The flipSide 10/31/2022

Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935 – October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed The Killer, he was described as "Rock and roll's first great wild man and one of the most influential pianists of the 20th century."[8] A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made his first recordings in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee. "Crazy Arms" sold 300,000 copies in the South, and his 1957 hit "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" shot Lewis to fame worldwide. He followed this with the major hits "Great Balls of Fire", "Breathless", and "High School Confidential". His rock and roll career faltered in the wake of his marriage to Myra Gale Brown, his 13-year-old cousin once removed.

Lewis had a dozen gold records in rock and country. He won four Grammy awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and two Grammy Hall of Fame Awards.[10] Lewis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and his pioneering contribution to the genre was recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He was also a member of the inaugural class inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.[11] He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2022.[12] 

​In 1989, his life was chronicled in the movie Great Balls of Fire, starring Dennis Quaid. In 2003, Rolling Stone listed his box set All Killer, No Filler: The Anthology at number 242 on their list of "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[13] In 2004, they ranked him No. 24 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[14] Lewis was the last surviving member of Sun Records' Million Dollar Quartet and the album Class of '55, which also included Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Elvis Presley.

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