Jerry Lee Lewis loves his fans. Sign Jerry Lee Lewis’ Official Guestbook by adding your comment below.
Jerry Lee Lewis loves his fans. Sign Jerry Lee Lewis’ Official Guestbook by adding your comment below.
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
—
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.
I was the Youngest in my family.. I was brought up listening to you and the Crazy Piano.. How do you get a Autograph Picture ??? Keep Rocking… In His Grace Just Me
Dear Killer, watching you play leaves me “BREATHLESS!” Goodness gracious, you’re a great ball of fire! Every time you play, there’s a whole lotta shakin goin on! I sing your songs at karaoke. There’s a recording at MeWeDotCom under my name. I tried so hard to get it right but there’s only one JERRY LEE LEWIS! Thank you, sir, for changing my life for the better! May the Lord shine on you with all His blessings.
HI Jerry Lee, I am a good fan of your and I have seen you in concert 3 times in Missouri in 1976, and you are the best then and you are still the best. I wish you much health and happiness and would like to see you again when you feel like performing. Your the greatest thanks for your great songs and entertainment.
Dear Jerry Lee,
I really hope you get to read this and it’s important that you do. I want you to know what a profound effect you have had on my and other people life. Not only with your music, but also with who you are as a person.
Many years ago I was fortunate enough to spend time with your sisters Linda Gail and Frankie Jean whilst I was in Faraday. I was there as a Jerry Lee fan. It was 1984. I was 24 years old and I sold my car to fund my trip to meet you. One evening in Faraday I took your sisters and their families out for a meal in Natches Down the Hill and the following day Linda Gail arranged for me to visit with you and we met and you were very kind to me.
The reason I hope you get to read this is that I want you to know the impact you had on my life. I was very shy as a your man and I used to watch you on stage and I think because you were so confident you made me believe in myself and I have gone on to live a very successful life. I am now 61 years old and I have been a Jerry Lee Lewis fan since I was 15. I have over 180 Jerry Lee LP’s and I have seen you live on stage over 50 times.
You really are the last man standing Jerry Lee and thank you for being you.
Warm regards,
Steve Mills
Jerry Lee, Thank You for the many years of enjoyment you have to me and all your fans. You are the best!
Your whole life is amazing. God bless you and may we be blessed with as much time as God lets us have with you. Stay well and happy. You are the greatest.
As a big fan of jerry lee lewis, you have given us decades of enjoyment and continue to do so…thank you for your love of sharing your God given talent with us…jives, prayers and positive vibes going your way from raleigh, north carolina ❤❤❤
Jerry lee I got your music on right now and without a doubt your hands down the greatest living legend of my time and I love you so much you truly have created something everlasting also I hope your doing good during these hard and confusing times all the best mr lee I might be just 18 but I can say my kids one day in the future will grow up with all your songs ❤️🤠 warm regards-Samuel Nowe
Hey Jerry my name is Brendon Terry and I’m from indiana. Just wanted to say that I have listened to your music all my life and still do to this day! I am 41 years old and my dad always listened to your music when I was a kid and now I listen to your music with my kids. You are by far the greatest magician there is..no way any of this new crap these days even compares!! Thank You for the many years of enjoyment and awesome music!!
Thanks
Brendon Terry
Hope you are doing well during this ice storm. Back in the 80’ I played with Charley McClain and we opened for your concert in Florida.
I lived in Bridgemoore subdivision walking distance from your Ranch in Nesbit.
I now live on Nail Rd. near Snowden Park.
Praying for your good health and enjoyment.
Have enjoyed your music and particularly your terrific piano playing since you began in the 50s.
You are the true king of rock and roll
Jerry Lee Lewis the one and only rock blue country mix cocktail music piano sound. Im from Guatemala Guatemala Central America a fan since first time I hear him in a SUN 45 RPM record that I still treasure
Killer,
Youre number one and always will be. If they ever come out with a time machine, i am going back to the 60s and rambling with you and Tarp.
Much Love from East Tx,
J D Moore
I keep coming back to JL’s country stuff. He never disappoints, always knocks out some killer solo with what appears to be the slightest of ease. If you love piano, it’s one of life’s thrills.
Hello Killer! Just sending love and prayers sir. Big fan all my life. Take care
Jason
The best of Rock And Roll, I was telling my mom that I was 6 years old 1965 and my aunt was DOING MY MOMS curls A HAIR STRAIGHTENER WITH AN IRON and the NOT COLOR TV WAS ON AND I WAS DANCING MY MOM SAID YOUR ROCK AND ROLL I DO REMEMBER THAT MUCH.
To Jerry Lee
I think I was about 5 or 6 when I first heard the rumble ,the intro , of WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN ‘ the big bass sound coming through the speakers of my parents huge wooden Sylvania turntable/ radio combo that took up the better part of a wall in our house….the vibrations that it sent into and through the walls,,made it seem as if the entire house was alive with the music and every groove resonated in that way….into my ears and bones and brain…as if it were recording directly into my soul,,,it think it did exactly that…your music is part of my soul,,, and to this day my bones and spine chill with those vibrations and your sound and your style…it’s some of who I am,,,Jerry ,
To this day…(I’m 53 now..) I still sing in my car no music on…replAying those tracks in my mind written into my soul ,,singing along with you,,,
Some of those songs were like a machine gun with bullets of emotion and energy impossible to overlook, we had no chance
Your music is a part of who we are as Americans,, whether we realize it or not…
Obviously, I realize
And respect!
Sincerely with Love Jerry
Keep rockin !
Dearest Jerry Lee,
What a treasure you are! I hope you know how much you are loved and how vital you and your contribution to music means to the world. I’ve listened to your music all my life and truly appreciate the talent God gave you. Stay well and be blessed and Thank You so much ♥️
To Jerry Lee
I think I was about 5 or 6 when I first heard the rumble ,the intro , of WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN ‘ the big bass sound coming through the speakers of my parents huge wooden Sylvania turntable/ radio combo that took up the better part of a wall in our house….the vibrations that it sent into and through the walls,,made it seem as if the entire house was alive with the music and every groove resonated in that way….into my ears and bones and brain…as if it were recording directly into my soul,,,it think it did exactly that…you music is part of my soul,,, and to this day my bones and spine chill with those vibrations and your sound and your style…it’s some of who I am,,,Jerry ,
To this day…(I’m 53 now..) I still sing in my car no music on…replAying those tracks in my mind written into my soul ,,singing along with you,,,
Some of those songs were like a machine gun with bullets of emotion and energy impossible to overlook, we had no chance
Your music is a part of who we are as Americans,, whether we realize it or not…
Obviously, I realize
And respect!
Sincerely with Love Jerry
Keep rockin !
Jerry lee you are still the best, keep on shaking lol, happy 85 and many more. From your pikeville ky. FAN, leisha
The one and only! I love you brother and your music is pure gold! Thanks for the Rock-N-Roll and keepin’ us all on our toes.
Dear Jerry Lee Lewis
I hope you have a happy and healthy New Year. Love your music and hope to visit your ranch this summer.
Love The Killer! One of my all time favorites! Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire!
What can I say “killer”, you’ve had my heart since 1969. I love your music. You rock!