The London sessions in January 1973 coincided with Jerry Lee's second career peak, just as the calamitous 1958 tour coincided with the first. After ten years in the wilderness, Jerry Lee Lewis was a country star; in fact, by 1973, he was quite possibly the biggest star in country music. He'd racked up more than twenty country hits in five years, and his record label, Mercury, was wondering if a return to the pop charts was out of the question.

In 1 972, Mercury renewed Jerry Lee's contract, and the new deal called for four LPs a year, one of which would be rock. His last album under the old deal, The Killer Rocks On, had been his first rock album in five years and became his best-selling LP to that point. Perhaps an "event" album would build on that success.

Sessions in London with superstar guests were a way to introduce classic artists to new audiences. It had worked for Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and several other bluesmen. Chuck Berry had come to England and recorded a novelty song, "My Ding-a-Ling," that became the biggest hit of his career. The portents looked good.