Born on September 29, 1935 Jerry Lee Lewis is a rock and roll plus country music singer and songwriter. He is "The Killer" and rock & roll's first wild man. Lewis made his first songs in 1956 with Sun Records. Crazy Arms retailed over 300,000 copies, but his Whole Lotta Shakin' Going in 1957 elevated Lewis to worldwide fame. He recorded Great Balls of Fire, High School Confidential and Breathless. He continued to be in the mainstream of rock& roll until his marriage to his 13 year old cousin when he was 22.
Appalled fans refused to go to his concerts and his singles gained little popularity. He had little success in the early 1960s and to bring about recognition he began to provide wild and energetic concerts. Live at the Star Club, Hamburg in 1964 is still regarded as one of the greatest and wildest rock & roll concert albums in history. Lewis moved into country-western music with Another Place, Another Time. This song uplifted his career and he often topped the country-western charts with To Make Love Sweeter for You, There Must be More to Love than This, Would You Take Another Chance on Me and Me and Bobby McGee.
His success continued and he went back to his rock & roll roots with Chantilly Lace and Rockin' My Life Away. He continued to tour and in the 2000s released Last Man Standing which is his bestselling album to date. Lew has gold records in rock and country, earned a Lifetime Achievement Award and won many Grammies. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
Lewis has married seven times. Dorothy Barton was his first marriage and lasted from 1952 to 1953. His second wife was Jane Mitchum and it lasted from September 1953 to October 1957. Jane and Lewis had two children. Lewis' third marriage was to Myra Gale Brown and lasted for 13 years. They had two children. The fourth marriage was with Jaren Elizabeth Gunn Pate and lasted from 1971 to 1983 and they had one daughter. The fifth marriage was to Shawn Stephens. It lasted 77 days when Shawn died. It is alleged that Lewis was responsible for her death. His sixth marriage was to Kerrie McCarver. They were married form 1984 to 2004. They have one child. Lewis' seventh marriage to Judith Brown was in 2012 and is still ongoing.
Lewis opened the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert at Madison Square Garden in New York and his 2009 album Mean Old Man was written by Kris Kristofferson. In 2013 Lewis started a club on Beale Street in Memphis. He visits the club occasionally. This club is totally modern and not themed from his past memories. Lewis is still alive and recording.
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