JERRY LEE LEWIS, THE LAST ORIGINATOR OF ROCK, DIES AT 87
Somewhere in the world, in a mean little honky-tonk or big music hall or church basement rec room, someone is playing a Jerry Lee Lewis song. Wherever there is a piano, someone is shouting…
You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain
Too much love drives a man insane…
“But they won’t play it like the Killer,” Lewis liked to say, as if he needed to make sure the whole world was hearing him right, hearing the pounding genius of it, in songs like “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Breathless” and “Great Balls of Fire.”
“’Cause,” he liked to say, “ain’t but one of me.”
You broke my will
But what a thrill…
Lewis, perhaps the last true, great icon of the birth of rock ‘n’ roll, whose marriage of blues, gospel, country, honky-tonk and raw, pounding stage performances so threatened a young Elvis Presley that it made him cry, has died.
He was there at the beginning, with Elvis, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Carl Perkins, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, and the rest, and watched them fade away one by one till it was him alone to bear witness, and sing of the birth of rock ‘n’ roll.
“Who would have thought,” he said, near the end of his days, “it would be me?”
Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!
He suffered through the last years of his life from various illnesses and injuries that, his physicians have often said, should have taken him decades ago; he had abused his body so thoroughly as a young man he was given little chance of lasting through middle age, let alone old age.
“He is ready to leave,” his wife Judith said, just before his death.
Lewis, who performed everything from “Over the Rainbow” to Al Jolson, who played the Opry and the Apollo and even Shakespeare, was 87 years old.
Some music historians have wondered if Lewis, regarded by his fans and many music historians as rock’s first, great wild man, might be indestructible; his obituary has been written, re-written, then shelved, gathering dust for a day that seemed inevitable, but seemed to never come. He defied death in his old age just as he shrugged off the hard-driving, self-destructive lifestyle of his younger years, to play his music to a worldwide audience across seven decades, decorate the walls of his home with Grammys and gold records, and spawn a million outrageous stories — most of them true.
Once, when asked by a biographer: “Is it true that…”
“Yeah,” interrupted Lewis, without waiting to hear the particulars, “it probably was.”
His beginnings sounded like myth. His father, Elmo, and mother, Mamie, mortgaged their farm to buy him a piano, after he climbed onto a piano bench and, without ever having touched a keyboard before, began to play. His nickname, Killer, had nothing to do with his playing, but came from a schoolroom fight in Ferriday when he tried to choke a grown man with his own necktie; still, it fit the man, the musician to come, but there was more to him than a barroom piano pounder who sometimes kept a pistol in his pants.
Musicians and music journalists called him a true virtuoso, whose music was so rich and complex that some of them swore there were two pianos on stage instead of one. He played honky-tonk and blues across the same keyboard in the same instant, could play melody with both hands. He sang rockabilly before he knew it had a name, sang blues, gospel and country in the same set and sometimes the same breath, to become No. 24 on Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Sam Phillips, who launched the careers of Elvis and Lewis at Sun Records in Memphis, called Lewis the most talented person he had ever seen. A talent that made him one of the very few to be inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s first class in 1986 and, most recently this past week, at long last, into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
As Lewis stacked hits on the charts in ’57 and Elvis received his draft notice, the reigning king of rock ‘n’ roll drove to Sun Records in tears, to tell Lewis: “You can have it.”
But if Jerry Lee’s life was a comet that streaked across the sky of American music, it was also a thing that scorched him inside and out, and so many of the people around him.
Judith, his seventh wife, was by his side when he passed away at his home in Desoto County, Mississippi, south of Memphis. He told her, in his final days, that he welcomed the hereafter, and that he was not afraid.
Born into the Assembly of God church in his hometown of Ferriday, Louisiana, he never stopped believing, even when his lifestyle made the specter of hell seem closer. His greatest fear, that he would be condemned to a lake of fire for playing what many in his Pentecostal faith called “the devil’s music,” haunted him. He shared his fear with Elvis, who begged him to never mention it again. Lewis thought Elvis, also a Pentecostal, was the one person who might understand, but he died in ’77, leaving Lewis to wonder, alone.
He had prayed every day across his long life for forgiveness, and for salvation. His was a church that believed in miracles; why, he sometimes wondered, should he not be one of them? He found peace near the end of his life in a simple idea: that a music that brought such joy to so many could only come from God, “and the devil,” he said, “didn’t have nothin’ to do with it.”
“He said he was ready to be with Jesus,” said Judith.
