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Rompin’, stompin’ rock ‘n’ roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis passes away aged 87

The legend, rock pioneer and a man helplessly torn apart by his Bible-thumping upbringing and his desire to make hell-raising rock ‘n’ roll, American Jerry Lee Lewis died at the age of 87, leaving songs such as “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” for posterity to enjoy.

With his wife, Judith, by his side, Lewis passed away at his home in Desoto County, Mississippi, a statement from his publicist said on Friday. His poor health condition and a stroke that he survived in 2019 must have contributed to his demise.

Lewis’ piano has been likened to Chuck Berry’s guitar as an instrument, and needless to say to his skill as well, essential in shaping rock ‘n’ roll in the mid-1950s. He was part of the dazzling Sun Records talent pool in Memphis, Tennessee, that included Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison. Mr Lewis outlived them all.

Among his greatest achievements was being one of the first performers inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. He was so influential that when John Lennon met him backstage at a show in Los Angeles, the Beatle dropped to his knees and kissed Lewis’ feet.

Gospel, country and rhythm and blues mixed and intertwined Lewis’ rock’ n’ roll exploits, of which “Me and Bobby McGee” and “To Make Love Sweeter for You” are some examples. Mr Lewis endured a life often filled with alcohol, drugs and tragedy. His music was sometimes overshadowed by scandals – including his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin Myra in 1957.

In his prime, he performed with daring, originality and a lewd wild-man stage demeanour that thrilled his young fans as much as it agitated their parents, Reuters wrote. His signature move would be to kick away his piano bench and bang the keyboard with his foot while his long wavy blond hair flopped in his face.

As legend has it, Lewis was once so up in arms that Chuck Berry had been chosen to close a show over him that he set the piano on fire and walked off.

“I’m a rompin’, stompin’, piano-playing son of a bitch,” Lewis once told Time magazine in his Louisiana drawl. “A mean son of a bitch. But a great son of a bitch.”

Being around Lewis was rather hazardous. In 1976 he accidentally shot his bass player and that same year was arrested, drunk, outside Presley’s Graceland mansion in Memphis with a loaded pistol, demanding to see Presley.

The battles he fought throughout his life included those with U.S. tax officials, a nearly fatal perforated ulcer and a painkiller addiction that landed him in the Betty Ford Clinic.

Although he settled down in his later years, biographer Rick Bragg recalled in his “Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Words” book interview with Lewis how the rocker showed him the pistol he kept under his pillow in a bedroom pockmarked with bullet holes and a Bowie knife stuck in the door.

Lewis’s late recordings included guests such as Jimmy Page, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Neil Young, John Fogerty, Ringo Starr and other rockers he had influenced.

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