One of the great wild men of rock 'n' roll, Billy Lee Riley, has died at age 75. Riley was one of a number of great artists on Sam Phillips' Sun Records label, along with "The Killer" Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash, to name but a select few.
Riley's hits included the legendary "Flying Saucers Rock 'n' Roll" and "Red Hot," which was covered by the Beatles in Hamburg. Snippets of their version appeared on the "Beatles Anthology" video and the various unauthorized Star Club releases.
Above is the Beatles' version. At the bottom is Riley's original version of the song as heard on Sun Records.
- Billy Lee Riley, one of the great wild men of rock 'n' roll, dead at 75 (My inaugural Vintage Rock 'n 'Roll Examiner column ... my third Examiner column!)
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