Jerry Lee Lewis - The Killer - RIP

Whatever you may feel about him as a person, no one can deny the importance of Jerry Lee Lewis in the history of rock and roll. He has died at the age of 87, after several days of rumour, bringing to an end the life of a hell raiser who had more than his share of controversy over his long career. His death came just a few days after he was inducted, at long last, into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Jerry Lee's life will no doubt be explored in detail in obituaries over the next few days and it really was an amazing one. He recorded some wonderful music, ranging from rock and roll to country, was one of the most exciting performers I ever saw, and maintained an enormous fan base until the very end. Yet his personal life often overshadowed his immense talent. His marriage to a 13 year old cousin cut short his 1958 UK tour as the press turned on him. He was a bigamist, two wives died in tragic circumstances, as did two of his children. He had problems with drink and drugs and apparently had a huge resentment of fellow Memphis resident Elvis Presley back in the day. He was the last surviving original rock and roll great, outliving Little Richard, Fats Domino and Chuck Berry. That in itself was quite surprising, given his extraordinary life.

Jerry Lee's story is well known. The country boy from Ferriday, Louisiana, became a piano maestro playing with cousins Mickey Gilley and Jimmy Swaggart. He was influenced by music he heard in a local black juke joint, shocked the local church with his piano style and was signed in 1956 to Sun Records in Memphis where he recorded some of the all time classic rock and roll records, including 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On', 'Great Balls of Fire'. 'Down The Line' and 'High School Confidential'. After the outcry over his under age third wife his career nose dived, although he continued to record some excellent records, including 'What'd I Say', 'Sweet Little Sixteen' and 'I've Been Twisting'. After a move to the Smash label he had a minor hit with 'I'm On Fire' and played in Hamburg with the Nashville Teens. As time went on he moved into the country field and had success with 'Another Time Another Place', 'What's Made Milwaukee Famous', 'She Still Comes Around;' and 'Once More With Feeling', to name but a few. Despite the fact that his portfiolio of country recordings was immense he remained something of an outsider, as his belated admission to the Hall of Fame shows. But he was always a supreme performer. I didn't see him on his cut short 1958 tour but I did see him in 1963 when he played the Fairfield Hall in Croydon alongside Gene Vincent and Heinz (who was roundly booed). I saw him many times after that and he usually put on a great show, although on occasions he seemed disinterested and would stick to his allotted 45 minutes to the minute. I remember in 1992 I saw him at Wembley on the Giants of Rock and Roll Show and I wrote: 'Finally Jerry Lee Lewis, looking pale and much fatter than in the past. He played a solid if unemotional set until near the end when Little Richard and Lloyd Price came on stage and he stood up, smiled, danced around a bit and played a duet with Richard. It was the first time these three legends had ever been on stage together, according to compere Mike Reid.' Photo above shows Jerry Lee and Little Richard together on stage.

In 2015 he played London for the last time celebrating his 80th birthday with a show at the London Palladium. (top photo). On that occasion I wrote: 'Jerry Lee Lewis played what he says will be his final show in London last night at the Sunday Palladium and he bowed out in style. The Killer played for a full hour at the London Palladium, seemed to enjoy himself (mostly) and, even though his voice is not what it was, his piano playing certainly is and he still retains a kind of stage magic. It's 57 years since his disastrous first UK tour which was cut short when the press learned of his marriage to his 13 year old cousin ('the good old days', he said, tongue in cheek.). Despite that, his career recovered and I remember some amazing shows in the early sixties when he tore concert halls apart. He doesn't climb on his piano any more or create havoc but he is still magnetic. The entire audience stood as he began his set with Drinking Wine Spodie Odie and followed up with Down The Line, but then he slowed things down with She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye. Next came another slowie in the form of Before The Night Is Over. No Jerry Lee show is complete without a complaint about the piano and he claimed it was out of tune, and his curmudgeonly side was further exposed when he complained that his long time guitarist Kenny Lovelace was playing the wrong chord: whether in jest or for real it was hard to tell. The Killer moved on to Don't Put No Headstone On My Grave - beginning slowly but quickly turning it into a rocker. Rather than a headstone, he would appreciate a 'gold monument', he said. More oldies followed with See See Rider, Sweet Little Sixteen and Why You Been Gone So Long. 'I don't drink no more', he revealed, but 'I don't drink no less either'. Whole Lotta Shakin' followed, with Jerry Lee's voice beginning to go off the note even more, and his version of Over The Rainbow was frankly dire. He recovered with Mexacali Rose before finishing his set with Great Balls Of Fire - an exciting performance which got the audience on to its feet again. As his set ended a huge 80th birthday cake appeared which was presented to him, with Ringo Starr and Robert Plant on stage. This was hardly vintage Jerry Lee, but it was a great show and we can only hope that his farewell tours become regular events. But, as compere Mike Read rightly said, this could be the last great rock and roll show that London will see.'

I did see Jerry Lee once more after that - at Viva Las Vegas in 2018 - and he was still magnetic on stage (see photo below). On my first visit to the South in 1989 I made a pilgrimage to Ferriday to pay homage to the great man, and in late 2018 I and some friends visited his ranch in Nesbit, south of Memphis, where we were shown round by his son Jerry Lee the Third. There were quite a few signs of his dad's eccentricities, eg. 'There's the glass fronted cabinet with a bullet hole - shot because Jerry Lee didn't like it. And a bedroom door with knife marks in it caused by him sitting on the bed and throwing his many knives at it.' Despite his faults Jerry Lee was undoubtedly one of the greats and will be missed by his many fans. RIP Jerry Lee.