NIGHT LIFE: THE CLUB SCENE : Price of Fame : Two legends, B.B. King and Jerry Lee Lewis, are coming to Ventura. But it won’t be cheap.

Local rock fans who aren’t in the Fortune 500 may have to consider a second job if they want to continue attending the seemingly never-ending lineup of famous rockers coming to our area. Rock ‘n’ roll can be an expensive hobby, but hey, sometimes you’ve got to suffer.

Recently the venerable Ventura Theatre presented Ray Charles, and this weekend--get those piggy banks ready--two more rock ‘n’ roll hall of famers will stop by: B. B. King and Jerry Lee Lewis. Each will play two shows at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., King on Friday and Lewis on Saturday. Tickets are $22.50. So if you take a date, have a drink, eat dinner and buy a shirt, just remember McDonald’s is usually hiring.

Riley B. King must live out of a suitcase; it seems he has been on tour since Moses went on tour. King averages more than 250 shows a year. This will be at least his third appearance at the Ventura Theatre. The line will stretch around the corner onto Main Street. People like the blues. In fact, King is credited with introducing the blues to white America in the mid-’60s.

Born in 1925 in Itta Bene in the Mississippi Delta, King grew up playing on street corners for dimes. With $2.50 in his pocket he hitchhiked to Memphis in the late ‘40s and got his first big break performing on Sonny Boy Williamson’s radio show on WDIA. He became known as The Beale Sreet Blues Boy, which he later shortened to B.B.

In 1951, King had his first major hit, “Three O’Clock Blues,” which hit No. 1 on the R&B; charts. In 1952, he had another chart topper with “You Don’t Know Me.” More hits followed such as “Please Love Me” and “You Upset Me Baby” which launched King into nationwide touring.

In the mid-’50s, King was performing at a dive in Arkansas when a couple of the patrons had too much fun (after too many beers), got into a fight and knocked over a kerosene stove. The place caught fire. After rushing to safety outside, King noticed that his $30 guitar was still inside. He sped back in and grabbed his guitar, narrowly escaping with his life. Later, King learned the fight was over a woman named Lucille, and he named his guitar, and each subsequent guitar, Lucille. No more $30 guitars, you can bet.

During the British Invasion of the mid-’60s, guitarists such as Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Jeff Beck were inspired by King’s technique. King performed at the Newport Folk Festival, at the Fillmore West, often sharing the bill with young rock bands and thus converting their young white fans. In 1969, King opened for the Rolling Stones on their tour. The next year, King scored his biggest hit with “The Thrill Is Gone.”

Five Grammys followed, plus a spot in the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame (1984) and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame (1986). Colleges across American have given him more degrees than a thermometer in Bakersfield. The thrill, apparently, still is there for B. B. and Lucille.

Jerry Lee Lewis, a.k.a. The Killer, is one of rock’s original bad boys, but he is no more of a “boy” than the Beach Boys. But he still tours constantly and plays the piano with sufficient abandon to suggest his shoes may be on fire.

Performing professionally since he was 15, Lewis developed a frantic style, which incorporated country swing, rural blues, R&B; and swamp rock. In 1956, Lewis became one of the original rockers to sign with Sun Records in Memphis. His swaggering persona and lustful aura seemed to define rock ‘n’ roll as the devil’s music in the ‘50s. Marrying his 14-year-old cousin in 1958 didn’t help Lewis’ image.

Lewis had only three Top 10 rock hits (all in the ‘50s) but his reputation for wild live shows far outstripped his ability to churn out hits. In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Lewis became a country singer, scoring a dozen Top 10 hits. His career has had more ups and downs than the Dodger bullpen, but he does things to a piano (everything short of spontaneous combustion) that leave fans shaking their heads and tapping their feet.

Recently, Hollywood made a film of The Killer’s life, “Great Balls of Fire.” The controversy surrounding the film should not have happened. The film’s star, Dennis Quaid, wanted to do Lewis’ songs himself. Lewis ended up doing his own songs, much as he will at the Ventura Theatre.