Class of '55

Class of '55
Studio album by Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins
Released	1986
Recorded	September 1985
Genre	Rock
Length	35:30
Label	America/Smash (422 830 002-1)
Producer	Chips Moman
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Roy Orbison chronology
Laminar Flow (1979) Class of '55 (1986) In Dreams: The Greatest Hits (1987)
Johnny Cash chronology
Heroes (1986) Class of '55 (1986) In Dreams: The Greatest Hits (1987)

Class of '55 is an album by Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins released in 1986 through Chips Moman's American Sound Studios and Smash Records.

While the album was in part a tribute to Elvis Presley, it was mainly a commemoration of those young performing hopefuls, the four album participants included, who came to Sun Records in 1955 to make music in the new era of Rock and Roll. Recorded at Sam Phillips' Sun Studios and completed at American Sound Studios, the final song, "Big Train (from Memphis)", includes the blended voices of John Fogerty, The Judds, Dave Edmunds, Ricky Nelson, Sam Phillips, and June Carter Cash.

The recorded "Interviews from the Class of '55 Recording Sessions" earned the 1987 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for the four performers plus for producer Chips Moman, Sam Phillips and Ricky Nelson. For Nelson, it was his last recording session and only Grammy Award of his career.

Track listing

Side one

1. Carl Perkins – "Birth of Rock and Roll" (Carl Perkins/Greg Perkins) – 4:21
2. Jerry Lee Lewis – "Sixteen Candles" (Luther Dixon/Allyson Kent) – 3:48
3. Carl Perkins – "Class of '55" (Chips Moman/Bobby Emmons) – 2:56
4. Perkins, Lewis, Orbison & Cash – "Waymore's Blues" (Waylon Jennings/Curtis Buck) – 2:25
5. Johnny Cash – "We Remember the King"' (Cash/Lewis/Orbison/Perkins) – 2:58

Side two

1. Roy Orbison – "Coming Home" (Roy Orbison/Will Jennings/J.D. Souther) – 3:59
2. Perkins, Lewis, Orbison & Cash – "Rock and Roll (Fais-Do-Do)" (Michael Smotherman) – 3:17
3. Jerry Lee Lewis – "Keep My Motor Running" (Randy Bachman) – 2:52
4. Johnny Cash – "I Will Rock and Roll with You" (Cash) – 2:01
5. Perkins, Lewis, Orbison & Cash – "Big Train (from Memphis)" (John Fogerty) – 7:56

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