His last album was a gospel record with his cousin, lifetime televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, who had preached against his music when they were younger. In Jerry Lee’s final months, they took turns at the keyboard, singing songs they learned as children: “Old Rugged Cross” and “Lily of the Valley” and “In the Garden.” Lewis, though his voice and body were weakened by his injury and a recent stroke, seemed happy, content.
Much of his life, Lewis had seemed determined to leave the world in the great fire he sang about. He set pianos ablaze, busted hecklers in the head with the butt-end of his microphone stand and rammed the gates of Graceland with his Rolls Royce. He shot holes in the wall of his Memphis office with a .38 revolver, shot his bass player in the chest, “by accident,” with a .357. His life, at different times, was a blur of high-speed chases and Crown Royal. The DEA met his planes on the runway. Fortunes came and went; all the wild rock musicians who came after him, he said, were mostly amateurs. Keith Richards tried to toss up a bottle of Crown Royal and catch it by the neck, like him, “but he never did it right … wasted a bunch of good liquor.”
But if you asked him, in his waning years, what he hoped people would say about him, he had a simple answer.
“You can tell ‘em I played the piano and sang rock ‘n’ roll.”
His career, like his body, seemed doomed a dozen times.
After soaring to the top of the charts in ’57 with songs like “Shakin’” and “High School Confidential,” he was castigated in the press for his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin, Myra. His rock’n’ roll star seemed to burn out even as it began to rise, and after a few big hits in the early 1960s his career seemed to be over. He responded by loading two cars with instruments and musicians and hitting the road, to play some big rooms, still, but also every honky-tonk and beer joint that would pay him to perform. He fought his way out of beer joints in Iowa, then drove all night and all day to another town and another show.
Sometimes he gave them magic and sometimes, if the mood was on him, he gave them less, but in his old age he swore he gave them the magic all the time. In ’64, record producers taped his show at a Hamburg, Germany, nightclub and made what would become music history. Live at the Star Club would be regarded as one the rawest, wildest, and greatest live albums of all time.
Then, in a twist that surprised many of his rock fans, Jerry Lee Lewis went country. “Another Place, Another Time,” was just the beginning of a string of soulful country chart-toppers that made him rich and famous all over again. He had more than 30 songs reach Billboard’s Top 10, including “To Make Love Sweeter for You” and a haunting “Would You Take Another Chance on Me.” It seemed only natural to Jerry Lee. He had always believed that Hank Williams hung the moon.
In this new stardom he finally played the Grand Ole Opry, the organization that had once snubbed him, and ignored the two-song protocol to play what and for long as he pleased, even playing through the commercials. Then, in perhaps the oddest twist of his musical career, he was cast as Shakespeare’s sinister Iago in a musical production in Los Angeles; he was a natural.
Once again, he flew around the world, sometimes on his own plane, and once again his lifestyle made almost as many headlines as his music. Tragedy followed him; he buried two sons. His health began to fail, marriages failed, but somehow he always rallied, always kept playing, for big paydays, or for free in a Memphis nightclub, living the life he sang about in his songs.
In 2006, his Last Man Standing album sold a million copies, his best-selling album of his long career. He followed that with another success, Mean Ol’ Man. You could hear the ghosts of the old honky-tonks in them, as if Jerry Lee Lewis had, truly, found a way to stop time. He did a duet with Springsteen.
His Lifetime Achievement Grammy was a kind of crowning achievement, and he appeared at Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame shows to accept his due and to school the whippersnappers on how it was done.
In 2012, when he was 76, he fell in love and married Judith, and they lived quietly – quietly for Jerry Lee Lewis – in northern Mississippi, though Lewis continued to do shows here in the U.S. and abroad. That year they took a trip to Ferriday to visit the family cemetery, and to drive across the bridge to Natchez where, as a boy, Jerry Lee used to dangle over the girders high above the brown water of the Mississippi and the passing boats below. The other boys begged him to get down, but he just hung there, grinning, till they were in tears. When asked if he was scared, a lifetime later, he just looked surprised. The Killer didn’t get scared. But looking down at the river as an old man, he said he might have been crazy.
Later, they drove past the church where he beat the piano to pieces with his cousins Swaggart and Mickey Gilley, who would go on to country music stardom, pounding a little blues and honky-tonk into the hymns they were supposed to be practicing.
Just across town from the tiny church had once stood the other temple of his musical education, a blues joint called Haney’s Big House, where some of the biggest acts in the country came to play. As a little boy, he snuck in the door and hid under the tables to hear rolling blues piano and wicked guitar. And somewhere in between it all, between the hymnals and the beer joints, between Hank Williams and Ray Charles, he found something that was his alone. It was always a waste of breath to ask if he had any regrets.
