Jerry Lee Lewis

Major Works

• Great Balls of Fire
• Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On
• Mean Woman Blues
• House of Blue Lights 
• What’d I Say
• Little Queenie
• Jailhouse Rock
• Chantilly Lace
• Sweet Little Sixteen
• Lucille   

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Jerry Lee Lewis: A Biography
By Julie Tomlinson and Trey Templeton (SHS)

The legend of Jerry Lee Lewis, now 63 years old, is presented in the story of his life, including his early life, his career, and his marriages.  Throughout his music and his personality, his widespread talent is unbeatable.  Lewis defined a new kind of music, combining country and blues.  This new type of music is virtually his own. Lewis currently resides near Nesbit, Mississippi on his ranch.

Lewis’s talent began to appear in  his childhood.  He was born on September 29, 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana.  At the age of five, his talent on the piano was noticeable to his parents, Elmo and Mamie Lewis.  They realized that he was born with a natural talent and mortgaged their home to buy Jerry a piano of his own.  Lewis states “ My mother and dad... got me a piano and I loved it and worked at it real hard, and they backed me all the way, all their lives...They were great people.”  At the age of 15, Lewis began to perform with a traveling revival.  As a young adult Jerry’s two favorite singers were Jimmy Rodgers and Al Jolson; he often learned to play their songs on the piano.

Jerry Lee’s hard work and diligence paid off with his many accomplishments throughout his career.  At the age of 22, Jerry and his father gathered thirty dozen eggs in order to pay for a trip to Memphis where he would meet with Sam Phillips of Sun Records.  The trip was a success, and Mr. Phillips signed him to Sun Records.  Lewis’s career in Rock ‘N Roll  music had begun.

In 1986, he was the first artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  The movie Great Balls of Fire, a profile of his life, was made in the same year.  In 1993 he wrote and published his autobiography, Killer.  In early April of 1996 he was named a Professor of Rock ‘N Roll by the University of Memphis.  April 28th was named Jerry Lee Lewis Day in Memphis by Don Sundquist, the governor of Tennessee.  Recently, Lewis has celebrated his 40th Anniversary Worldwide Tour and has a new album called Youngblood.

During his life, Lewis’s many romances influenced his career.  Soon after the age of fifteen, Lewis fell in love with Dorothy Barion, a  preacher’s daughter.  They got married, but divorced a few months later.  He then decided to marry his thirteen-year-old cousin Myra Gale Brown. They had two children: a girl Phoebe and a boy Steve Allen.  The son Steve drowned in a pool accident at the age of three, which drove his wife to divorce him.  Lewis married  Jaren Gunn in 1971,  but she was found dead in a swimming pool and investigators determined that she drowned.   Lewis then married Shawn Stephens, but she was found dead in their home due to an overdose. Lewis was given the nickname "Killer," which almost ended his career in music (Cavendish  124 ).   Despite all the upsets in his personal life, Lewis kept performing and launched his biggest hit ever " Great Balls of Fire."   For a while he  found himself blacklisted on radio and television.  Thus, he experienced a period of many one-night-stands.  Throughout  this time Lewis never lost his faith in God.  Lewis says “When they look back on me, I want ‘em to remember me not for all my wives, although I’ve had a few, and certainly not for any mansions or high livin’ money I made and spent.  I want ‘em to remember me simply for my music...”

Lewis’s life has consisted of many glorious accomplishments, but in order to overcome his hardships he has had to keep his focus on God.  By doing this, he has attained his  goals and captured all his dreams.  Jerry Lee Lewis has influenced the works of Rock ‘N Roll and will always be considered an important founder of this type of music. Lewis still performs today. After  some problems with  the Internal Revenue Service, Lewis returned from a short stay in Ireland in the 1990's.  In 1993 he published his autobiography called Killer.  He now resides on his Mississippi Ranch just minutes away from the site of his former fame at Sun Studio. His 1997 tour covered parts of Europe and Moscow. He has recorded over 1200 songs and has many performances scheduled for 1998.

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Timeline

1935 - Born on September 29
1950 - At age 15, he began traveling and performing, married Dorothy Barion
1957 - Signed a deal with Sun Records
1986 - First artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; the movie Great Balls of Fire was made about his life
1993 - Wrote and published his autobiography, Killer
1996 - Lewis was named a Professor of Rock and Roll by the University of Memphis
1997 - Lewis celebrated his Fortieth Anniversary Worldwide Tour 

Related Websites

Sun Studio site gives detailed information about Jerry Lee Lewis.
An excellent listing and information about all the albums and songs Lewis has recorded for various studios.

Excellent “Jerry Lee Lewis”  Summary:  Discusses childhood, marriages, career accomplishments, and awards.

“Jerry Lee Lewis Biography” by Patrick Wall   Discusses Lewis’s  style of music and influences throughout his career, May 8, 1997

Lewis's ranch in Nesbit, Mississippi web site.

Site gives lots of other related web sites about Jerry Lewis.

Sound has sound and video clips of Jerry Lee Lewis.

Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame site for Jerry Lee Lewis.

Rock Out Censorship site lists info for Lewis.  

Bibliography

Toshes, Nick. “Hellfire:  the Jerry Lee Lewis Story”. Life Magazine. New York: 1982,  11.

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