Rocker-at-heart Elle King and rockers-in-practice the Black Keys delivered an off-the-chain rendition of Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" during Wednesday night's (Nov. 9) broadcast of the 2022 CMA Awards.
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King sat behind the piano and shouted through the song with a ferocity that would've even floored The Killer himself. The Black Keys and a bassist filled out a throwback rockabilly quartet, with Dan Auerbach getting a piece of the spotlight courtesy of a scorching guitar solo.
During ABC's broadcast of the CMA's red carpet arrivals, King admitted to being nervous about yet another big-stage moment in country music. This was despite the famous daughter finding a home in a space in which she said she can be her true self, creatively and otherwise.
It wasn't Black Keys guitarist and vocalist Dan Auerbach's first country music rodeo, either. He's produced numerous country and Americana acts for his Easy Eye Sound record label, including the CMA Entertainer of the Year in '87 and '88, Hank Williams Jr.
Lewis died on Oct. 28, which was within two weeks of him missing his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame due to doctor's orders. He was 87 years old. Lewis' enshrinement plus Dolly Parton's Rock Hall call upped the number of acts and executives in both halls of fame to 14.
Though it's as synonymous with the ground level of rock 'n' roll as anything by fellow Sun Records act Elvis Presley, the 1957 single "Great Balls of Fire" fared better chart-wise in country music (No. 1) than it did in pop (No. 2). It's one of 30 Top 10 country songs by Lewis released between the '50s and '80s.
"Great Balls of Fire" became so intertwined with Lewis' legacy that it's the title of a 1989 film starring Dennis Quaid.
