Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935 – October 28, 2022) was a singer, composer, and pianist from the United States. He was dubbed “the Killer” and was regarded as “rock & roll’s first great wild man and one of the twentieth century’s most important pianists.”
Quick Facts
| Real Name | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| Celebrated Name | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| Male/Female | Male |
| Profession(s) | American singer-songwriter, musician, and pianist |
| Nationality | American |
| Birth Location | Ferriday, Louisiana, United States |
| Date of Birth | 29-Sep-35 |
| Age | 86 years old |
| Height | 1.68 m |
| Heights in Feet | 5 feet and 6 inches |
| Weight(s) | 70 kg |
Jerry Lee Lewis Biography
Jerry Lee Lewis was born in Ferriday, Louisiana to Elmo Kidd Lewis Sr. and Mary “Mamie” Herron Lewis. He grew up in Eastern Louisiana in a poor farming household. He began playing the piano as a child with two cousins, Mickey Gilley (later a prominent country music singer) and Jimmy Swaggart (later a popular televangelist). To buy him a piano, his parents mortgaged their farm. Carl McVoy, an older relative who subsequently recorded with Bill Black’s Combo, the radio, and the sounds from Haney’s Big House, a black juke bar across the tracks all affected Lewis. Lewis had his first public appearance with a country and western band on November 19, 1949, at a car dealership in Ferriday. The highlight of his set was a cover of Sticks McGhee’s “Drinkin’ Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee.” Lewis mentions Moon Mullican as an artist who inspired him on the live album By Request, More of the Greatest Live Show on Earth.
His mother enrolled him at the Southwest Bible Institute in Waxahachie, Texas, so he could sing purely evangelical tunes. Lewis’s relationship with the institution ended the same night he dared to play a boogie-woogie rendition of “My God Is Real” at a church meeting. Lewis performed some “worldly” music during a talent contest, according to Pearry Green, then president of the student body.
Jerry Lee Lewis Height, Weight
Jerry Lee Lewis is 5 feet 11 inches tall. He weighs approximately 70 kg. He has lovely warm black eyes and Black locks. There is no information on his chest-waist-hip measurements, dress size, shoe size, biceps, and so on.
Career
- Lewis began recording at Cosimo Matassa’s J&M Studio in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1952. He performed “Don’t Stay Away (Till Love Grows Cold)” by Lefty Frizzell and his own instrumental song “Jerry’s Boogie” (AKA New Orleans Boogie). Lewis began his career with Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, where he recorded many of his most recognized singles. Ray Harris of Sun Records performs “Greenback Dollar,” with Lewis on the piano.
- Lewis came to Memphis, Tennessee, in November 1956, to audition for Sun Records. Despite the fact that label president Sam Phillips was in Florida, producer and engineer Jack Clement recorded Lewis’s interpretation of Ray Price’s “Crazy Arms” and his own tune “End of the Road.” Lewis began recording as a solo artist and as a session pianist for other Sun singers, including Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash, in December 1956. Many tunes recorded at Sun in late 1956 and early 1957 feature his unusual piano playing, including Carl Perkins’ “Matchbox,” “Your True Love,” and “Put Your Cat Clothes On” and Billy Lee Riley’s “Flyin’ Saucers Rock’n’Roll.”
- Elvis Presley paid Phillips a casual call on December 4, 1956, when Perkins was in the studio writing new tracks with Lewis on piano. Johnny Cash was also present to observe Perkins. Phillips then left the recording running while the four began an impromptu jam session. Million Dollar Quartet was a compilation of these recordings, about half of which were gospel tunes. Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Paralyzed” are also included, as are Chuck Berry’s “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” and Pat Boone’s “Don’t Forbid Me.”
- Lewis’s own singles (on which he was billed as “Jerry Lee Lewis And His Pumping Piano”) propelled his solo career in 1957, with hits such as “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On,” a Big Maybelle cover, and “Great Balls of Fire,” his biggest hit, bringing him international fame as well as criticism of the songs, prompting some radio stations to boycott them. “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” was chosen for permanent preservation in the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry in 2005. Lewis, a devoted Christian, was worried by the wicked character of his own content, which he feared was driving him and his audience to Hell, according to multiple first-hand sources, including Johnny Cash. This part of Lewis’ character was portrayed by Waylon Payne in the 2005 film Walk the Line, which was based on Cash’s autobiographies.
- Lewis hammered the keys with his heel, knocked the piano bench aside, and played standing, raking his hands up and down the keys, sat on the keyboard, and stood on the piano as part of his performance act. He told the Pop Chronicles that kicking over the bench was an accident at first, but when it drew a positive reaction, he retained it in the performance. On July 28, 1957, he had his first television appearance, doing some of these techniques on The Steve Allen Show, where he performed “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On.”
- His dramatic stage presence can be observed in films like High School Confidential (in which he sang the title song from the back of a flatbed truck) and Jamboree. He was dubbed “rock and roll’s first great wild man,” as well as “rock and roll’s first great eclectic.” Lewis’s style has also been cited as the inspiration for classical composer Michael Nyman.
Jerry Lee Lewis’s Net Worth in 2023
Jerry Lee Lewis had a net worth of $10 million at the time of his death, according to the website Celebrity Net Worth. Celebworth.net, on the other hand, believes the fortune to be substantially larger, at $15.45 million. Lewis grew up in a poor family. His father was a farmer who mortgaged his land to buy his kid a piano after discovering his son’s interest in music. Following his first public appearance in 1949, the singer began playing in local pubs and restaurants.
Jerry Lee Lewis’s Wife, Marriage
Lewis married seven times, including two bigamous marriages and one with his minor cousin. During his marriage, he had six children.
Jerry Lee Lewis married Dorothy Barton, the daughter of a preacher when he was 16 years old. From February 1952 to October 1953, they were married for 20 months.
Lewis’s second marriage, to Jane Mitchum, in September 1953, was questionable because it occurred 23 days before his divorce from Barton was finalized.
He filed for divorce four years later, in October 1957. Jerry Lee Lewis Jr. (1954-1973) and Ronnie Guy Lewis (1954-1973) were their two children (b. 1956). Jerry Lee Lewis Jr. died at the age of 19 in 1973 when his Jeep was flipped.
