“Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” – Jerry Lee Lewis [Link to Song]

Jerry Lee Lewis’s 1957 raucous cover titled “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” written by Dave Curlee Williams is interpreted by songfacts.com as:

“[…]too suggestive, he cursed on it, he sounded black (most stations didn’t play songs by black artists). Still, the song sold well in the southern United States, but it wasn’t until Lewis’ TV debut on The Steve Allen Show on July 28, 1957 that it became a national hit and sold over 6 million copies. The song also generated a lot of controversy, as the lyrics were rather lascivious and quite shocking coming from a singer from the Bible Belt.”

Another significantly famous Jerry Lee Lewis song that insinuates sexuality is the classic “Great Balls of Fire”, 1957. “Great Balls of Fire” – Jerry Lee Lewis [Link to Song]

Greg Prato of Rolling Stone magazine suggests that:

“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” (Prato, 2012).