Rock singer and icon Jerry Lee Lewis, known for his legendary song “Great Balls of Fire,” died at his home in DeSoto County, Mississippi, this morning. The singer was 87 years old. Jerry Lee Lewis’ representative Zach Farnum told CNN that Lewis died of natural causes with his seventh wife, Judith, by his side. According to Farnum’s statement, Lewis told his wife in his last days “that he welcomed the hereafter, and that he was not afraid.” Lewis’s death occurs in a year with many tragic losses, including the losses of other music legends such as rapper Coolio and country music star Naomi Judd.
Jerry Lee Lewis: A Rock Icon of the Golden Age
Lewis was born on September 29, 1935, in Louisiana. Influenced by his older cousin, he began playing the piano that his parents mortgaged their home to buy for him. When he was enrolled at Southwest Bible Institute in Waxahachie, TX, he played a boogie-woogie rendition of a gospel song, which resulted in his expulsion. From there, he started playing in clubs, becoming part of the era’s emerging rock’n’roll sound. According to BBC, his rise to fame occurred alongside other stars such as Elvis, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Carl Perkins, Fats Domino, and Buddy Holly. Lewis is described by his agent as “perhaps the last true, great icon of the birth of rock’n’roll.”
Lewis grew prominent when he worked as a session player for Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins. He also recorded with Elvis Presley, and a December 1956 recording between the four musicians known as the Million Dollar Quartet became a seminal moment in rock history. Lewis had many top-five hits the next year, including his most famous song, “Great Balls of Fire.” Lewis can be seen performing the song below:
Jerry Lee Lewis: A Singer Ruined by Controversy
Despite his fame and legendary status, controversy would ultimately ruin his career. His wildness and suggestive lyrics got his music banned from many stations. However, his popularity took a major hit when it was revealed that he had married his first cousin, Myra Gale Brown. While Brown claimed to have been 20 years old on the license, the public soon learned that she was 13 and Lewis was 22.
Lewis continued to have many issues. He was arrested after drunkenly crashing into Graceland mansion’s gates with a loaded gun, demanding to see Presley. Like many rock stars, Lewis was plagued by alcoholism, drug addiction, large debts to the IRS, and a bankruptcy filing in 1988.
Despite his troubles, singer Jerry Lee Lewis remained a successful rock icon, reinventing himself many times and singing his songs for the movie Great Balls of Fire!, a 1989 biopic about his life. His last album was a gospel album with his cousin, televangelist Jimmy Swaggert, who used to preach against his cousin’s music and had his reputation tainted by scandal.
