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Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis ("The Killer") was one of the founders of Rock & Roll, with a flamboyant stage presence and a raw, hard-driving piano style that combined boogie-woogie and rhythm and blues with country and gospel music.

Jerry Lee Lewis was born in 1935 in Farriday, Louisiana and learned to play on an upright piano as a child. After working in clubs for a while, he became a session musician for Sun Records. In 1956 Elvis Presley visited the recording studio where he was working with Carl Perkins, and started an impromptu jam session, later joined by Johnny Cash. The tapes were later released on the album "Million Dollar Quartet".

In 1957 he appeared before a national audience on the Steve Allen show, launching his career with a frenetic performance of "Whole Lot of Shakin". The recording of "Whole Lot of Shakin" was released with huge success, soon followed by "Great Balls of Fire". Both of these topped all the charts. The next year "High School Confidential" was another big hit.

In 1958 Jerry Lee Lewis' career was set back by a scandal over his marriage to a 13-year old distant cousin. He stopped recording and was forced to return to playing in small bars and clubs. However, he climbed back, and in 1961 released a hit version of "What'd I Say", a Ray Charles number. He continued to play and record during the 1960s and 1970s, but was increasingly handicapped by problems with alcohol and pep pills.

In 1989 the motion picture "Great Balls of Fire", based on his early life, brought him back into the public eye. Jerry Lee Lewis continues to tour, and can still deliver amazing performances in his old style.

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