Watch Jerry Lewis Play Guitar (Sort of) in 'Rock-a-Bye Baby'
I'm betting this is the most awesomely stupid guitar video you'll see today.
It's a scene from a 1958 comedy called Rock-A-Bye Baby, which stars Jerry Lewis as Clayton Poole, a small-town TV repairman whose former sweetheart, Carla Naples (played by Marilyn Maxwell), becomes a movie star.
We have no idea how that setup brings Lewis onto a stage, wearing a Gibson ES-175 (with P90 pickups) and singing "Rock My Baby, Rock," but it happens, and it's awesome. Check it out below.
Since Rock-A-Bye Baby was filmed in 1958, Lewis, his fake band and the song are clearly parodying Bill Haley & His Comets, who released an album called Rockin' Around the World that year and Rockin' the Oldies the year before. You can't help but fall for Lewis' hilarious dance moves and ridiculously awful guitar solos, which take place at :15 and :28.
Lewis died August 20, 2017. He was 91.
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Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.