He had a million, and he had none. It all just depended on the song that was running through his head at the time.
“I’ve had an interesting life,” he said, in his 2014 biography, “haven’t I?”
Written by Rick Bragg
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Jerry Lee Lewis is survived by his wife, Judith Coghlan Lewis, his children Jerry Lee Lewis III, Ronnie Lewis, Pheobe Lewis and Lori Lancaster, sister Linda Gail Lewis, cousin Jimmy Swaggart and many grandchildren, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Elmo and Mamie Lewis, sons Steve Allen Lewis and Jerry Lee Lewis Jr., his siblings Elmo Lewis Jr. and Frankie Jean Lewis and his cousin Mickey Gilley.
Services and more information will be announced in the following days. In lieu of flowers, the Lewis family requests donations be made in Jerry Lee Lewis’ honor to the Arthritis Foundation or MusiCares – the non-profit foundation of the GRAMMYs / National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Whole Lotta Celebratin’ Goin’ On: 85 Years Of The Killer Adds Ringo Starr, Keith Richards, John Fogerty, Andy Grammer, Kris Kristofferson, Peyton Manning and More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Whole Lotta Celebratin’ Goin’ On: 85 Years Of The Killer Adds Ringo Starr, Keith Richards, John Fogerty, Andy Grammer, Kris Kristofferson, Peyton Manning and More
Jerry Lee Lewis Birthday Live Stream Set for October 27 via JerryLeeLewis.com, Facebook and YouTube
Whole Lotta Celebratin’ Goin’ On: 85 Years Of The Killer
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (October 20, 2020) – Announced last week, a star-studded event will be held to celebrate Jerry Lee Lewis’ 85th Birthday featuring some of the biggest names in music, movies, sports, television and politics. The virtual livestream, hosted by actor John Stamos, has added Ringo Starr, Keith Richards, John Fogerty, Andy Grammer, Kris Kristofferson, Peyton Manning and more for performances and well wishes for the “Last Man Standing” and founding father of Rock n’ Roll. There will be special appearances from Jerry Lee Lewis himself and he will interact with fans via the live chat.
Whole Lotta Celebratin’ Goin’ On: 85 Years of The Killer will air on October 27 at 8pm ET/7pm CT via Jerry Lee Lewis’ official Facebook and YouTube channels and JerryLeeLewis.com. The event will benefit World Vision, a Christian organization working to help communities lift themselves out of poverty. For good.
The current list of celebrities lined up to celebrate “The Killer” include (new announcements in bold): Andy Grammer, President Bill Clinton, Billy F Gibbons, Bonnie Raitt, Brenda Lee, Chris Isaak, Chris Janson, Drew Carey, Elton John, Freda Payne, Gavin DeGraw, Jacob Tolliver, James Burton, Jerry Kennedy, Jerry Phillips, Jimmy Swaggart, Joe Walsh, John Fogerty, Keith Richards, Kris Kristofferson, Lee Ann Womack, Linda Gail Lewis, Lindsay Ell, Marty Stuart, Mickey Gilley, The Beach Boy’s Mike Love, Nancy Wilson, Peyton Manning, Priscilla Presley, Randy Houser, Ringo Starr, Tanya Tucker, Tom Jones, Willie Nelson and Wink Martindale along with appearances from Jerry Lee Lewis’ road band, Kenny Lovelace, Ray Gann and Kenny Aronoff.
Whole Lotta Celebratin’ Goin’ On: 85 Years of The Killer is being produced and directed by Zach Farnum / 117 Entertainment in association with Jeff Franklin and Tisha Fein.
About Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is one of the all-time best singer-songwriters, musicians and pianists. He was born in 1935 to Mamie and Elmo Lewis of Ferriday, Louisiana. In November of ‘56 Jerry Lee made his way to Memphis, Tennessee where he would join Sun Records and launch hit records with “Crazy Arms,” “Whole Lotta Shakin,’”, and “Great Balls of Fire.” Jerry Lee, along with his friends Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins would become known as the Million Dollar Quartet and there is not any part of music that their influences haven’t touched. As a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s very first class of inductees, “The Killer” holds numerous awards including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award and countless other honors. He is truly rock n’ roll’s first great wildman, and shows no signs of stopping, touring around the globe and recording new music still today. Visit www.jerryleelewis.com to follow “The Killer.”
