Following false reports of his passing earlier this week, Jerry Lee Lewis's publicist Zach Farnum has confirmed the artist's death to Rolling Stone. He was 87 years old.
Lewis died in Desoto County, MI, with his wife Judith Coghlan by his side. A cause of death has yet to be revealed, though an obituary written by Rick Bragg notes that Lewis "suffered through the last years of his life from various illnesses and injuries that, his physicians have often said, should have taken him decades ago" [via Consequence].
Lewis's team eulogized the artist in a statement provided to TMZ: "Lewis, perhaps the last true, great icon of the birth of rock 'n' roll, whose marriage of blues, gospel, country, honky-tonk and raw, pounding stage performances so threatened a young Elvis Presley that it made him cry, has died."
Born September 29, 1935, in Ferriday, LA, Lewis learned to play piano at a young age, and began performing publicly in 1949, later moving to Memphis, TN, in 1956 to begin his recording career. He released his debut self-titled album in 1958 through Sun Records, and would go on to release dozens of records leading up to 2014's final studio album, Rock & Roll Time.
Lewis's career faltered in the late 1950s after the public learned of his marriage to Myra Gale Brown, his 13-year-old first cousin once removed, when he was 22. Brown was his third wife following his marriages with Dorothy Barton and Jane Mitchum. Brown filed for divorce in 1970 on the grounds of adultery and abuse, and Lewis went on to marry four more times. He had six children.
Known for his hits "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," "Great Balls of Fire," "Breathless" and "High School Confidential," among many others, the artist is credited among the early pioneers of rock 'n' roll, performing with the likes of labelmates Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and more over the years. In 2020, Lewis announced plans to record an album of gospel covers with producer T-Bone Burnett.
This year, Ethan Coen's documentary about the musician, Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind, was released through A24.
Lewis died in Desoto County, MI, with his wife Judith Coghlan by his side. A cause of death has yet to be revealed, though an obituary written by Rick Bragg notes that Lewis "suffered through the last years of his life from various illnesses and injuries that, his physicians have often said, should have taken him decades ago" [via Consequence].
Lewis's team eulogized the artist in a statement provided to TMZ: "Lewis, perhaps the last true, great icon of the birth of rock 'n' roll, whose marriage of blues, gospel, country, honky-tonk and raw, pounding stage performances so threatened a young Elvis Presley that it made him cry, has died."
Born September 29, 1935, in Ferriday, LA, Lewis learned to play piano at a young age, and began performing publicly in 1949, later moving to Memphis, TN, in 1956 to begin his recording career. He released his debut self-titled album in 1958 through Sun Records, and would go on to release dozens of records leading up to 2014's final studio album, Rock & Roll Time.
Lewis's career faltered in the late 1950s after the public learned of his marriage to Myra Gale Brown, his 13-year-old first cousin once removed, when he was 22. Brown was his third wife following his marriages with Dorothy Barton and Jane Mitchum. Brown filed for divorce in 1970 on the grounds of adultery and abuse, and Lewis went on to marry four more times. He had six children.
Known for his hits "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," "Great Balls of Fire," "Breathless" and "High School Confidential," among many others, the artist is credited among the early pioneers of rock 'n' roll, performing with the likes of labelmates Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and more over the years. In 2020, Lewis announced plans to record an album of gospel covers with producer T-Bone Burnett.
This year, Ethan Coen's documentary about the musician, Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind, was released through A24.