The difference between Jerry Lee and most of his peers is that he always genuinely saw himself as damned -- as an evil person doomed to do evil things like play rock and roll. He did promise, in prayer, to use the proceeds of his first hit, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," to build a church, but that never materialized.
Most famous is the story of the recording of his second big hit, "Great Balls Of Fire," an Otis Blackwell song that takes a religious metaphor and makes it somewhat more down to earth. Blackwell had his eye on Lewis to record the song, but the blasphemy was too much even for Jerry Lee, who was tormented by the voice of his strictly religious mother and who had to be convinced by legendary Sun Records producer Sam Phillips to record it. During the taped sessions of October 6, 1957, Sam can be heard trying to convince Lewis that he had the power to "save souls," but the singer rejected that: "How can the Devil save souls?" And then, as if to prove it, he launched into the song.
