Jerry Lee Lewis

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Image:Jerry-Lee-LewisAlbumcover.jpg Jerry Lee Lewis (born September 29, 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana ) is an American rock and roll and country music singer, songwriter, and pianist.

An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. His nickname is The Killer.

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Biography

Lewis was born to a poor family, and began playing piano in his youth. By his mid-teens, he had developed an original, engergetic style (part rhythm and blues, part boogie woogie), and was playing professionally.

Like Elvis Presley, he was raised singing the Christian gospel music of integrated southern Pentecostal churches. In 1950 he attended Southwestern Bible Institute in Texas but was expelled for misconduct, including playing rock and roll versions of hymns in church. Pearry Green (then president of the student body) related how during a talent show Jerry played some "worldly" music. The next morning the dean of the school called both Jerry and Pearry into his office to expel them both. Jerry then said that Pearry shouldn't be expelled because "he didn't know what I was going to do." Years later Pearry asked Jerry "Are you still playing the devil's music?" Jerry replied "Yes, I am. But you know it's strange, the same music that they kicked me out of school for is the same kind of music they play in their churches today. The difference is, I know I am playing for the devil and they don't."

Leaving religious music behind, he became a part of the burgeoning new rock and roll sound, cutting his first record in 1954. Two years later, at Sun Records studio in Memphis, Tennessee, producer and engineer Jack Clement discovered and recorded Lewis for the Sun label, while owner Sam Phillips was away on a trip to Florida. As a result, Lewis joined Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash as stars who began their recording careers at Sun Studios around this same time.

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Lewis' first recording at Sun studios was his own distinct version of the country ballad "Crazy Arms". In 1957, his piano and the pure rock and roll sound of "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" propelled him to international fame. "Great Balls of Fire" soon followed, and would become his biggest hit. Watching and listening to Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis said if he could play the piano like that, he'd quit singing. Lewis' early billing was Jerry Lee Lewis and his Pumping Piano.

Lewis was a pioneer of Piano rock, not only through his sound by also through his dynamic performance. He would often kick the piano bench out of the way to play standing, rake his hands up and down the keyboard for dramatic accent, and even sit down on the instrument. His frenetic performance style can be seen in films such as "High School Confidential" (he sang the title song from the back of a flatbed truck), and "Jamboree". These performance techniques have been adopted by later Piano rock artists, notably admirer Elton John.

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Scandal

Lewis' turbulent personal life was hidden from the public until a 1958 British tour, when reporters learned about the twenty-three year old star's third wife, Myra Gale Brown, who also happened to be his 13-year old first cousin once removed.

The publicity caused an uproar and the tour was cancelled after only three concerts. The scandal followed Lewis home to America, and as a result he almost vanished from the music scene. His only hit during this period was a cover of Ray Charles' "What'd I Say" in 1961.

His popularity recovered somewhat in Europe, especially in the UK and Germany during the mid 1960s. A live album, Live at the Star Club, Hamburg (1964), recorded with The Nashville Teens, is widely considered one of the greatest live rock and roll albums ever. Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes, "Live at the Star Club is extraordinary — the purest, hardest rock & roll ever committed to record ... Compared to this, thrash metal sounds tame, the Stooges sound constrained, hardcore punk seems neutered, and the Sex Pistols sound like wimps."[1]

A comeback eluded him in the USA, however, at least within the rock and roll genre. He did however have a major international rock and roll hit with "Chantilly Lace" in 1972.

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Switch to country

In 1968, Lewis began focusing on country and western music, achieving several No. 1 and Top 10 country hits including "What Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)" and "Another Place, Another Time". Although he toured and played many sold-out concerts, he never regained the heights of success he had prior to the 1958 scandal.

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Drug addiction and personal tragedies

Although he was always a heavy drinker, he increasingly became plagued by alcohol and drug problems after Myra divorced him in 1970. Tragedy struck when Lewis' 19-year-old son, Jerry Lee Lewis Jr., was killed in a road accident in 1973. During the 1960s, his second son, Steve Allen Lewis, had drowned in a swimming pool accident. He also has a daughter, Phoebe Lewis, who is a singer and musician. Lewis' own erratic behaviour during the 1970s led to his being hospitalized after nearly dying from a bleeding ulcer. Again addicted to drugs, Lewis checked himself into the Betty Ford Clinic.

While celebrating his 41st birthday in 1976, Lewis playfully pointed a gun at his bass player, Butch Owens, and thinking it was not loaded, pulled the trigger, shooting him in the chest. Owens miraculously survived. A few weeks later (November 23) he was involved in another gun-related arrest at Elvis Presley's Graceland residence. Lewis had been invited by Presley, but security was unaware of the visit. When questioned about why he was at the front gate, Lewis displayed a gun and jokingly told the guard he had come to kill Presley.

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Later career

In 1989, a major motion picture based on his early life in rock & roll, Great Balls of Fire, brought him back into the public eye, especially when he decided to re-record all his songs for the movie soundtrack. The film was based on the book by Lewis' ex-wife, Myra Gayle Lewis, and starred Dennis Quaid as Lewis, Winona Ryder as Myra, and Alec Baldwin as Jimmy Swaggart.

The very public downfall of his cousin, television evangelist Jimmy Swaggart, resulted in more adverse publicity to an already troubled family. Swaggart is also a piano player, as is another cousin, country music star Mickey Gilley. Lewis' sister, Linda Gail Lewis, is also a piano player, and has recorded with Van Morrison.

