Steve Wicketts' Jerry Lee Lewis - Biography

Why did I decide to do a Jerry Lee Lewis tribute?

The energy the Jerry Lee Lewis creates with his voice is right up there with the likes of Little Richard and Elvis Presley. If you listen closely to Jerry Lee Lewis’s voice you will hear traces of Elvis, Hank Williams and Gospel Music. Now add to this an explosive piano playing style which is unmistakably Jerry Lee Lewis and you have Rock ‘N’ Roll at its very Best!

The Beatles credit Jerry Lee Lewis as being one of their biggest influences.

John Lennon went to see Jerry Lee Lewis play at the Roxy in Los Angeles. After the Show, John Lennon went back Stage and dropped to his knees and kissed Jerry Lee Lewis’s feet saying, “I just wanted to thank you for making it possible for me to be a Rock ‘N‘ Roll Star.”

Elvis Presley allegedly said, “if I could play piano like that, I’d quit singing.”

Roy Orbison once said of Jerry Lee Lewis, “the best raw performer in the history of rock music.”

Tom Jones Said, “ As far as contempory music from the fifties on, JERRY LEE LEWIS has been MY BIGGEST INFLUENCE. I've bought more records of Jerry Lee Lewis than any other entertainer.”

Jerry Lee Lewis, “I can lay down some stuff that’s unbelievable! Even to myself!”

Jerry Lee Lewis, "There's very few great talents left... I'm not saying I'm one of 'em, I'm saying I'm the only one."

Jerry Lee Lewis, “I guess that old piano is my best friend and the stage is my home. So if I don't stay on top I got nowhere to go.”

When the Smithsonian did their celebration of the 300^th birthday of the piano, Jerry Lee Lewis was among a handful of pianists included in the show.

In 2005 the Grammies gave Jerry Lee Lewis their highest honour, the Life Time Achievement Award.

On November 10^th 2007 Jerry Lee Lewis was honored and given the American Music Masters award from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. Jerry Lee Lewis was the first living recipient of the honor.

Jerry Lee Lewis’s Music and life is more like an Over the Top American Soap Opera. It really is the Good, the Bad, the Heart Braking Sad  and the totally Unbelievable.

Jerry Lee Lewis believes he has a Ferocious God given talent yet he also believes he uses This talent to play the Devil’s music.  This battle between what is right and what is wrong plays a huge part in Jerry Lee Lewis’s life. The facts in this biography are really more unbelievable than most fiction.

He was born in a very small town in Louisiana called Ferriday.  When Jerry Lee Lewis was only eight  years old his parents re-mortgage their house so they could buy young Jerry Lee Lewis his first piano.  They decided to do this when they heard him playing his auntie’s piano.  His sister, Linda Gail Lewis, (who herself is a successful recording artist, both as a country singer and as a musician, playing piano for the likes of Van Morrison), says of her brother, “Jerry Lee Lewis walked over to the piano and just started playing it”.  His parents bought the piano from his Aunt, and within the space of four  years, Jerry Lee Lewis had created his own unique style of playing.

Two hands two styles.

The right-hand. Jerry Lee Lewis’s Mother was a big Country Music fan, she even named some of her children after country music artists.  Her musical taste played a big part in the development of Jerry Lee Lewis’s style of playing, as if you listen closely   to the way he plays rock ‘N’ roll, you can definitely hear a country edge. Yet this country style is only heard in his right hand.

The left hand of Jerry Lee Lewis. Jerry Lee Lewis’s Uncle had a Club called Haney’s Big House. This Club booked blues artists for Black audiences. Jerry Lee Lewis used to sneak in and watch artists such as B.B. King, Ray Charles and other great black gospel, rhythm and blues artists. These gospel and blues musicians played a big part in the development of Jerry Lee Lewis’s style of playing, however, this time it influenced the left-hand more than the right.

If you listen to his left hand you will hear the Blues’ boogie woogie edge. The merging of these two piano styles created a sound that is pure Jerry Lee Lewis.  It’s without doubt the most distinctive rock ‘N’ roll piano style of them all!

When Jerry Lee Lewis was fifteen he believed that he wanted to be a preacher and attended the Southwestern Bible Institute.  However, Jerry Lee Lewis just couldn’t leave the rock and roll music alone and started playing Hymns with his unique style.

Playing the so called devils music in church got Jerry lee Lewis expelled from the Southwestern Bible Institute. So Jerry Lee Lewis decided to concentrate on his rock ‘N’ roll career.

At nineteen Jerry Lee Lewis headed north to Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee. He wanted to talk to Sam Phillips (The guy who discovered Elvis). When Jerry Lee Lewis arrived at Sun Records, he was told by producer and engineer, Jack Clement, that Sam Phillips was on vacation in Florida. Jack Clement could see that Jerry Lee Lewis was a very determined man and decided to record a track so that Sam Philips could hear it at a later date. Sam Phillips, realized he had another potential super star on his hands. Sam Philips without doubt has the best Eyes and Ears for spotting potential super star talent, so many of his artists have achieved World Wide success and sustained World Wide Longevity. Here are just a few of the artists that Sam Phillips signed to his Sun Records label: Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins. He signed Jerry Lee Lewis and they released the song “Crazy arms”, It didn’t chart but it sold around 150,000 copies.

In 1957 Jerry Lee Lewis was recording a song called, “It’ll be me”, it wasn’t going well so the producer Jack Clement said, “Lets try something else for now”. They recorded “Whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on” in one take. Jerry Lee Lewis performed this song on the Steve Allen Show.

The reaction was so powerful that, Jerry Lee Lewis was asked to come back and Perform it again. Jerry Lee Lewis’s second appearance on the Steve Allen Show had such large viewing figures that for the first time ever Steve Allen’s Show got higher audience ratings than the Ed Sullivan Show.

“Whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on” went straight to number one On both the country chart and R&B chart. Almost over night Jerry Lee Lewis was a house hold name.

 “Great balls of fire!” was his next hit, this was an even bigger hit than “Whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on”. Jerry Lee Lewis became the only artist to have consecutive hits go to number one on both the Country Chart and R&B Chart. “Great balls of fire!” knocked Elvis’s “Teddy bear” off the top of the chart. Elvis was in the army at this time, and Jerry Lee Lewis wanted to be crowned the New King of Rock ‘N’ Roll.

Jerry Lee Lewis was booked by Allen Freed (The DJ who is credited with coining the phrase Rock ‘N‘ Roll) to perform concerts with Chuck Berry.  Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry argued over who should close the Show.  Allen Freed decided that Jerry lee Lewis should go on first, so whilst singing “Great balls of fire!”, Jerry Lee Lewis got a Coke bottle that he’d filled with gasoline, and doused his piano with it and then struck a match, and played the rest of the song with the piano in flames!  With the piano now burned to the ground, Jerry Lee Lewis stomped off the stage saying to Chuck Berry, “Follow that, Killer!”  (Jerry Lee Lewis used to call everybody Killer, hence it became his nickname.)

By the  end of 1957, Jerry Lee Lewis had sold more records than anybody in Sun Records’ history.  Jerry Lee Lewis received his first royalty cheque, a whopping $40,000! This was more than RCA Records paid Sam Philips for Elvis’s contract.

Early 1958 He sold out the PARAMOUNT THEATER with ALAN FREED's SHOW. Jerry Lee Lewis was booked for 12 days and completely sold-out all 12 days! More tickets than SINATRA ever sold. Jerry Lee Lewis, who was barely 22 had now sold over 20,000,000 Records.

Click HERE for page two of Steve Wicketts' Jerry Lee Lewis biography