Status: 10/28/2022 7:45 p.m
Rock ‘n’ roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis is dead. According to his agent, he died in Memphis at the age of 87. The pianist became famous with the song “Great Balls of Fire”.
Rock ‘n’ roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis has died at the age of 87. The musician became known with titles such as “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”.
His death was announced by his spokesman Zach Farnum. Farnum said Lewis died at his home in Memphis, Tennessee. His seventh wife Judith Coghlan Lewis was at his side.
Most recently, Lewis had to deal with health problems, including after a stroke in 2019.
Contemporary to Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Little Richard
Jerry Lee Lewis was considered one of the most influential artists in music history. He was the last surviving musician of a generation of pioneering artists like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Little Richard. The piano player from Louisiana called himself “The Killer” – he managed to capture the mood of the new genre like hardly any of the rock rebels of the 1950s.
“There was rockabilly. There was Elvis. But there wasn’t pure rock ‘n’ roll before Jerry Lee Lewis kicked in the door,” he once said of himself.
Rock rebel of the 50s: Jerry Lee Lewis.
Image: AP
Wild lifestyle regularly in the headlines
The musician with the blond curls not only created numerous hits, but also regularly made headlines with his wild lifestyle. Born in 1935 in Ferriday in the southern US state of Louisiana, Lewis was one of the pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll, he was a friend and at the same time a competitor of Elvis Presley.
He had his big break in 1957 with the hit “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” the lyrics of which were so provocative that some radio stations didn’t want to play it at first. It was followed by hits like “Great Balls of Fire” – one of his biggest successes and later the title of a film about him with actor Dennis Quaid – and “Breathless”.
During his high-energy performances, Lewis often banged the piano and sometimes jumped on the instrument. His life was also shaped by many women’s stories, excessive alcohol consumption and tax disputes.