Jerry Lee Lewis wants to make one thing clear: The title of his new album, ‘Mean Old Man,’ isn’t a reference to the Killer himself.
“No, it has nothing to do with me whatsoever,” the 74-year-old rock’n’roll legend says. “It’s named for the Kris Kristofferson song [that opens the set], which I flipped out over when I heard it. I thought it was a hit piece of material, so I cut it.”
Kristofferson isn’t the only celebrity guest who contributed to ‘Mean Old Man,’ due Sept. 7 on Verve/Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). It also features appearances by Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Willie Nelson, plus a handful of younger stars including John Mayer and Sheryl Crow.
“It’s just a collection of people who really love Jerry and wanted to be part of the album,” says Lewis’ daughter, Phoebe, who manages her father’s career and served as the set’s executive producer.
‘Mean Old Man’В follows up 2006’s ‘Last Man Standing,’ which similarly paired Lewis with an all-star cast and has sold 194,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.