Jerry Lee Lewis
A Half Century of Hits (3 CD box set)

Rarely does a modern day musician find success in genre crossover while impacting multiple generations of musicians across the board. This is why the world will never forget Jerry Lee Lewis, who often had number one hits on the pop, country and R&B charts at the same time.

Time Life’s three-disc boxed set showcases everything from Lewis’ first two songs ever recorded at age 16 (”New Orleans Boogie” and “Don’t Stay Away”) to unreleased live performances in 1964 and 1981 to the standards associated with Lewis and his legacy: “Great Balls of Fire,” “Whole Lot of Shaking Goin’ On” and “Chantilly Lace.”

Perhaps icing on the cake is an in-studio argument between Lewis and Sun founder Sam Phillips about the religious implications of rock ‘n roll.

Meanwhile, plans for Lewis’ new album, Redemption, (September ‘06 on Columbia Records) are coming together. It will feature guest appearances from artists like Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Jimmy Page. With recent focus on the lives and music of Ray Charles and Johnny Cash and Lewis’ upcoming CD, Time Life is jumping on the bandwagon. Here’s your chance to be smarter than everyone else way before the movie starts filming.