Media Contact
Zach Farnum
zach@117group.com
615-997-0100
www.117group.com
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Whole Lotta Celebratin’ Goin’ On: 85 Years Of The Killer Hosted By John Stamos To Air October 27 Benefitting World Vision
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Whole Lotta Celebratin’ Goin’ On: 85 Years Of The Killer Hosted By John Stamos To Air October 27 Benefitting World Vision
Jerry Lee Lewis Birthday Celebration Features Appearances By Elton John, President Bill Clinton, Willie Nelson, Lee Ann Womack, Joe Walsh, Mickey Gilley, Jimmy Swaggart, Chris Janson, Tom Jones And More
Whole Lotta Celebratin’ Goin’ On: 85 Years Of The Killer
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (October 13, 2020) – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame icon and the “Last Man Standing,” Jerry Lee Lewis, will celebrate his 85th birthday with his millions of fans around the world. The virtual livestream event, hosted by actor John Stamos, will feature performances and well wishes from friends and fans of Lewis including Elton John, President Bill Clinton, Willie Nelson, Lee Ann Womack and Joe Walsh, among many others. The evening will feature a special moment, the first time in forty years that Jerry Lee has been in the same room with his famous cousins, country legend Mickey Gilley and iconic televangelist Jimmy Swaggart.
Whole Lotta Celebratin’ Goin’ On: 85 Years of The Killer will air on Tuesday, October 27 at 8pm ET/7pm CT via Jerry Lee Lewis’ official Facebook and YouTube channels and JerryLeeLewis.com. The event will benefit World Vision, a Christian organization working to help communities lift themselves out of poverty. For good.
Celebrities lined up to celebrate “The Killer” include President Bill Clinton, Billy F Gibbons, Bonnie Raitt, Chris Janson, Elton John, Jacob Tolliver, James Burton, Jerry Phillips, Jimmy Swaggart, Joe Walsh, Lee Ann Womack, Linda Gail Lewis, Lindsay Ell, Marty Stuart, Mickey Gilley, The Beach Boy’s Mike Love, Priscilla Presley, Tom Jones, Willie Nelson and Wink Martindale along with appearances from Jerry Lee Lewis’ road band, Kenny Lovelace, Ray Gann and Kenny Aronoff. An additional lineup announcement will follow in the coming weeks.
Whole Lotta Celebratin’ Goin’ On: 85 Years of The Killer is being produced by Zach Farnum / 117 Entertainment in association with Jeff Franklin and Tisha Fein.
In the 1950’s, Jerry Lee Lewis Lewis was a pioneer in creating a new era of music along with the rest of the Million Dollar Quartet (Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Lewis) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s inaugural class. Now in his 8th decade of popularity, he has entertained millions of fans around the world, crossed genre boundaries and spread quintessential American music to the masses. Music historians credit Lewis with influencing artists in Country, Rock n’ Roll, Rockabilly, R&B, Soul and Gospel music still today. His 1991 album All Killer, No Filler was just included in Rolling Stone Magazine’s 2020 list of the Greatest Albums of All Time. He continuously ranks among the most iconic artists by music critics everywhere and is one of the most influential artists alive today.
About Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is one of the all-time best singer-songwriters, musicians and pianists. He was born in 1935 to Mamie and Elmo Lewis of Ferriday, Louisiana. In November of ‘56 Jerry Lee made his way to Memphis, Tennessee where he would join Sun Records and launch hit records with “Crazy Arms,” “Whole Lotta Shakin,’”, and “Great Balls of Fire.” Jerry Lee, along with his friends Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins would become known as the Million Dollar Quartet and there is not any part of music that their influences haven’t touched. As a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s very first class of inductees, “The Killer” holds numerous awards including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award and countless other honors. He is truly rock n’ roll’s first great wildman, and shows no signs of stopping, touring around the globe and recording new music still today. Visit www.jerryleelewis.com to follow “The Killer.”
About World Vision
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization conducting relief, development, and advocacy activities in its work with children, families, and their communities in nearly 100 countries to help them reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more information, please visit www.WorldVision.org/media-center/ or on Twitter @WorldVisionUSA.
Media Contact
Zach Farnum
zach@117group.com
615-997-0100
www.117group.com
To Request Media Cross Posting Access, Contact:
Erin Fligel
erin@117group.com
615-997-0100
www.117group.com
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New Jerry Lee Lewis Documentary Directed By T-Bone Burnett and Callie Khouri Announced
Jerry Lee Lewis has partnered with Mick Jagger, Victoria Pearman, Steve Bing, and Peter Afterman to produce a career-spanning documentary film. Directed by T-Bone Burnett and Callie Khouri. We expect you’ll be hearing much more about the project in the coming months.
