The legendary rock ‘n’ roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis is dead. According to a US media spokesman, this was announced in a statement. Lewis died at home in Memphis, Tennessee, aged 87.
His best-known hits included tracks like “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”.
Until his death, Lewis was considered one of the last of a generation of pioneering artists like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Little Richard who made rock ‘n’ roll great.
Jerry Lee Lewis was born on September 29, 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana. His family encouraged his musical talent at an early age. When Lewis was nine, his parents mortgaged their house to buy their son a grand piano.
As a young man, Lewis worked as a bar pianist before being signed to Sun Records in 1956. The producers are said to have been impressed by his rough piano style. He had his breakthrough with his second single “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”. This was initially not played on the radio because many stations considered it too vulgar. However, after Lewis sang the song on The Steve Allan Show in the summer of 1957, the single quickly sold more than six million copies.
Member of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame
However, Lewis’ career collapsed when it was revealed in 1958 that the musician had married his second cousin, Myra Gale Brown, who was 13 at the time of the marriage, a year earlier. The marriage was heavily criticized in public.
From the mid-1960s Lewis turned more and more to country music and was able to land success again. After a temporary retirement from the public eye in the 1970s, he was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. In 1989 his life story was filmed with Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder and Alec Baldwin.
Privately, Lewis suffered numerous strokes of fate: two of his children and two of his wives died, and Lewis also suffered from the effects of alcohol and drug consumption. Nevertheless, the musician stuck to his motto throughout his life: “You’re only hot or cold. If you’re lukewarm, the Lord will spit you out.”