The Jerry

Mark Childress and Bill Boyle were both kind enough to send me a really interesting article about the time the Beastie Boys almost started a dance craze called "The Jerry Lewis." The links between Beasties and Jerry have been noted on this "blog" before. But here we have the Holy Grail. Best of all, the "Do the Jerry Lewis" track is grounded in a sample from a Dino, Desi & Billy LP I bought at The End of All Music. You remember Dino, Desi & Billy! Jimmy once referred to Dino, Desi & Billy as "mopey superheroes." I cringed yet nodded when the author of the article stated of the man himself that "Jerry Lewis is mad funky" (see also). I enjoyed learning that "The Jerry Lewis" is based on Jerry's climactic dance (pictured) from THE NUTTY PROFESSOR. And I like the perceptive appreciation that shines through the disdain when a childhood friend of Mike D's says, "One aspect of Mike and his brother Stephen was that they liked these kinds of low-class things. They'd get off on stuff like Mr. T, you know? So maybe Jerry Lewis fit in, in a way. You can't tell if the guy's an idiot, or is he an idiot savant? He sort of makes you uncomfortable in some of those early movies. Is there something wrong with this guy, or was this an astonishing performance?"