Fogerty, Jerry Lee Lewis: On display for Grammy

Going in, it was practically a given that Wednesday night's pre-Grammy event would play out like a museum piece come to life.

Designed to showcase the Grammy Foundation's music preservation project, John Fogerty, Jerry Lee Lewis and Natasha Bedingfield, among others, were called on to perform during a program that would provide -- in 90 minutes -- a snapshot of rock 'n' roll's political activism and social influence.

This would be accomplished in the Grammy model -- through retrospective film clips and largely can't-miss songs. When the night began at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre with soul singer Ryan Shaw tackling Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come," the tone was set.

Shaw gave a graceful rendition of the song, opening it without a backing band. The mood was stark, but Shaw was pleasantly at ease, and the crowd settled in for a nicely relaxed evening, one that would be sprinkled with some faithful renditions of classic songs. Even Record Academy president Neil Portnow was jovially retrospective, ending an opening conversation about the ability of early rock 'n' roll to inspire and incite with a file-sharing joke: "The only kind of illegal downloading back then was putting 45s in the sleeve of your jacket."

Then Fogerty arrived and jerked the industry establishment back to present-day reality. The Grammy Foundation does important work, promoting musical education and preservation, and the interview films it has compiled (snippets of Pete Seeger, Coretta Scott King and Rufus Thomas, among many others, were shown), provide a living documentation of rock 'n' roll and social change. Fogerty illustrated it's a never-ending project that isn't just confined to the past, reminding the audience that rock 'n' roll activism is just as prevalent today as it was four decades ago.

Fogerty used the evening to perform two songs from last year's "Revival," both of them attacks on the current political administration. On a night designed to politely pay respects to the songs of the past -- it was, after all, sponsored by AARP -- Fogerty had no intention of being a nostalgia act, segueing from the lively blues of "Long Dark Night" into the rollicking "Can't Take It No More." The latter a brief and spirited rant, in which Fogerty stomped through the guitar solo as if holding onto his instrument was the only thing between him and utter recklessness.

Poor Bedingfield, then, who had the unfortunate task of directly following Fogerty. She sang John Lennon's "Imagine" as if she were auditioning for Miss California, and surely the Grammy Foundation's music preservation project has some more unexpected offerings in its catalog. Better was still-unappreciated R&B singer Chrisette Michele, who tackled the gospel traditional "We Shall Overcome." Michele has a voice that can rise to the heavens, but she stops just short and gives the verses a bit of bite.

Earlier was Lewis. He'll join Fogerty and Little Richard, who was not in attendance Wednesday night, on Sunday's Grammy telecast, and here, Lewis was used to illustrate rock's beginnings, performing "Before the Night Is Over" and "Great Balls of Fire." Lewis walked on stage, sat down at his piano, paid no heed to the house band, and dug in, his minor keys soon running wild over the melody of "Before the Night Is Over."

Lewis lets the band follow him, and while he may be moving a bit slow these days, it doesn't show once his hands strike the piano. He was still able to hit the high notes on "Great Balls of Fire," and though it may have been a thrill to hear him sing it, Lewis made it clear how effortless it all was: "I'm only doing this by request," Lewis said before launching in.

It was rock 'n' roll as history lesson.

(Photo: Fogerty, performing last year, courtesy WireImage)