312. Jerry Lee Lewis Breaks the Rules on his Opry Debut

Jerry Lee Lewis was invited to perform at the Grand Ole Opry on January 20, 1973. But there were stipulations to his invitation: he could only play country music and he would refrain from using any obscenities. Well, The Killer made these promises. And The Killer broke these promises. He took over the stage for 40 minutes, ignoring curtain cues, stage direction, and commercial breaks. He played “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On” and other rock, not country, songs and exclaimed: “I am a rock ‘n’ rollin’, country and western, rhythm and blues singin’ ************!”