Global InformationJerry Lee Lewis information
 | This biography needs additional citations for verification. (October 2022) |
Jerry Lee Lewis | |
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 Publicity photo, 1950s | |
| Born | September 29, 1935 Ferriday, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | October 28, 2022 (aged 87) Nesbit, Mississippi, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1949–2022[1] |
| Spouses | Dorothy Barton
(m. 1952; div. 1953)Jane Mitcham
(m. 1953; div. 1957)Myra Gale Brown
(m. 1957; div. 1970)Jaren Elizabeth Gunn Pate
(m. 1971; died 1982)Shawn Stephens
(m. 1983; died 1983)Karrie McCarver
(m. 1984; div. 2005)Judith Brown (m. 2012) |
| Children | 6 |
| Relatives |
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| Musical career | |
| Genres |
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| Instrument(s) |
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| Discography | Full list |
| Labels |
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| Website | jerryleelewis |
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 'n' 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 it was his 1957 hit "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" that 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 first cousin once removed. 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.[7] His No. 1 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 released 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.[8] 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".[9] In 2004, they ranked him No. 24 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[10] 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."[4]
- ^ Daley, Lauren (August 2, 2007). "Last Man Standing: Jerry Lee at the Z". South Coast Today. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
He made his public debut in 1949 at 14, sitting in with a local country/western band in a Ford dealership parking lot.
- ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
- ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis, Known for 1950s Rockabilly Piano Hits 'Great Balls of Fire' and 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On,' Has Suffered a Stroke". WGHP-TV. March 2, 2019. Archived from the original on October 23, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1981). "Jerry Lee Lewis". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the '70s. Da Capo Press. p. 225. ISBN 0-30680409-3. Archived from the original on May 25, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
His drive, his timing, his off-hand 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. He's a country artist out of geography and simple pique at rock's scared-shitless powers-that-be—it was the inadequacy of country's moralism, after all, that drove him to rockabilly.
- ^ Koda, Cub. "Jerry Lee Lewis". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
- ^ Ratliff, Ben (November 26, 2007). "A Piano Pounder Stops by, but Things Remain Orderly". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 28, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
"He fished from his pool of old honky-tonk and rock 'n' roll songs"...
- ^ Myers, Marc (October 24, 2014). "Jerry Lee Lewis, the Enduring Rebel of Rock 'n' Roll". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
- ^ "Memphis Music Hall of Fame". Memphismusichalloffame.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
- ^ "All Killer, No Filler!". Rolling Stone. November 1, 2003. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008.
- ^ "The Immortals: The First Fifty". Rolling Stone. No. 946. Archived from the original on March 16, 2006.