"Jerry Lee Lewis, the hard-driving rockabilly artist whose pounding boogie-woogie piano and bluesy, country-influenced vocals helped define the sound of rock ’n’ roll on hits like 'Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On' and 'Great Balls of Fire,' and whose incendiary performing style expressed the essence of rock rebellion, died on Friday at his home in DeSoto County, Miss., south of Memphis. He was 87" (NYT).
Here's Episode 59 of "A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs": "'Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On' by Jerry Lee Lewis" — about the rise of Jerry Lee Lewis:
[H[e was deeply, deeply, religious, and for a while he studied at the Southwestern Bible Institute in Waxahachie, Texas, in the hope of becoming a priest. Unfortunately, he was kicked out after playing the hymn “My God is Real” with a boogie feel, which according to the people in charge was inciting lust among the other students. This tension between religion and the secular world would recur throughout Lewis’ life, but by the time he signed to Sun Records, aged twenty-one, he was firmly on the side of the Devil....
The big break came when he read in a magazine about how it was Sam Phillips who had made Elvis into a star. He’d already tried RCA Records, the label Elvis was now on — they’d told him he needed to play a guitar. He’d blagged his way into an audition at the Grand Ole Opry, and the same thing had happened — he’d been told to come back when he played guitar, not piano....
Maybe Phillips would have more sense in him, and would see the greatness of a man who had been known to refer to himself, blasphemously, as “The Great I AM”. Jerry Lee knew that if he just got the right break he could be the greatest star of all time....
And here's Episode 66 : "'Great Balls of Fire' by Jerry Lee Lewis" about the fall:
[A]s the work proceeded, Jerry Lee became concerned. “Great Balls of Fire”? Didn’t that sound a bit… Satanic? And people did say that rock and roll was the Devil’s music.
He ended up getting into an angry, rambling, theological discussion with Sam Phillips, which was recorded and which gives an insight into how difficult Lewis must have been to work with, but also how tortured he was — he truly believed in the existence of a physical Hell, and that he was destined to go there because of his music:
[Excerpt: Jerry Lee Lewis and Sam Phillips, Bible discussion]
Sam Phillips, who appears to have had the patience of a saint, eventually talked Lewis down and persuaded him to get back to making music....
Much more in those podcasts.
2 days ago, there was a premature report that Lewis had died. I was glad to see he was still alive, but had to worry that he was close to the end. That got me listening to "The Complete Million Dollar Quartet" last night. Highly recommended.
I remember Jerry Lee Lewis from the 1950s. And I remember him from the 1980s, because that was when I played a lot of 50s rock and roll to entertain and educate my sons when they were little. "Great Balls of Fire" was a big favorite with them.
पोस्ट्स
४० टिप्पण्या:
Dead at 87. Myra is 78.
Now THAT'S factorial.
Jerry Lee Lewis was also one of the greatest country & western singers.
He was a monumental talent.
Second only to the greatest rock n' roller of all time, Little Richard.
Are we sure he's dead this time?
What a life and talent.
Last saw him selling his '59 Harley at a Mecum Auction.
Of course they rolled a piano out for him.
He could really pound those horse teeth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mM5-HyHUPY
I remember being 7 yo and jumping up and down the sofa to Whole Lotta Shakin. Time to listen to it again. No jumping tho.
I had a chance to go see him in Las Vegas and I confess his C&W stuff was pretty boring compared to his rock hits. Then his wife or sister or someone sang too. Meh.
Always liked him and his music - have a DVD of a jam session with Lewis, Fats Domino, and Ray Charles from the 80s. Those guys could still rock at age 50.
Jerry Lee was almost the same age of Elvis. Who died 44 years ago. Life isn't fair is it?
So, if he's going to hell then he's going there playin' the pee-anna!
I just drove through Jerry Lee Lewis's hometown of Ferriday, Louisiana last Friday. Cotton country. The little museum to him and his cousins Jimmy Swaggert and Mickey Gilley, and a plethora of black blues musicians was shut down.
I understand that his last words were "Pat Boone still survives!"
In the 80s I went to Graceland, and was amazed at how much people loved Elvis. Some members of the family were there and were talking to some of the visitors, when they got through with the tour. It was quite touching.
Its interesting that Jerry Lee Lewis dodged all the liberal/leftwing attacks and contempt that Elvis attracted. Maybe he was a smaller target. i can remember my Mother who was amused at girls screaming for Elvis in the late 1950s, (she was an old married woman of 25) reading a Bio by some guy called "Goldman" and being angry at the slurs and insults this guy threw at Presley. Brando in his autobio has gratitious slam at Elvis saying "he stole black mans music". Jealous much, Marlon?
Anyway, sad that Jerry Lee died but 87 is a grand old age, and his music will live forever.
I met him once in the early '80s. I thought he was old then (he wasn't).
Seemed like a nice guy...
What an awful, hellish life this guy lived. He clearly tortured everybody around him.
Couple of good songs.
God have mercy on his soul.
The poor guy lost two children to accidental deaths. I can't even begin to imagine.
