Artist:Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash
Song:Rock and Roll (Fais Do Do)
Album:Class of '55: Memphis Rock & Roll Homecoming
The 1985 album Class of '55 was partially a tribute to Elvis Presley and a tribute to Sun Studios since Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash all recorded for Sun in the 50s. I guess it's always fun for these guys to get together. The guy behind it was veteran record producer Chips Moman and it was released on Mercury's Smash label. Dick Clark documented everything and it was turned into a 1989 TV special that aired on TBS. This can be streamed on YouTube. There was also an Interviews from the Class of '55 Recording Sessions album that won a Best Spoken Word Album Grammy for Moman, Sun Studios owner Sam Phillips and Rick Nelson. This was Nelson's only Grammy in his long career. One snag was that Johnny Cash was still under contract to Columbia Records. He was about to leave for Mercury. Moman was forced to pay Columbia $100K to keep him on the record. The guys take turns singing. Other than Sixteen Candles, the songs are recent. Rock and Roll (Fais Do Do) was written and recorded by Michael Smotherman on his 1982 self titled album on Epic. He wrote several songs for Glen Campbell in the late 70s. They recorded John Fogerty's Big Train from Memphis with Fogerty guesting on background vocals along with Sam Phillips, June Carter Cash, Dave Edmunds, The Judds and Rick Nelson. Class of '55 was rereleased in 2000 in a remastered version with a new cover. Here's Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash performing Rock and Roll (Fais Do Do) on the Class of '55 TV Special.
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