Biography
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American pianist and a singer on the nickname killer, who became a pioneer of rock and roll and rocabilly music. The owner of a dozen golden discs, he won several grammy premiums, including the award "for an outstanding contribution to music."
His famous composition "Whole Lotta Shakin 'Goin' ON" included in the national register of records of the American Library of Congress. Now Jerry Lee is the last surviving participant in the Quartet for a million dollars, in which, besides him, Johnny Cash, Karl Perkins and Elvis Presley played.
Childhood and youth
Jerry Lee Lewis was born on September 29, 1935 in Ferridei, located in East Louisiana. His parents Elmo and Mami Lewis were poor farmers, but they sought to give the only son all that was on his pocket, even a little more. When influenced by cousins, Mickey Gilly and Jimmy Svaggart, Jerry was carried away by the game on the piano, mother and father laid the house and land to buy an expensive tool.
Insisting that the son performed exclusively gospel songs, Mami recorded him to the South-West Biblical Institute, in Vaksahachi, Texas. Soon Lewis, already in his youth distinguished by the audacious character, played Bugov-Vuy at the Church Meeting and was expelled from the educational institution.
The young man returned home and began to act in local clubs. In 1954, Jerry Li made the first demo-recording and went to Nashvil in search of a contract with a record company.
Music
At first, the producers did not perceive the creativity of Lewis as something worthwhile. Only in November 1956, Sam Phillips, the owner of the Sun Records studio, considered talent in a musician and signed a contract with him to issue solo albums, provided that Jerry would take part in the record of other performers. Like the session pianist Lewis accompanied the speeches of Karl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Billy Lee Riley and became the first person who played the song keys in the rocabilly style.
Since 1957, after the release of hits "Whole Lotta Shakin 'Goin' On", "Crazy Arms" and "Great Balls of Fire", who brought Jerry Li world fame, the musician took up an individual career. On the stage, Lewis behaved like a crazy: she pounded with heels along the piano keys, discarded the bench and played without her, waving his hands for a dramatic effect, sat and even stood on the tool.
In May 1958, during the tour in England and Scotland, the scandal associated with his personal life was broken around the musician. Jerry Lee Compositions were blacklisted on the radio, the concerts were canceled. Sam Phillips betrayed his own client, releasing a fictitious interview with his participation, only American DJ Alan Fried, the inventor of the term rock and roll, remained faithful to the musician and put on his record.
At this hard time, Lewis performed in bars and cafes. The desire to be in sight of the public pushed him to record the instrumental bougie arrangement of the Glenn Miller Orchestra composition "In The Mood" under the pseudonym The Hawk. The deception quickly revealed, because the radio hosts and listeners learned the unique performers Jerry Lee.
In 1963, Lewis and Sun Records ended, he moved to the Mercury Records Studio. Cooperation began with the record of potential hit "I'm On Fire", which was supposed to return the musician love and confidence in the public. This did not happen, because America met the creativity of The Beatles, and the interest in rock and roll began to fade.
Without losing hope, Jerry Lee recorded the albums "The Return of Rock", "Memphis Beat" and "Soul My Way", but they did not have commercial success. Glory returned to the performer after the release of the record "Live to Star Club" in 1964, which became one of the greatest living rock and roll records issued ever.
Finally, Lewis's positions have strengthened after the execution of the Country-song of Jerry Chesna "Another Place, Another Time", published as a single on March 9, 1968 and immediately soared to the top lines of the country's charts. Then there were a number of hits recorded in the same style, 17 of them entered the top 10 compositions in the Billboard hit parade.
"What's Made Made A Loser Out of Me", "to make love sweeter for you", "She Still Comes Around (to Love What's Left of Me)", "SINCE I MET YOU BABY", "ONCE More with Feeling "," One Have My Heart) "and" Sometimes a Memory Ain't Enough "thunder on radio stations and dance sites of America.
Listeners and critics were fascinated by the light soulful vocals of Pioneer Rock and Roll, who had an emotional resonance on a par with famous performers George Jones and Merl Haggard. After such turn, Lewis became the highest paid singer of America. The demand for his plates grew so much that the new owner of Sun Records reprinted previously recorded albums of the musician and sold them with unprecedented circulations.
In January 1973, Jerry Lee first and only once performed in the Radio "Grand Ole Opry". Live, the musician has violated all the rules and traditions of the program: instead of 8 minutes, they played to music between advertising, he almost an hour played without a break, argued about music and about life, and then invited one of the employees to sing with him. Until 1977, Jerry Lee continued to record albums in Country style. The last hit, which came out on Smash Records, became the composition of Middle Age Crazy, recorded in 1977.
