Birthdays: Remembering Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935 – October 28, 2022)

I think I said before but it was my fellow colleague Education Officer at MOMA, Ian Cole of The Jet Rink Band who shared so much music with me that included Jerry Lee’s country music side much to my amazement edumakayshun and distinct pleasure. Loved his country sound to as well as the Rock n Roll standards of course

Don’s Tunes says:

He set the standard for early and authentic rock ‘n’ roll rebellion, in both sound and style. He acknowledged as much, and while he was unapologetic about his fumbles and transgressions, unlike most people, he took full responsibility and regaled in his rowdy reputation. Attitude and aptitude forever intercepted, creating a combination of music and mayhem that was fully fueled from beginning to end.

While Elvis and Little Richard may have shocked the senses, no one was more riveting or rebellious than Jerry Lee. Indeed, his frenetic piano playing style — a left hand frantically pounding away at the rhythm while his right swooped across the keys, often after kicking away his piano bench, and, standing fully upright, propping his leg on keyboard for added effect — left an indelible impression on a generation of keyboard players that followed, from Elton John and Billy Joel to Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman and other members of rock’s fabled elite.

Surprisingly, despite his brash, devil-may-care delivery, Lewis — born Sept. 29, 1935, in Ferriday, Louisiana and dubbed “The Killer” early on — was raised in religious surroundings, a combination of pentecostal passion and fervent belief. His cousin, televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, fully embraced that heritage with his own fiery fervor, but his other cousin, country singer Mickey Gilley, embraced more terrestrial trappings. Somehow, Lewis navigated his way between those two worlds, finding him making secretive sojourns to late night haunts frequented by Black blues singers and eventually to the budding realms of Sun Records, where he found an encouraging atmosphere and a similarly inspired coterie of fellow artists that included Presley, Perkins and Johnny Cash, all of whom dared defy the norm through sheer drive and defiance. Indeed, their fleeting union, dubbed The Million Dollar Quartet, still dazzles the imagination while establishing the supergroup subtext in the process.

Of course, Jerry Lee was wholly self-sustaining, and his three early hits, “Whole Lot Of Shakin’ Going On,” “Great Balls of Fire” and “Breathless,” not only inscribed his incendiary style but also established a template for rock and roll in general and the piano in particular.

Lee Zimmerman / Rock n Roll Globe

Nobody cuts ’The Killer'

Photo: Harry Hammond

Country Classic recorded early at Sun Records and a standard of course here in 1979