10 September 2010

Jerry Lee Lewis in 1957, and in 2010


Twenty-two years old in the video.  Those interested in his current activities can read about his upcoming tour in this Wall Street Journal article.
A media tour began Tuesday with the release of his new album, "Mean Old Man"—featuring duets with Mick Jagger, Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow and other headliners. On Friday, Mr. Lewis will jam on stage with the cast of "Million Dollar Quartet," the Broadway musical. On the 13th, he will perform at New York's B.B. King Blues Club.  Then on Sept. 29, Mr. Lewis will be in Los Angeles, celebrating his 75th birthday.

From his earliest rock 'n' roll hits in the late 1950s, Mr. Lewis's wild streak and piano-pounding performances quickly came to define rock's unhinged image. John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, Elton John and virtually every major rock act since has borrowed from Mr. Lewis's spring-loaded style. An original Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee in 1986, the high-strung, hell-raising boogie-woogie country shouter also is the father of rebel-rock and country-R&B...

Mr. Lewis has also had a fair share of personal heartache and trouble. His older brother was killed as a child by a truck. Mr. Lewis's son with wife Myra drowned in a swimming-pool accident in 1962. Then, in the '70s, his son with his second wife died in an auto accident at age 19. Mr. Lewis accidentally shot his bassist and ran afoul of the IRS. His fourth wife drowned in their swimming pool and fifth wife died in the early '80s of a methadone overdose. He also was hospitalized in 1981 for three months with a ruptured stomach, and he is now divorced from his sixth wife.

2 comments:

  1. 'This video has been removed for violating You Tube's terms of service'

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