Despite the personal problems, Lewis' musical talent is widely acknowledged. Nicknamed The Killer for his forceful voice and piano production on stage, he was described by fellow artist Roy Orbison as the best raw performer in the history of rock and roll music. In 1986, Lewis was part of the first group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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That same year, he returned to Sun Studios in Memphis to team up with Orbison, Cash, and Perkins to create the album Class of '55. This was not the first time he had teamed up with Cash and Perkins at Sun. On December 4, 1956, Presley dropped in on Phillips to pay a social visit while Perkins was in the studio cutting new tracks with Lewis backing him on piano. The three started an impromptu jam session, and Phillips left the tapes running. He later telephoned Cash and brought him in to join the others. These recordings, almost half of which were gospel songs, survived, and have been released on CD under the title Million Dollar Quartet. Tracks also include Chuck Berry's "Brown Eyed Handsome Man", Pat Boone's "Don't Forbid Me" and Presley doing an impersonation of Jackie Wilson (who was then with Billy Ward and the Dominoes) singing "Don't Be Cruel."

Lewis has never stopped touring, and fans who have seen him perform say he can still deliver unique concerts that are unpredictable, exciting, and personal. In February of 2005, he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Recording Academy (which also grants the Grammy Awards.) At the presentation, it was announced that a new album would be made with a line-up including Eric Clapton, B. B. King, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The album, entitled The Pilgrim, is set for release the second quarter of 2006 [2].

A younger Lewis, portrayed by Waylon Payne, was a character in the highly praised and Academy Award winning movie Walk the Line, a biopic of Johnny Cash.

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Hit singles

  • "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" (June 1957, reached #3 U.S. pop/#1 Country)
  • "Great Balls of Fire" (December 1957, reached #2 U.S. pop/#1 Country/#1 UK pop)
  • "You Win Again" (December 1957, reached #2 Country, flipside of Great Balls of Fire)
  • "Breathless" (March 1958, reached #7 U.S. pop)
  • "High School Confidential" (June 1958, #21 U.S. pop, #9 Country, #12 in UK)
  • "I'll Make It All Up To You" (October 1958, #19 in U.S. Country charts)
  • "Lovin' Up A Storm" (May 1959, reached #28 in UK pop charts)
  • "Baby Baby Bye Bye" (June 1960, reached #47 in UK pop charts)
  • "What'd I Say" (April 1961, reached #30 on U.S. pop, #10 in UK)
  • "Sweet Little 16" (September 1962, reached #38 in UK pop charts)
  • "Good Golly Miss Molly" (March 1963, reached #31 in UK pop charts)
  • "Another Place, Another Time" (March 1968, reached #4 U.S. Country chart)
  • "What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made A Loser Out of Me)" (June 1968, #2 Country chart)
  • "She Still Comes Around (to love what's left of me)" (September 1968, #2 Country chart)
  • "To Make Love Sweeter For You" (December 1968, reached #1 on U.S. Country chart)
  • "Don't Let Me Cross Over" (with Linda Gail Lewis)(May 1969, #9 Country chart)
  • "One Has My Name (the other has my heart)" (May 1969, #3 Country chart)
  • "Invitation To Your Party" (August 1969, #6 Country chart)
  • "She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye" (October 1969, #2 Country chart)
  • "One Minute Past Eternity" (November 1969, #2 Country chart)
  • "Once More With Feeling" (February 1970, #2 Country chart)
  • "I Can't Seem To Say Goodbye" (April 1970, #7 Country chart)
  • "There Must Be More To Love Than This" (August 1970, #1 on U.S. Country chart)
  • "Waiting For A Train" (November 1970, #11 on U.S. Country chart)
  • "Touching Home" (March 1971, #3 on U.S. Country chart)
  • "When He Walks On You" (July 1971, #11 on U.S. Country chart)
  • "Me and Bobby McGee" (November 1971, reached #40 pop/#1 Country on U.S. charts)
  • "Would You Take Another Chance On Me" (November 1971, #1 Country on U.S. chart)
  • "Chantilly Lace" (March 1972, reached #43 pop/#1 Country on U.S. charts)
  • "Think About It Darlin'" (March 1972, reached #1 Country on U.S. charts)

(The above 4 titles were two consecutive double-sided #1 Country hits)

  • "Lonely Weekends" (June 1972, #11 Country hit)
  • "Whose Gonna Play This Ol' Piano?" (October 1972, #14 Country hit)
  • "No More Hanging On" (February 1973, #19 Country Hit)
  • "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" (April 1973, reached #41 on U.S. pop charts/#20 Country)
  • "Sometimes A Memory Ain't Enough" (September 1973, reached #6 Country)
  • "Tell Tale Signs" (June 1974, #18 Country hit)
  • "He Can't Fill My Shoes" (October 1974, reached #8 Country)
  • "I Can Still Hear The Music In The Restroom" (February 1975, #13 Country hit)
  • "Let's Put It Back Together Again" (August 1976, reached #6 Country)
  • "Middle Age Crazy" (October 1977, reached #4 Country)
  • "Come On In" (March 1978, reached #10 Country)
  • "I'll Find It Where I Can" (June 1978, reached #10 Country)
  • "Rockin' My Life Away"/"I Wish I Was 18 Again" (April 1979, #18 double-sided Country hit)
  • "Who Will The Next Fool Be?" (July 1979, #20 Country hit)
  • "When Two Worlds Collide" (February 1980, #11 Country hit)
  • "Over The Rainbow" (September 1980, #10 Country hit)
  • "39 And Holding" (January 1981, reached #4 Country)

All the above are U.S. Billboard or UK chart positions. Only Top 50 pop/Top 20 Country hits are listed. Dates of release listed, highest chart positions reached few weeks later. (Peter Checksfield discography, 'Killer' biography)

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See also

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References

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External links

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