Jerry Lee Lewis, one of the fathers of rock and roll, died this Friday (28/10) of natural causes at the age of 87.
Nicknamed “The Killer”, Lewis had his own style, mixing rock, gospel, blues and country. He became known for classics like “Whole Lotta Shakin ‘Goin On”, “Great Balls of Fire”, “Breathless” and “High School Confidential”.
Lewis has collected 10 gold records over the course of his career, which began in the 1950s, but ironically his biggest hit was “Last Man Standing”, released in 2006, which sold over half a million copies worldwide. world.
In addition to playing the piano with more aptitude than many guitar heroes, there were times when he even set his instrument on fire, making it impossible for anyone to black out at rock festivals. “Nobody wanted to play after Jerry Lee”, Johnny Cash once said, “not even Elvis”.
Lewis was born on September 19, 1935 in Louisiana. The son of poor and destitute parents, he grew up a Christian and grew up on a family farm in the town of Ferriday that “produced more celebrities per square mile than any other small town in America,” he once said.
The rocker self-taught to play the piano at the age of 8 and sang gospel music in church. His two cousins, Mickey Gilley, who became a successful country singer, and Jimmy Swaggart, a famous television preacher, shared his musical interests. He used to listen to artists like Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams and Moon Mullican on the radio, who ultimately helped create his style.
In 1956, Lewis moved to Memphis to try to land a deal with Sam Phillips, the owner of Sun Records, responsible for recording the first records of Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins. Phillips wasn’t there when Lewis arrived, so producer Jack Clement recorded Lewis’ debut single, a version of Ray Price’s “Crazy Arms”.
Lewis landed a studio job playing piano on several recordings of Cash, Billy Lee Riley and Carl Perkins, among others. Until he decided to record Big Maybelle’s R&B hit “Whole Lotta Shakin ‘Goin’ On”, turning it into a rock’n’roll capable of evoking all of his abused style in 1957. “I knew it was a hit when I did, “Lewis said,” but Sam Phillips thought it was too bold. “
But it was the next hit, “Great Balls of Fire,” that brought Lewis worldwide fame, a hit that continued with the release of “Breathless” the following year. Both entered the Top 10 of the pop charts, in 2nd and 7th place respectively.
The success was so great that Jerry Lee Lewis made it into the movies. He appeared in the musical “Jamboree” (1957), directed by Roy Lockwood, and in the drama “School of Addiction” (1958), with pin-up Mamie Van Doren and John Drew Barrymore (Drew Barrymore’s father). This film was originally named after one of Lewis’ greatest hits, “High School Confidential,” heard right at the opening.
But it wasn’t just rock that gave him fame. He married a minister’s daughter, Dorothy Barton, in 1952, when he was 16, and secretly turned his cousin Myra Gale Brown into his third wife at the height of her success. At the time, Lewis was 22, but he was already the father of two and his new wife was only 13. It was a scandal that almost ended his career.
In the face of the controversy, radio stations stopped broadcasting their records and their public appearances were canceled. This also provided ammunition for his cousin Jimmy Swaggart, who launched a national crusade against rock by burning “Devil’s Music” records in the public square.
After his contract with Sun expired, he no longer found success until the mid-1960s, albeit without returning to the heyday of his early releases. His 1964 album “Live at the Star Club, Hamburg” is considered one of the most spectacular live concert records ever released.
In 1968, Lewis recorded the hit “Another Place, Another Time”, followed by the single “To Make Love Sweeter for You”. Gradually, she was regaining her success, with songs like “Once More With Feeling”, “There Must Be More to Love Than This” and “Me & Bobby McGee”.
Elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, Lewis has been called “one of the greatest American voices of all time” by his one-time collaborator, Kris Kristofferson.
In 1989, he returned to prominence with the release of his biopic, “The Beast of Rock,” starring Dennis Quaid as Lewis and Winona Ryder as Myra Gale. The film was based on the book she wrote about her, which later changed her name to Myra Lewis Williams. Jerry Lee Lewis recorded the songs for the soundtrack.
Still active in recent years, Lewis released the 2014 album “Rock & Roll Time”, which featured many artists he inspired, including Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Neil Young, Robbie Robertson, Nils Lofgren and Shelby Lynne.
His biography “Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story” written by Rick Bragg (Pulitzer Prize winning writer) was released in 2015. In addition, a documentary about his life titled “Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind” and directed by Ethan Coen, was screened at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
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Source: Terra
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
