Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis will join his likeness onstage when he performs with the cast of the hit Broadway musical "Million Dollar Quartet" for a one-time jam session during the finale Sept. 10. Levi Kreis won a Tony Award for his portrayal of Lewis, and they recently recorded the classic 1959 song "Money" for Lewis' upcoming album "Mean Old Man. " "Million Dollar Quartet" tells the story of an actual impromptu jam session in 1956 among Sun Recording artists Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a musical with less dramatic tension than "Million Dollar Quartet" anywhere this side of a "My Little Pony" touring show. The production that opened Tuesday at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts really just wants to let the good times roll, so you can be glad it devotes only about 10 minutes of its 105-minute running time to drumming up token conflicts between Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash and their visionary producer, Sam Phillips.

Jerry Lee Lewis sinks into a regal looking leather chair backstage at the House of Blues. The 74-year-old rock 'n' roll pioneer has just completed an impressive hourlong set at a private party for an associate of country star Tim McGraw. He's sharply dressed in a white vest embossed with floral curlicues, over a simple black shirt tucked into black denim jeans. But the most striking thing about his physical presence might be his skin: Few of even the hardest-living rock or country musicians have been through as much as the man also known as the Killer.

The Early Show Saving a giraffe's life. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS Today Josh Brolin; Jerry Lee Lewis. (N) 7 a.m. KNBC KTLA Morning News Brenda Song. (N) 7 a.m. KTLA Good Morning America President Obama; Arianna Huffington; "The Brady Bunch" reunion. (N) 7 a.m. KABC Good Day L.A. (N) 7 a.m. KTTV Regis and Kelly David Boreanaz; Fantasia. (N) 9 a.m. KABC The View Gen. Colin Powell (ret.). (N) 10 a.m. KABC The Doctors How to look five years younger. (N) 11 a.m. KCAL Rachael Ray Whoopi Goldberg.

Entertainer Jerry Lee Lewis, hospitalized with internal bleeding four day ago, was improved today and listed in satisfactory condition. Lewis, 49, is the piano-pounding singer of such hit songs as "Whole Lotta Shakin' " and "Great Balls of Fire."

Jerry Lee Lewis has canceled his appearance with Rick Nelson tonight at the Universal Amphitheatre because of illness. Doug Kershaw and the Jordanaires have been added to the bill.

Rock 'n' roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis had nearly half his stomach removed today during an operation to correct a bleeding ulcer, and his wife said doctors told her the surgery was successful. "He's all right," said the singer's wife, Kerrie Lewis, when informed that the surgery was successful. "They put him back together. He's in recovery." Lewis had been given a 50% chance of surviving the operation.

Entertainer Jerry Lee Lewis, who underwent surgery last month because of a bleeding ulcer, was back in the hospital Tuesday, a day after his release. "He came in complaining of nausea and stomach pains," said Beth Maas, night administrator at Methodist Hospital. Doctors had not issued a diagnosis on the condition of the singer, Maas said. He was not being treated as an emergency patient, however.

Jerry Lee Lewis is suing Trump Castle Associates for canceling part of his contract to entertain at the Atlantic City casino. Lewis's agent, Dick Fox Productions Inc. of New York, is seeking $135,000 that Lewis would have been paid for September, 1989, and February, 1990, performances that were canceled, according to the lawsuit. Lewis canceled the September show because of illness, and his agent charges that Trump Castle wrongly eliminated the February dates.

Maybe Jerry Lee Lewis shouldn't tour England. Lewis failed to appear for a concert in the southern English city of Bournemouth this week, prompting his British promoters to cancel the remaining six shows of his scheduled tour. "I have had to cancel the tour because Lewis has failed to show up for five dates, one of these dates twice," said promoter Mervyn Conn. "I cannot continue in this fashion, and that is why this tour has ended." There was no word on the cancellation from the Lewis camp.