In 1986, Lewis became one of the first 10 members of the Rock and Roll Glory Hall, open in Cleveland, Ohio. At the same time, the musician returned to the Sun Records Studio to participate in the record of the album "Class of '55" in the company Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and Karl Perkins. The plate was supposed to become an analogue of the Quartet for a million dollars, but, according to critics, she did not have enough atmosphere that reigned in 1956.
After 3 years, another takeoff occurred in the creative biography of the musician, when he rewritten old songs for the film "Large Fiery Balls", shot on the memoirs of the former Lewis wife. Dennis Quage, Winon Ryder and Alec Baldwin played the main roles in the picture about life and early work of the singer.
In 1990, the new song Jerry Lee "IT Was The Whiskey Talkin '(Not ME)" became a soundtrack to Blockbaster "Dick Tracy" with the participation of Ala Pacino, Dustina Hoffman and Madonna. Lewis was constantly toured around the country and beyond. In 1998, he joined the Star Tour of Chuck Berry and Litla Richard.
On February 12, 2005, the musician received the Grammy Award for "contribution to the development of music", and a year later released a new album called "Last Man standing", where most of the compositions were duets with world stars of rock: bi bi king, Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and others. Having received positive feedback, the plate got into 4 Billboard Hit Parade, including a 2-week stay at number one in indie charts.
In March 2007, the director Jim Gableb released a DVD called Last Man Standing Live with Lewis Concert Clips and many invited artists, among whom were Tom Jones, Chris Aizek, John Fograti and others. The disc was gold in the United States of America, where they sold more than half a million copies.
Personal life
Jerry Lee Lewis was married 7 times and had six children. The first marriage with Dorothy Barton lasted for 20 months, from February 1952 to October 1953. With the second wife, Jane Mitchum Musician lived for 4 years. During this time, two children appeared at the pair.
Jerry Lee's Stormy Life was hidden from the public until May 1958, when during touring in the UK, the reporter Ray Berry learned about the marriage of the musician at the cousin named Mayra Gail Brown, which was 13 years old. The publicity caused a storm of indignation, and the tour stopped after 3 concerts.
The couple got married in December 1957, and soon they had a son Steve, who had lived only 3 years, and then Phoebe's daughter. In the 1970s, the spouses divorced because Mayera was tired of endless insults and cruelty from her husband.
The next wife Jerry Lee became Jarent Elizabeth Gunn Pate, who gave birth to a musician daughter. Relationships did not work out, and the spouse gone to live to another man. A few weeks before the divorce, she drowned in the pool. There were rumors that this death was non-random, but Lewis denied involvement in the tragedy.
A year after the death of Jarent, the musician found a soul mate and again made a mistake in the choice. Joint Life from Sean Stevens lasted 77 days, and then the spouse died from drug overdose. The public again suspected Jerry Lee in what happened, but, not finding any evidence, soon calmed down.
The longest was marriage with Kerry McCaver, who became a singer's life companion for 21 years. The spouses had only 1 child, Jerry Lee Lewis III, born in 1973. Jerry with the sixth wife first lived in the US, and when problems with taxes began, went to Dublin.
In 1997, the couple returned to their homeland after the Irish promoter Kiran Kavana settled financial issues. In 2004, the spouses divorced, and Jerry became a bachelor for a while.
The last time the musician married at the age of 76 at the 62-year-old Judith Brown, the former spouse of the cousin to grow Brown. The ceremony took place on March 9, 2012 in the town of Natchez, Mississippi, and for some time it was a secret not only for journalists, but also for close friends and relatives.
Jerry Lee Lewis now
Lewis lives on a ranch in Nesbit, Mississippi, with his family. He controls his own club, open in 2013 on Bil Street in Memphis. In the interior of the institution there is a spirit of rock and roll: rare photos of the musician and his star colleagues are hung on the walls, there is also a piano, where Jerry is playing from time to time.
On December 31, 2018, Lewis plans to perform on Bil Street with a big New Year's concert, and then a tour of the musician in the cities of America will begin. Performances will be held in Jackson, Mississippi, Sarasote, Florida, and Greenville, South California.
Discography
- 1963 - "The Golden Hits of Jerry Lee Lewis"
- 1967 - "Soul My Way"
- 1970 - "SHE EVEN WOKE ME UP TO SAY GOODBYE"
- 1972 - "WHO'S GONNA PLAY THIS OLD PIANO?"
- 1975 - "Boogie Woogie Country Man"
- 1976 - "COUNTRY CLASS"
- 1980 - "WHEN TWO WORLDS COLLIDE"
- 1982 - "The Survivors"
- 1986 - "Class of '55"
- 1989 - "Great Balls of Fire"
- 2006 - "Last Man Standing"
- 2010 - "MEAN OLD MAN"