Jerry Lee Lewis - 1935-2022

  by Lisa Torem

published: 26 / 11 / 2022

Jerry Lee Lewis was raised in Ferriday, Louisiana. He survived many familial losses but strived to take care of his loved ones. He came to be known as ‘The Killer’ because of his passionate approach to performance. His mass of unruly hair, unpredictable onstage antics and original style of piano playing and vocals made him unique. He was, unquestionably, rock ‘n’ roll personified; a frontiersman who went on to scale rock ‘n’ roll’s highest peaks. This early Sun Records artist passed away on October 28, 2022, leaving an unfillable gap in the music industry but will be fondly remembered through his discography, biography and video footage. Although I didn’t grow up in his era, I became an immediate fan upon hearing rockabilly recordings: ‘Great Balls of Fire’ and ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin On’, but it was after I attended a screening of the blockbuster film, ‘Great Balls of Fire,’ that I plunged headfirst into his discography. His rockabilly reverie made my heart race. ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ was rife with nonsensical phrases; all the more to embrace because these songs lightened the load; swept me away from my everyday problems, and those sing-along phrases increased my love for colloquial lingo. I saw Jerry Lee Lewis perform in New York at the now defunct B.B.King Club with his younger sister, vocalist/pianist Linda Gail Lewis and her daughter Annie Marie Lewis as openers. Linda Gail and Jerry Lee had shared a long history of singing duets when she began her career, which continues to this day. It was a professional move that brought out the best of both entertainers, and perhaps, laid the groundwork for how a duet in popular music should be arranged and produced. I also saw Jerry Lee Lewis at a festival in Chicago. At this point in his career, he was not as spry, nor as mobile as the inexhaustible wild man depicted in the film or seen in videos, but that zeal for music and full-blown energy was in full-force. Back in the day, he sent fans into a frenzy as he banged out triads on the piano keys with lightning speed, sang until his sonorous voice grew hoarse with excitement, and even used the piano bench as a physical springboard. Whether stomping on the keys for effect or creating a rippling effect with glissandos, Jerry Lee Lewis set the benchmark high. With ‘Great Balls of Fire,’ Jerry Lee Lewis shared his comic talent--once he switched to country, he’d sometimes elect to sing in a more toned-down fashion, but in his rockabilly period, Jerry Lee Lewis yodeled and growled within the space of a single measure. That was what I liked best; those bursts of unbridled brilliance that one could never anticipate. Back in the day there was no internet and no ‘net.’ Jerry Lee Lewis did not rely on an auto--tuner. He couldn’t fall back on pedals with special effects. It was this ‘diy’ (do-it-yourself) ethos that made me (and perhaps other musicians) feel that we could have some skin in the game if we applied the same degree of passion. Like Jerry Lee Lewis, I loved the piano and began composing and playing at an early age. In Jerry Lee Lewis’s case, his family made financial sacrifices when purchasing his first piano; they clearly believed in him. In my case, the shiny black, Baldwin was like an older sibling who occupied communal space way before I came along. That 88-key monstrosity helped pay the mortgage, as my father was a professional piano player who was expected to read charts on the road and to play any number of requests on a given night. Our upright was as commonplace to me as the sofa or dining room table; an essential piece of fun furniture, albeit one which, unlike the sofa or dining room table, always registered something magical. Jerry Lee Lewis was a discerning musician. Although he may have been best known for his Grammy award-winning rockabilly renderings, he stretched the genre envelope innumerable times. Mick Jagger and Jimmy Page, among others, rallied to sing a duet with The Killer on ‘Last Man Standing Live.’ Lewis had come full circle, and it was exciting to hear this progenitor of rock ‘n’ roll wailing his heart out with classic rock cohorts, but his duet with country giant Merle Haggard on ‘Last Man Standing’ select ‘Just Bummin’ Around’ had an old-timey charm that’s nearly impossible to find these days. On piano, Lewis pulled out all the stops. 2010’s ‘Mean Old Man’ had all the elements a fan could ask for on an album, or at least this fan. Written by Kris Kristofferson, this standout title track felt custom made to suit Lewis’s confident swagger, diction and cavalier attitude. With Ronnie Wood mean manning the guitar, it was superb. When sharing the mic on ‘Dead Flowers,’ Mick Jagger and Lewis, despite their respective front man status as rock statesmen, displayed no grandstanding. That album also featured stellar collaborations with not only rock guitarists Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page but country icon Merle Haggard. Lewis also collaborated with Sheryl Crow on ‘You Are My Sunshine’ without losing the sincerity of this simple American standard. Session musicians often marveled at Lewis in the studio because they would be expected to work with and around Lewis without the benefit of a written arrangement. His energy could only be captured in real time, with no smoke or mirrors to hide behind. And listening to such arrangements always gave me a similar thrill. And on every recording in which The Killer sang, where his rugged voice seamlessly hit the highs as well as the lows, his voice always swelled with sincerity. He could seemingly only be his authentic self, and he chose his material accordingly. I learned from his 2015 autobiography, Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story by Rick Bragg, that as a youth, Lewis was first to take a dare. If that meant dangling by his fingernails from the edge of the train platform, he’d be first in line. If that meant hiding under a tablecloth at a nightclub to catch a glimpse of a talented black act, he’d hover anxiously until he got chased away and crawl back under the table night after night. I’ve never been that fearless, or that determined to put my art above all else despite the consequences. but I admired Jerry Lee Lewis’s ferocity. He was utterly determined to be a success on his own terms and by setting his own performance standards extraordinarily high, he inspired legions of musicians thereafter.

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