Jerry Lee Lewis will join his likeness onstage when he performs with the cast of the hit Broadway musical "Million Dollar Quartet" for a one-time jam session during the finale Sept. 10. Levi Kreis won a Tony Award for his portrayal of Lewis, and they recently recorded the classic 1959 song "Money" for Lewis' upcoming album "Mean Old Man. " "Million Dollar Quartet" tells the story of an actual impromptu jam session in 1956 among Sun Recording artists Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley.

"Country & Western Hit Parade: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke and Hillbilly Music" is the second half of an invaluable album project from Bear Family Records that enables pop fans to step back in time to listen to music on the radio just like Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and Ray Charles did more than half a century ago. Each of the single discs released in the "Dim Lights" series contains 25 to 30 of the most popular country songs of a given year, from 1945...

Wishing she were off his website Regarding the piece on Mr. Skin ["Mr. Skin Pursues Naked Enthusiasm," Dec. 6]: Maybe Jim McBride can lie to himself about what he does to women, but can he lie to his daughter? This puff piece on such a piece of work as Jim McBride makes me queasy. I want to ask Jim how he would feel if his daughter was to be put on his site without her approval or consent. As an actress on his site, I have asked repeatedly to be taken off and tried to take legal action but to no avail.

Jerry Lee Lewis sinks into a regal looking leather chair backstage at the House of Blues. The 74-year-old rock 'n' roll pioneer has just completed an impressive hourlong set at a private party for an associate of country star Tim McGraw. He's sharply dressed in a white vest embossed with floral curlicues, over a simple black shirt tucked into black denim jeans. But the most striking thing about his physical presence might be his skin: Few of even the hardest-living rock or country musicians have been through as much as the man also known as the Killer.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame sits on the shore of Lake Erie in Cleveland, but if you wanted to see the music legends it celebrates, the best place to be this week was Seventh Avenue in rainy Manhattan. Even in this era of nonstop all-star benefits and award shows, it was a bit stunning to see the rock royalty that walked on stage at Madison Square Garden for two concerts honoring the silver anniversary of the museum in the distant Midwest. The rhythm of the event went something like this: An iconic music act would step to the microphone and bring the crowd to its feet with a single line from its signature songbooks.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has lined up many of its members for a blowout concert celebrating its 25th anniversary. Bruce Springsteen, U2, Stevie Wonder, Metallica and Aretha Franklin are among the performers. The concert will take place over two nights next month at New York's Madison Square Garden, with highlights shown on HBO over Thanksgiving weekend. Other performers include Eric Clapton; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Paul Simon with and without Art Garfunkel; Jackson Browne; Chuck Berry; Van Morrison; Jerry Lee Lewis; Sting; and James Taylor.

The only explanation for why, in 2000, rock firebrand Jerry Lee Lewis is still among the living after his many brushes with death is that he probably scares the hell out of the Grim Reaper himself. Though his concert Wednesday at the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana was by and large a meat-and-potatoes Killer set, as always there were flashes of the infamous volatility that have made the Ferriday Fireball one of rock's true originals and one of its genuinely frightening practitioners.

Jerry Lee Lewis has canceled so many shows lately that when he actually walked on stage Friday at the Palace the feeling was one of triumph mixed with relief. This audience may have been a little larger and a lot more pumped up than the usual Jerry Lee crowd because of the hoopla surrounding the new film "Great Balls of Fire." But the rock 'n' roll legend himself seemed removed from all that. He didn't even mention the movie--maybe that would be seeking a validation he doesn't need.

Bear Family Records' remarkable new release, "Let Me Be Your Sidetrack: The Influence of Jimmie Rodgers," makes a persuasive argument that Rodgers is one of the most important figures in the history of country music. According to the liner notes for the six-disc boxed set released last week, 102 of the 109 songs Rodgers did in the late 1920s and early 1930s were later recorded by other artists -- a 94% "cover ratio" unmatched by any other country singer-songwriter, including Hank Williams.

Jimmy Smits has participated in PBS' Fourth of July concert before, but he will host for the first time tonight. Smits, whose work includes roles on "The West Wing" and "NYPD Blue," said being present on the Mall for the event "takes your breath away." "You have all the monuments, and the orchestra, you've got cannon batteries and fireworks, and it gives you goose bumps," he said.