Jerry Lee Lewis 'Lose My Voice, Are you Kidding?' | The Dick Cavett Show

Dick Cavett questions whether Jerry Lee Lewis believes Rock & Roll was a communist plot, all of the clubs Jerry has played in and whether he is afraid of damaging his voice.

Date aired - December 29 1971 - Jerry Lee Lewis and Hal Holbrook


Dick Cavett has been nominated for eleven Emmy awards (the most recent in 2012 for the HBO special, Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again), and won three. Spanning five decades, Dick Cavett’s television career has defined excellence in the interview format. He started at ABC in 1968, and also enjoyed success on PBS, USA, and CNBC.

His most recent television successes were the September 2014 PBS special, Dick Cavett’s Watergate, followed April 2015 by Dick Cavett’s Vietnam. He has appeared in movies, tv specials, tv commercials, and several Broadway plays. He starred in an off-Broadway production ofHellman v. McCarthy in 2014 and reprised the role at Theatre 40 in LA February 2015.

Cavett has published four books beginning with Cavett (1974) and Eye on Cavett (1983), co-authored with Christopher Porterfield. His two recent books -- Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets (2010) and Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic moments, and Assorted Hijinks(October 2014) are both collections of his online opinion column, written for The New York Times since 2007. Additionally, he has written for The New Yorker, TV Guide, Vanity Fair, and elsewhere.

#thedickcavettshow #JerryLeeLewis #HalHolbrook

[TheDickCavettShow]

What's your favourite Jerry Lee Lewis song?

[mobrules]

There is palpable tension and nervous laughter when Jerry Lee is being interviewed. It's like gasoline being interviewed by a match.

[LPJack]

RIP Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935 – October 28, 2022), aged 87
You will be remembered as a legend.

[dreadfulspiller]

It's weird to think that at this point rock and roll had only been around for 16 years.

[jeffbogue]

To say Jerry Lee Lewis is a total badass is a total understatement.... there will never be another Jerry Lee Lewis that is for sure

[christopherhan]

Poetry indeed, and his comments about Chuck Berry and Otis Blackwell were heartfelt. Truly a great musician, the last man standing.

[tdunph]

Outstanding! The Killer!! What a talent! What an ICON!! One of the best performers/entertainers of ALL TIME! Easily within the top 10 country artists of all time as well. Perhaps even in the top 5!!! Long Live Jerry Lee!!

[qgill]

As a Black man I always loved and respected Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis for shining light on there African American influences at a time when that wasn’t cool!

[stevefowler]

1:07 when dick says "pure poetry", the audience laughs as if it was a joke. Rock and roll never got any respect back then. Now audiences would accept that statement as fact, that it is pure poetry.

[Fibonaccisghost]

I grew up in Louisiana and Jerry Lee Lewis definitely fits a generation of my home state. The wildness, the cheesiness, the charm, and the meanness are all there.

[ROCKINGMAN]

Love Jerry Lee Lewis' persona. Has character and never a dull moment. A great entertainer, rock 'n' roller, pianist and a thoroughly interesting man.

[thomasgary]

This is really cool. I've seen Jerry as a young man and as an old man., but have never seen him when he was this age.

[LEEFORDJAGG]

Thank you for posting this interview. Jerry is playful here, yet it all might get ‘dangerous’ after a stray or mis-heard comment.

[connshawnery]

Dick Cavett may be the inventor of awkward pauses.

[luciovids]

Been waiting to see this for years. Would love to see his musical performances from the show as well. Thanks

[fortunatoofamontillado]

Tales from the tour bus.. Jerry Lee's stories.. frickin hilarious!!

[lysanderofsparta]

Dick really doesn't know how to handle Jerry Lee. I love how Jerry Lee instantly shuts him up when he holds up his finger and says, "Excuse me".

[musicmatty]

I had the good fortune of seeing Jerry Lee Lewis in the mid to late 1990s in Washington DC in concert featuring James Burton on guitar at the 930 club. It was one of the best concerts I ever attended. Jerry Lee was in great voice that night and he played blues ...rock ‘n’ roll ..country and sounded great doing all of it. I think the main reason Jerry Lee is still around today outliving Elvis Presley and so many others, is that he kept it real and didn’t let fame go to his head.

[richardsypniewski]

An unapologetic Badass! The last man standing, indeed.
Rest In Rhythm, KILLER! 🔥😈🔥🙏

[guitartopro]

What a treble interview with a great like this