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Great Performances - "Jerry Lee Lewis: Last Man Standing Live"

ROCKIN' ON: JERRY LEE LEWIS SHAKES UP THIRTEEN/WNET NEW YORK'S GREAT PERFORMANCES ON PBS

'The Killer' Duets With Kid Rock, Norah Jones, Ron Wood, Willie Nelson, Tom Jones & Others

The Killer's back, and he's taking no prisoners. Jerry Lee Lewis, still rockin' at 71, goes one-on-one with an A list of peers and easily leads the charge in Jerry Lee Lewis: Last Man Standing Live, Saturday, March 3 at 8 p.m. (ET) on Thirteen/WNET New York's GREAT PERFORMANCES on PBS (check local listings). Inspired by his new album of the same name, the show, and all in it, are helpless before the boogie-pumping, jabbing, cajoling piano showmanship of rock 'n' roll's original Wild Man. There's no doubt who's driving this bus.

And what a crew is along for the ride. Look for Solomon Burke, John Fogerty, Buddy Guy, Merle Haggard, Don Henley, Chris Isaak, Norah Jones, Tom Jones, Willie Nelson, Ivan Neville, Kid Rock, and Ron Wood, among others. They duet with Lewis on such favorites as "Good Golly, Miss Molly" (Fogerty), "Green, Green Grass of Home" (Tom Jones), "Your Cheatin' Heart" (Norah Jones), "Hadacol Boogie" (Guy), and "Honky Tonk Woman" (Kid Rock).

Lewis also solos with his definitive signatures "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls of Fire," songs that revolutionized the music of the late-1950s and '60s.

"Jerry is a force of nature," says Jimmy Rip, who co-produced (with Steve Bing) Lewis's Last Man Standing album (Artists First) and serves as music director of the GREAT PERFORMANCES telecast. "We tried to pick songs that could almost be chapters out of Jerry Lee's life."

As for Lewis himself, he is taking all the recent adulation in stride, as befits a musical pioneer and legend. Today, he lives quietly with his daughter Phoebe in Nesbit, Mississippi, eight miles from Memphis, with five Chihuahuas and four Chows. "I'm not as young as I used to be," he says. "But I can still play pretty good."

Jerry Lee Lewis: Last Man Standing Live is a production of Shangri-La Entertainment, LLC. Jim Gable (The Rolling Stones, Sting) directs, with Steve Bing as executive producer.

GREAT PERFORMANCES is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts, public television viewers, and PBS. Major corporate funding is provided by UBS, a global leader in wealth management, investment banking and asset management. You & Us. UBS.

Visit GREAT PERFORMANCES ONLINE at thirteen.org and pbs.org for additional information on this and other GREAT PERFORMANCES programs. The colorful Web companion contains a wide variety of images, in-depth information about the programs and activities for teachers, including lesson plans, tips and resources.

David Horn is series producer for GREAT PERFORMANCES, with John Walker as senior producer for music and Bill O'Donnell as director of program development. Barry Schulman is executive producer.

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Thirteen/WNET New York is one of the key program providers for public television, bringing such acclaimed series as GREAT PERFORMANCES, Nature, American Masters, Charlie Rose, Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, Wide Angle, Secrets of the Dead, NOW With David Brancaccio, and Cyberchase - as well as the work of Bill Moyers - to audiences nationwide. As the flagship public broadcaster in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut metro area, Thirteen reaches millions of viewers each week, airing the best of American public television along with its own local productions such as The Ethnic Heritage Specials, The Thirteen Walking Tours, New York Voices, and Reel New York. Thirteen extends the impact of its television productions through educational and community outreach projects - including the Celebration of Teaching and Learning - as well as Web sites and other digital media platforms. More information can be found at: www.thirteen.org.


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