Offered is a wonderful collection of autographs of Sun Records superstars of the late 1950s, highlighted by none other than Jerry Lee Lewis. The autographs were obtained by a young fan named Beverly in 1958, in Jacksonville, Florida. All six artists toured in the area in between 1957 and 1959, and Beverly, some sort of local singer herself, was privy to the backstage areas enabling her to acquire all the autographs. She must have be a bit of a gregarious character, based on the thoughtful, sometimes tongue-in-cheek inscriptions. Jerry Lee was riding high in 1958, on the strength of hit singles "Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On", "Great Balls of Fire" and "Breathless". We sadly just lost him in October 2022.
The collection includes:
Jerry Lee Lewis, "To Beverly, yours with love, Jerry Lee Lewis";
Billy Lee Riley, "To Beverly, my friend, Billy Riley, Brunswick Records" (Riley released two singles on Brunswick Records in 1958);
Jimmy Van Eaton, "Beverly, Your [sic] a real sweet gal. Sorry you don't live in Memphis. Jimmy Van Eaton" (Van Eaton was Riley's touring drummer, and he was the Sun Records studio drummer from 1956-1959, playing on 100s of songs including Jerry Lee Lewis' "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On".Van Eaton performed on recordings by other Sun musicians, including Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich, Charlie Feathers, Bill Justis, and Ray Smith;
Thomas Wayne, "To two of the greatest personalities I have had the pleasure of meeting. Sincerely Thomas Wayne." (Wayne was te brother of Johnny Cash's guitarist Luther Perkins. Wayne had a singles on Fernwood Records in 1958 and 1959, including "Tragedy" which was a million-seller in 1959. Wayne died in a car crash in 1971.);
Jim Reeves, "My best to Beverly-with love-Jim Reeves." (Reeves had a string of country hits in the period, including "Billy Bayou", "Anna Marie" and "Blue Boy"; and
Sonny James, "To Beverly with love Sonny James." (James was touring on his 1957 hit, "Young Love", topping both of the early versions of today's Billboard Hot Country and Billboard Hot 100 singles charts.)
Jerry Lee's signed sheet is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Beckett Authenticated, and the others each have a Beckett Authenticated hologram sticker on the reverse. The autograph book pages are 5 x 3 1/2 inches and 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches in size, and present with some tape stains and original folds. Excellent condition overall with a couple lesser with the staining.