With hits such as “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” Lewis was all about lust and gratification. He was a one-man stampede who made the fans scream and the keyboards swear.
The untamable and often outrageous rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis has died at 87. Spokesperson Zach Farnum said Lewis died Friday morning at his Mississippi home near Memphis. Of all the greats to emerge in the 1950s after Elvis Presley, no one personified every parent’s fear of the dangers of rock ’n roll more than Lewis, with his leering tenor and cocky sneer. His talent, energy and ego collided into piano-pumping perfection on hits like “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.” Lewis' infamous private life included a marriage to his 13-year-old cousin who later alleged physical and mental cruelty.
The last survivor of a generation of groundbreaking performers that included Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Little Richard, Lewis died at home in Memphis,.
Jerry Lee Lewis, the untamable rock ‘n’ roll pioneer whose outrageous talent, energy and ego collided on such definitive records as “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and sustained a career otherwise upended by personal scandal, died Friday morning at 87.