Jerry Lee Lewis, rock and roll icon known for hits like “Great Balls of Fire,” “Crazy Arms” “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,”Representative said that he died Friday at the 87-year-old age.
“Judith, his seventh wife, was by his side when he passed away at his home in Desoto County, Mississippi, south of Memphis,”Zach Farnum stated in a statement. “He told her, in his final days, that he welcomed the hereafter, and that he was not afraid.”
Lewis’ death had been wrongly reported earlier this week by TMZ.
The pianist and singer was also known as The Killer because of the way he terrorized his audience.
He was also often a target for controversy. From being arrested outside Graceland when he tried to shoot Elvis, to frequent problems with the IRS, to the fact he married his 13 year old third cousin at 22. His career and public standing were affected by the scandalous marriage. He would ultimately recover professionally. On the personal side, he would be married seven times.
His turbulent life was the subject of 1989’s “Great Balls of Fire,”Jim McBride directed the film and Dennis Quaid stars as Lewis in an impressive performance. Starring were Alec Baldwin, Winona Ryder and Stephen Tobolowsky.
Lewis is described as a rockabilly pioneer whose music mixed rock and rolling with country and western. He was awarded four Grammys, one of which was a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Lewis also received the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1986. Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame earlier in the year.
Lee was diagnosed with a number of health problems in his later years. Lee also suffered a stroke in 2019.