Saw The Killer in concert in KC circa 1980. It was a mix of rock n' roll and country fans. A real showman.
Ann, your earlier link to the Simon and Garfunkle edition of History of Rock & Roll in 500 Songs was the first I'd heard of the podcast and I owe you a huge debt of gratitude. It's absolutely one of my favorite podcasts. I've since listened to every episode and I can't wait for each new edition to drop.
Thanks much,
2YD
One in a million.
Jerry Lee Lewis gave a lotta good advice with his,
What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made A Loser Out Of Me)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxwZ4RuTCjs
Heaven’s Rock ‘n’ Roll band has another legendary pianist to go with Little Richard and Billy Preston. RIP, Jerry Lee…
rcocean said...
"Its interesting that Jerry Lee Lewis dodged all the liberal/leftwing attacks and contempt that Elvis attracted."
What a moronic statement. Might be the dumbest ting posted on social media on a day replete with dumb postings.
Google Bill Clinton and Elvis.
His hometown, where he grew up with cousins Mickey Gilley (who died earlier this year) and Jimmy Swaggert, is overwhelmingly African-American. It was a big town for the blues, and, like Elvis, Jerry Lee grew up hearing the music as well as country.
My mother and her greatest gen cronies thought Elvis was a low-class embarrassment to the country and the city--until their kids started listening to The Beatles and the rest of the invasion. Then he became an All-American. (I have the Native's Exemption from visiting Graceland, but I keep saying I will, eventually. OTOH I pass his pre-Graceland place every day.)
Jerry Lee never impinged much on my consciousness. It was impossible not to know something about him, but he was definitely a 3rd-tier figure as far as I was concerned.
A truly beautiful man. Jerry Lee was raised in a legalistic UPC Louisiana Pentecostal church where worship music was the only publicly permitted recreation. God bless you, Jerry Lee. You blessed us a whole lot.
"for a while he studied at the Southwestern Bible Institute in Waxahachie, Texas, in the hope of becoming a priest." One cannot trust a source who thinks Baptists have "priests."
Rick Bragg wrote an excellent biography---Jerry Lee Lewis His Own Story--based on extensive interviews with The Killer. One of the things that struck me in the bio was that Jerry Lee taught himself to play the piano. And boy could he play! Of course Jerry Lee had a little bit of George "No Show" Jones in him. I was traveling with my wife on business and I had a couple of days in Portland Oregon. Jerry Lee was scheduled to perform on one of those nights and the two of us eagerly bought tickets. Well--sad to say--Jerry didn't show.
Bragg's book came out several years ago and I read it at the time it was released. If you are a fan of Jerry Lee the book is well worth the time to read it.
Jerry Lee at the gate of Graceland firing a pistol. Great moment in a great crazy life
Narr
True story. I lived for years on Audubon Drive in the Georgian two doors from the King’s first big boy house. A rancher. On more than one morning I caught people filming my house, generally people with Ohio tags for some reason. About the third time it happened I asked what rhyemweee doing and was told they wanted a picture of Elvis’ house. I didn’t want to disappoint them at its modesty and directed them around the corner to the Butler estate where Promus moved their headquarters. I always wondered how they thought Graceland was an improvement. LOL.
I just read his obit in the NYT. He had a talent for music but not much else. His six divorces weren't amicable. The thirteen year old he married wasn't even mature for a thirteen year old. She believed in Santa Claus. He shot an acquaintance in the chest. He was aiming at a coke bottle but missed. Anyway, that's what the NYT obit said. The best and safest way to know him was through his records.....I knew and liked a couple of his songs, but there's not much to mourn in his passing.
ronetc@625 caught something that brought me up short too. Priest?
Here's a link to the live concert from the Star Club in Hamburg, 1964. Jerry Lee was on fire!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQfUeLUgjFA&list=PLowQCq3Ss89iHv6BMk7a_RcdtCrvVDFNz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzjywHFaTOM
Up thread Carol said "I remember being 7 yo and jumping up and down the sofa to Whole Lotta Shakin." At first I misread it as "I remember being 70 and jumping up and down . . . .", and I still think that Jerry Lee could have that effect even on fogies like me.
I believe you Michael--one of my friends actually owned the Elvis house for a few years, and heard some stories from old neighbors. It still draws people by the car, van, and occasional bus-full.
That property behind (east) of Audubon and south of the Dixon is being redeveloped as a retirement community with cottages and apartments at various levels of independent and assisted living--all rentals and pretty high dollar. The old estate house is still there but you'll only see it if you go in.
During the time he was blacklisted for marrying his 13-year-old cousin, I saw him perform at a dive bar way out in the country. We couldn't believe how far he had fallen. He was great.
@ronetc
"One cannot trust a source who thinks Baptists have "priests.""
There's no snark like ignorant snark.
In Nottingham, Dylan did a curtain call playing Jerry Lee’s “I Can’t Seem to Say Goodbye”.
William, you will shocked to find how many great artists were not that nice.
I won the Jerry Lee Lewis no show trifecta. Bought three tickets never did see him. Got close one of those times, he was backstage but the promoter had already left with the proceeds. Still a fan.
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