RIP Jerry Lee Lewis
Of all the legendary early Rock and Rollers, no one had the ego of Jerry Lee Lewis. Little Richard may have been more outlandish, but Jerry Lee was the wildest. I mean, his nickname was "The Killer". But Jerry Lee Lewis backed up all his claims of greatness by his actions. His live shows were as electric as his Sun era recordings. Comfortable singing anything, whether it was Rock, Pop, Country, R&B , Gospel, the "Killer" took on all genres and won. His cover versions were often radical reworkings that only a genius like him could pull off. Most likely the most influential Rock and Roll piano player. Still, as his famous in studio conversation with Sam Phillips showed, he wasn't always sure about his own place in the world of Rock music. The genre made him famous, but Jerry Lee was a religious man as well and spent those Sun Records days wondering if he should be playing "the devil's music".
When the Rock hits dried up, after his scandalous marriage to his 13 year old cousin, Jerry turned to Country music and recorded just as many fabulous songs and albums in that genre as he did with his 50's Rock ones. Jerry Lee never lost that wild man image even in the Country genre. In 2022 he was finally inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
It should surprise no one that Jerry Lee was a survivor. He defeated health scares, scandals and his own demons. He was the last surviving member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's inaugural class of 1986. And he's one of only 15 artists inducted into both the Country Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Jerry Lee's influence was vast. He was the wildman of Rock & Roll. The one and only "Killer". A piano playing ball of lightning every time he took the stage, who managed to capture all that energy into his studio records too.
Below are some of my favorite Jerry Lee albums:
posted by Tom Lane at 10:03 AM
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