley ("Don't Be Cruel," "All Shook Up" and "Return to Sender").

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“Acid Tongue”
Jenny Lewis | 2008
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“Foolish Games”
Jewel | 1997

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

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