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Jerry Lee Lewis dies at 87

One of the great Rock 'n' roll pioneers.

R I P

Another one who I thought had already died. :oops:

A FB-friend who is a journalist in the music part wrote this Necrology over him

Quote:

NO MORE GREAT BALLS OF FIRE: JERRY LEE LEWIS HAS DIED 87 YEARS OLD

Jerry Lee Lewis, born September 29, 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana, died October 28 in DeSoto County, Mississippi, was nicknamed The Killer and revolutionized rock 'n' roll music from the late '50s with his energetically pumping boogie woogie and gospel-inspired piano playing.

Lewis was a wild man among wild men, playing his instrument with his whole body, if he wasn't up on it to add further punch to an already exhilarated stage show.
But after his 1957 breakthrough with Whole Lotta Shakin Going On, followed by such immortal classics as that year's Great Balls of Fire, Breathless and High School Confidential (both 1958), he chose to marry his 13-year-old cousin. It cost dearly on several fronts, after which record sales and rent fell to a fraction.

From the 1960s onward, Lewis tried his hand at country and gospel, resulting in a long list of songs that reached high on the country and western charts and kept him going as a frequent touring and record-selling artist.
In 2006, however, he made a remarkable comeback in the more rock and contemporary genre with the album Last Man Standing, helped along by an impressive roster of world-renowned musicians and songwriters. Among them are Jimmy Page, B.B. King, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Neil Young, John Fogerty and Ringo Starr.

Four years later came the duet album Mean Old Man, on which Lewis crossed blades with such notables as Ronnie Wood, Kid Rock, Slash, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, Solomon Burke and Willie Nelson produced by super-drummer Jim Keltner and all-round man Steve Bing.
The diligently Bible-reading Lewis, who has been married seven times, suffered a minor brain haemorrhage in early March 2019 which, doctors however believed, he would recover from despite the advanced age of 83. According to Rolling Stone magazine, The Killer was planning to return to the studio soon to record a new gospel album.

That never happened, however, and Jerry Lee Lewis last let rip on the album front in 2014 with Rock & Roll Time, which repeated the successful formula of Last Man Standing and Mean Old Man with help from Keith Richards, former The Band guitarist Robbie Robertson, Neil Young and Nils Lofgren.
In a mix of country and rock'n'roll, Lewis interpreted new and older songs by Kris Kristofferson, Roger McGuinn, Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Reed and Johnny Cash.

With the death of Lewis the piano boxer, the great generation of rock, country and soul music's most important pioneers and stylists is shrinking to almost nothing. A glorious era in American showbiz is nearing its final refrain. Glory to the memory of Jerry Lee Lewis

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Markus

I'm saddened to hear of the loss of Jerry Lee Lewis. Jerry Lee was a rather controversial figure in the early beginnings of Rock and Roll and had his troubles. What was undeniable was Jerry Lee's talents. Combining early rock music with Boogie- Woogie gave rise to what has been termed, Rockabilly and Jerry Lee was it's earliest pioneer.

Jerry Lee grew up impoverished along with cousins Mickey Gilley who became a Piano playing Country music star and Tele-Evangelist, Jimmy Swaggart.

Many have lay-ed claim to having developed modern Rock and Roll music, especially Little Richard. In truth, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presely, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, the big bopper and many others all helped lay the foundation of what would become Rock music. One of my favorites was Fat's Domino who also played Piano.

Quote: On December 4, 1956, Elvis Presley dropped in on Phillips to pay a social visit while Perkins was in the studio cutting new tracks with Lewis backing him on piano. Johnny Cash was also there watching Perkins. The four then started an impromptu jam session and Phillips left the tape running.[21] These recordings, almost half of which were gospel songs, were released on CD as Million Dollar Quartet. Tracks also include Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" and "Paralyzed", Chuck Berry's "Brown Eyed Handsome Man", and Pat Boone's "Don't Forbid Me".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Lee_Lewis

Many artists in England would cite these artists as influences and the ensuing decades would see British and American rock musicians influencing each other as Rock music evolved. The big mo-town sound out of Detroit would play a large role as well.

Rest in peace Jerry and thanks for stopping by and leaving us some great music.