Jerry musician biography

Latest news biography Jerry Lee Lewis is an American pianist and singer, nicknamed the killer who became a pioneer of rock and roll and music in the style of Rocabilly. The artist earned the reputation of a real bully. Being a virtuoso musician, on stage he was forced to hide behind a bulky instrument. But this was not in the spirit of Lewis, and the performer learned to surprise and even shock the audience.

The image he had come up with a hallmark, and later forever entered the history of the genre. Childhood and youth Jerry Lee Lewis was born on September 29 in the town of Ferriday, located in Eastern Louisiana. His parents Elmo and Mami Lewis were poor farmers, but sought to give the only son everything that was pocket to them, and even a little more. When, under the influence of the cousins ​​of Mickey Gilly and Jimmy Svaggart, Jerry Lee became interested in playing the piano, his mother and father were laid a farm to buy an expensive tool.

Insisting for the son to perform exclusively gospel songs, his mother wrote him down at the Southwestern Biblical Institute in Wakehachi, Texas. Soon, Lewis, already in his youth, was distinguished by a daring character, played Bugi-Wuhi at the church assembly and was expelled from the educational institution. The young man returned home and began to perform in local clubs.

In the year, Jerry Lee made the first demolration and went to Nashville in search of a contract with a recording company. At first, the producers did not perceive the work of Lewis as something deserved. Only in November, Sam Phillips, the owner of the Sun Records studio, examined the talent in the musician and signed a contract for the release of solo albums, provided that Jerry Lee would take part in the recording of other performers.

As a session pianist Lewis accompanied the performances of Karl Perkins, Johnny Kash and Billy Lee Riley and became the first person who played on the keys of the song in the style of Rocabilly. On stage, Lewis behaved like a crazy one: he knocked on the piano keys, threw aside a bench and played without it, waving his hands for a dramatic effect, sat and even stood on the instrument.

In May, during a tour of England and Scotland, a scandal broke out with his personal life broke out around the musician. Jerry Lee's compositions were blacklisted on the radio, concerts were canceled. Sam Phillips betrayed his own client, releasing a fictitious interview with his participation, and only the American DJ Alan Fried, the inventor of the term “rock and roll”, remained faithful to the musician and put his records on the air.

In this difficult time, Lewis performed in bars and cafes. The desire to be in full view of the public prompted him to record the instrumental boouration of the composition of the Orchestra of Glenn Miller In The Mood under the pseudonym The Hawk. The deception quickly opened because the radio hosts and listeners recognized the unique performing manner of Jerry Lee. This did not happen because America got acquainted with The Beatles work, and the interest in rock and roll began to fade away.

Glory returned to the performer after the release of the Live plate in Star Club in the year, which has become one of the greatest living rock and roll entries, ever published. Embed from getty images Jerry Lee Lewis on the left and Elvis Presley finally strengthened Lewis’s position after the execution of Country Pesnya Jerry Chesnat Another Place, Another Time, published on March 9 of the year and immediately soared on the upper lines of the charts of the country.

Then a number of hits recorded in the same style followed, 17 of them were included in the top compositions in the Billboard charts. Listeners and critics were fascinated by the mental vocal of the pioneer of Rock and Roll, who had emotional resonance along with the famous performers George Jones and Merlus Haggard. After such a turn, Lewis became the highest paid singer of America.

The demand for its records grew so much that the new Sun Records owner reprinted the previously recorded albums of the musician and sold them to unprecedented prints. On the live, the musician violated all the rules and traditions of the program: instead of 8 minutes, allotted to music between advertisements, he played for almost an hour without a break, talked about music and life, and then invited one of the employees to sing with him.

Up to a year, Jerry Lee continued to record country -style albums. In the year, Lewis became one of the first 10 members of the Hall of Glory of Rock and Roll, opened in Cleveland, Ohio. The record was supposed to become an analogue of the “quartet for a million dollars”, but, according to critics, she did not have enough the atmosphere that reigned in the year. After 3 years, there was another take -off in the creative biography of the musician, when he rewritten old songs for the film “Big Fiery Balls”, shot according to the memoirs of Lewis's ex -wife.

The Russian public saw the idol in m. And although he was already 7th ten, at a concert in Moscow, the performer still threw his leg on Electroal. In the year, he joined the star tour Chuck Berry and Little Richard. Having received positive reviews, the plate hit the 4th hit parade Billboard, including a 2-week stay under the number of one in indie charts.The disk became gold in the United States of America, where more than half a million copies were sold.

Jerry Lee Lewis's personal life was married 7 times and had six children. The first marriage with Dorothy Barton lasted for 20 months, from February to October. With his second wife, Jane Mitchum, the musician lived for 4 years. During this time, the couple had two children. Jerry Lee’s stormy personal life was hidden from the public to May, when, during a tour in the UK, a reporter Ray Berry learned about the marriage of a musician for a cousin named Mirera Gail Brown, who was 13 years old.

Blinding caused a storm of indignation, and the tour stopped after 3 concerts. The couple got married in December, and soon they had a son Steve, who lived only 3 years, and then Fibi's daughter. In M, the couple divorced that Mira was tired of endless insults and cruelty from her husband. The relationship did not work out, and the wife went to live with another man. A few weeks before the divorce, she drowned in the pool.

There were rumors that this death was not accidental, but Lewis denied involvement in the tragedy. The life together with Sean Stevens lasted 77 days, and then the wife died from an overdose of drugs. The public again suspected Jerry Lee of what had happened, but, not finding any evidence, soon calmed down. The longest marriage with Kerry McCaver, who became a satellite of the singer’s life for 21 years, was the longest.

Jerry and the sixth wife first lived in the USA, and when problems with taxes began, he left for Dublin. In m, the couple returned to her homeland, after the Irish promoter Kiran Cavana laid out financial issues. In the year, the couple divorced, and Jerry became a bachelor for a while. The last time the musician married at the age of 76 in summer Judith Brown, the former wife of a cousin to grow brown.

The ceremony took place on March 9, in the town of Nateze, Mississippi, and for some time was a secret not only for journalists, but also for close friends and relatives. Lewis lived in the Ranch in Nebit, Mississippi, with his family. He controlled his own club opened in the year on Bil Street in Memphis. The interior of the establishment was attended by the spirit of rock and roll: on the walls, rare photos of the musician and his stellar colleagues were hung on the walls, there was a piano where Jerry Lee from time to time played compositions of different times.

The death of the health problem with the musician began in the year when he suffered a stroke. However, a break in work helped him completely restore his strength. According to media reports, the musician died at home in Mississippi, next to him was Judith's last wife. Once the musician was amused with a pistol, shot a bottle, but accidentally hit the breast of a bassist colleague.

Another story happened when the singer came to visit his friend Elvis Presley on the Graisland estate. Instead of introducing himself to the security, he showed a weapon and stated that the killer had come to the artist, for which he was immediately detained. In the biography of Jerry Lee, written by Rick Bragg, a fragment of the concert is described when, speaking at the warm -up of Chuck Berry, the musician set fire to the piano, after watering with gasoline.

Neither the photo nor the video of this moment has been preserved, so the case went down in history as a legend. The first instrument that his parents gave the musician, he saved for life. The manner of the game Lewis brought the piano to a depressing state, it was broken and looked worn out. But Jerry Lee refused to put him in order, emphasizing that the type of tool is a reminder in what condition he himself is.