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Loretta Lynn and Jerry Lee Lewis honored at CMA Awards with fiery performances – in one case, literally

November 10, 2022

Elle King and Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys perform onstage at the 56th Annual CMA Awards. (Photo: Terry Wyatt/WireImage)

The country community has been rocked by the loss of several legends this year, including Loretta Lynn, who was the first woman to win the Country Music Association Awards’ Entertainer of the Year 50 years ago, and Jerry Lee Lewis, who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on October 19, just nine days before his death. Both icons received fitting tributes at the 56th annual CMA Awards, which took place on Wednesday, but one of those tributes was a bit more fiery than the other – literally – and was certainly much more polarizing.

The show opened cold with vintage footage of trailblazer Lynn accepting her Entertainer of the Year trophy at the 1972 CMAs, followed by a medley of Lynn hits by three of the biggest superstars women in country music – Carrie Underwood cheekily singing “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man)”, Miranda Lambert doing “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin'”, and Reba McEntire declaring “You’re Lookin’ at Country — before the three teamed up for “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”

Another Lynn successor, Carly Pearce, performed her 2021 original “Dear Miss Loretta,” introducing her performance by saying, “I grew up in Kentucky, like the great Loretta Lynn. My Mamaw Pearce and I loved listening to Loretta’s songs together. I think Mamaw loved Loretta so much because she too was a coal miner’s daughter. I never met Loretta – always wished I had – but I wrote this song in honor of her because I admire everything about her so much, especially the way she wrote about her life without shame. Lorette, this is for you.

While the Lynn tributes were sweet and sentimental, the Lee tribute was pure rock ‘n’ roll rebellion. Alt-Americana agitator Elle King, joined by Ohio garage-blues duo The Black Keys, lit up the stage — yes, literally, when King set his piano on fire — for a “Great Balls of Fire” catchy and rowdy. King, dressed in patent leather pants painted with “THE KILLER” adorned with rhinestones on the back, a la Juicy Couture, growled and shouted and pounded the keys, while the keys jiggled and slipped.

Elle King performs at the 56th Annual CMA Awards. (Photo: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni)

Elle King and Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys perform onstage at the 56th Annual CMA Awards (Photo: Terry Wyatt/WireImage)

Elle King and Patrick Carney of The Black Keys perform onstage at the 56th Annual CMA Awards (Photo: ABC via Getty Images)

Twitter’s reaction was split. Some fans loved the raw, unpredictable energy of the PVC pants-seat Lewis tribute, but others criticized King’s bodacious attire and Gene Simmons’ wagging tongue. Some detractors accused King of not playing the piano live, of not being country enough, of being rude and disrespectful, or even of being drunk. However, this has been the liveliest, loosest moment of the night, and it was the kind of tribute that the wild man the killer himself – and maybe even the rebel Lynn too – would probably have appreciated.

“Great Balls of Fire” wasn’t the only rock ‘n’ roll moment from Wednesday’s three-hour CMA ceremony. Duos the War and Treaty and Brothers Osborne have teamed up to preview a track from “Nashville’s Love Letter to the Rolling Stones,” stoned cold country, an upcoming all-star collection of country covers from the Stones, and they ignited the scene in their own way with “It’s Only Rock & Roll.” And earlier in the night, the Osborne brothers had the opportunity to recognize the legacy of another country legend who died tragically in 2022, Naomi Judd.

Naomi’s daughter and Judds teammate Wynonna Judd presented Brothers Osborne with the Duo of the Year award, first taking a moment on the podium to say heartfeltly, “In death there is life, and here I am. Thank you for your love and support. These past six months have been a time to mourn and a time to be grateful. And I’m honored and honored tonight to still have a seat at the country music table. I have the opportunity to present the CMT award for Duo, which Mom and I have won seven times. As Judds super fan TJ Osbourne accepted this year’s honor, he gushed: “There have been so many surprising moments in this whole career. The fact that I moved to Nashville and was able to stay here and ended up not having ramen noodles, that was a surprise. And being here tonight and then being in the presence of Wynonna while winning this award will be one of the greatest highlights of my entire life. It’s so crazy for me.

But perhaps the most touching speech about the loss was from frontman Matt Ramsey, as he accepted Old Dominion’s Vocal Group of the Year award. “Obviously we’ve lost a lot of legends, but there’s nobody in this category, and really any category, that would be here without Alabama. And we just lost Jeff Cook,” a- he said, referring to the Alabama co-founder and guitarist who died Nov. 7. bandaged, you know? I’m so grateful to have my friends, and I can’t imagine losing any of you. And I’m so honored to make music. We love you. And we love having the opportunity to do what we love to do.

The 56th annual CMA Awards were hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning and took place Nov. 9 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Other performers included Ashley McBryde, Brandy Clark, Cody Johnson, the Zac Brown Band, Lainey Wilson, Morgan Wallen, Thomas Rhett with Katy Perry, Patty Loveless and Chris Stapleton, Cole Swindell and Jo Dee Messina, and Kelsea Ballerini with Kelly Clarkson and Carly. Pearce on a catchy “You’re Drunk, Go Home”.

The Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award went to Alan Jackson with performances of greatest hits from Dierks Bentley, Jon Pardi, Carrie Underwood, Lainey Wilson and a visibly moved Jackson himself. The top honor of the night, Entertainer of the Year, went to Luke Combs. For a full list of this year’s Country Music Association Awards winners, click here.