Because so much of the Jerry’s story involves YOU, the fans, we want you to be involved. We’re looking for submissions of: Photos / home movies of Jerry Lee Lewis in any stage of his life.
Important Notes:
- Please DO NOT send any photos or videos initially, please only send us a short note telling us what you have available including show date, and a general description (example: “9/3/73, Jerry Lee Lewis in Germany, shot on Super 8 sound film”).
- We must know what years the material was shot, what format it was shot in, and what format it is currently in. (i.e. super 8, regular 8mm, 16mm, VHS, mini DVD, etc.)
- Please let us know if this footage is a dub, original, edited, or a camera original. Please let us know if you are the sole rights holder for the material.
- If the materials are photos, please let us know if they are photo prints, slides, etc.
- Please let us know if you’re capable of digitizing and uploading the material. If we use the material in the final film we will pay you a licensing fee and give you credit.
Send your photo and video/film listings to us at: jerryleelewisdoc@gmail.com and we’ll be in touch if we’d like to see your photos or footage.
Just to reiterate: Please do not send any attachments, our server will automatically reject anything but an email.
Thank you, and stay in touch!
Jerry Lee Lewis Receives Mississippi Country Music Trail Marker, Sings “Touching Home”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jerry Lee Lewis Receives Mississippi Country Music Trail Marker, Sings “Touching Home”
Nesbit, Miss. – Music icon Jerry Lee Lewis received a marker on the Mississippi Country Music Trail Thursday afternoon at The Lewis Ranch, his longtime home in Nesbit, Miss. The event was his first public appearance since a minor stroke in March of 2019 and signals a productive 2020 for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member. Watch the presentation here, with an acoustic performance of “Touching Home” by Marty Stuart with Lewis joining in and singing along.
“After pioneering the genres of rock ‘n’ roll and rockabilly with hits that crossed over to the country music charts, Jerry Lee decided to locate to Nesbit to settle down, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have the music legend call Mississippi home,” said Governor Phil Bryant, adding, “it is an honor to dedicate a Mississippi Country Music Trail marker here at his ranch.”
In addition to Gov. Bryant, the marker unveiling ceremony included remarks from GRAMMY® Award-winning musician and Mississippi Country Music Trail Commissioner Marty Stuart, Visit Mississippi Director and Mississippi Country Music Trail Chairman Craig Ray, Lewis’ publicist Zach Farnum, DeSoto County Supervisor Michael Lee and Visit Mississippi Tourism Development Bureau Manager Kamel King. Also in attendance was Country Music Hall of Fame member Connie Smith, country artist Steve Azar, The Recording Academy’s Jon Hornyak and many more local notables.
A native of Ferriday, La., Lewis started his musical career in Natchez, Miss. Lewis’s 1956 rock ’n’ roll classics “Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On” and “Great Balls of Fire” both topped the country charts. Starting in 1968, the singer had a string of country music hits including “To Make Love Sweeter for You,” “There Must Be More to Love Than This” and “Would You Take Another Chance on Me?” In 1973, the musician established the Lewis Ranch in Nesbit.
The marker is located at The Lewis Ranch, 1595 Malone Rd. in Nesbit. It is the trail’s 34th marker. The Lewis Ranch is open for tours by appointment at thelewisranch.com.
Founded in 2010, the Mississippi Country Music Trail recognizes the state’s contributions to country music. To learn more about the Mississippi Country Music Trail, visit mscountrymusictrail.org.
About Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is one of the all-time best singer-songwriters, musicians and pianists. He was born in 1935 to Mamie and Elmo Lewis of Ferriday, Louisiana. In November of ‘56 Jerry Lee made his way to Memphis, Tennessee where he would join Sun Records and launch hit records with “Crazy Arms,” “Whole Lotta Shakin,’”, and “Great Balls of Fire.” Jerry Lee, along with with his friends Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins would become known as the Million Dollar Quartet and there is not any part of music that their influences haven’t touched. As a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s very first class of inductees, “The Killer” holds numerous awards including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, numerous GRAMMYs, the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award and countless other honors. He is truly rock’s first great wildman, and shows no signs of stopping, touring around the globe still today. Visit www.jerryleelewis.com to follow “The Killer.”
Contacts
Jerry Lee Lewis
Zach Farnum
zach@117group.com
615-997-0100
Mississippi Development Authority
Savannah Tirey
stirey@mississippi.org
601-359-9436
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