Jerry Lee Lewis
(September 29, 1935 – October 28, 2022)
was an
American pianist,
singer,
and
songwriter.
Nicknamed
"The Killer",
he was described as
"rock 'n' roll's first
great wild man".
A pioneer of
rock and roll
and rockabilly music,
Lewis made his
first recordings in 1952
at Cosimo Matassa's
J&M Studio in
New Orleans, Louisiana,
and early recordings
in 1956
at Sun Records
in Memphis, Tennessee.
"Crazy Arms"
sold 300,000 copies
in the
Southern United States,
but his 1957 hit
"Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"
shot Lewis to
worldwide fame.
He followed this with
the major hits
"Great Balls of Fire",
"Breathless",
and
"High School Confidential".
His rock and roll career
faltered in the wake
of his marriage to
Myra Gale Brown,
his 13-year-old cousin.
His popularity quickly
eroded following the scandal,
and with few exceptions,
such as a cover
of Ray Charles's
"What'd I Say",
he did not have
much chart success
in the early 1960s.
His live performances
at this time were
increasingly
wild and energetic.
His 1964
live album
Live at the Star Club,
Hamburg
is regarded by many
music journalists
and fans
as one of the wildest
and greatest
live rock albums ever.
In 1968,
Lewis made a
transition into
country music,
and had hits
with songs such as
"Another Place, Another Time".
This reignited his career,
and throughout the
late 1960s and 1970s,
he regularly topped
the country-western charts;
throughout his
seven-decade career,
Lewis had 30 songs
reach the top 10
on the
Billboard Country
and Western Chart.
His number-one country
hits included
"To Make Love Sweeter for You",
"There Must Be More to Love Than This",
"Would You Take Another Chance on Me",
and
"Me and Bobby McGee".
Lewis's successes
continued throughout
the decades,
and he embraced his
rock and roll past
with songs such as
a cover of
The Big Bopper's
"Chantilly Lace"
and
Mack Vickery's
"Rockin' My Life Away".
In the 21st century,
Lewis continued to
tour worldwide
and release new albums.
His 2006 album
Last Man Standing
was his
best-selling release,
with over a
million copies worldwide.
This was followed by
Mean Old Man
in 2010,
another of his
bestselling albums.
Lewis had a
dozen gold records
in rock and country.
He won four
Grammy awards,
including a
Grammy Lifetime
Achievement Award
and two
Grammy
Hall of Fame Awards.
Lewis was inducted
into the inaugural
class of the
Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in 1986,
and his pioneering
contribution to
the genre was
recognized by the
Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
He was also a
member of the
inaugural class
inducted into the
Memphis Music
Hall of Fame.
He was inducted into
the Country Music
Hall of Fame in 2022.
In 1989,
his life was chronicled
in the movie
Great Balls of Fire,
starring
Dennis Quaid.
In 2003,
Rolling Stone listed
his box set
All Killer, No Filler:
The Anthology
at number 242
on their list of
"500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
In 2004,
they ranked him
No. 24
on their list of the
100 Greatest Artists
of All Time.
Lewis was the
last surviving member of
Sun Records'
Million Dollar Quartet
and the album
Class of '55,
which also included
Johnny Cash,
Carl Perkins,
Roy Orbison,
and
Elvis Presley.
Music critic
Robert Christgau
said of Lewis:
"His drive,
his timing,
his offhand vocal power,
his unmistakable
boogie-plus piano,
and his absolute
confidence in
the face of the void
make Jerry Lee
the quintessential
rock and roller."
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