Eventually a white Rolls-Royce Corniche carrying Jerry Lee Lewis rolls up to the mansion. From the kitchen, we hear a car humming up the huge drive, past the private lake, the barking guard dogs and the Jeep parked outside (registration Killer8). Above it, in 18in-high capital letters, are the words THE LEWIS RANCH. As I discover, it’s almost impossible to separate fact from fiction when it comes to Jerry Lee.Ī black piano is sculpted into the huge iron gates outside Lewis’s home in Nesbit, near Memphis. Why, depends on who you listen to and when. Lewis has been known as the Killer since school. He rarely wrote his own songs, but few interpreted them like the Killer. Lewis could play anything brilliantly on that piano – blues, jazz, country, you name it. Photograph: David McClister for the Guardian Lewis playing his piano at home at his ranch in Nesbit, near Memphis. John Lennon kissed his feet when they met. I can’t really describe how much it meant to me to have your music on board when we were 240,000 miles from home and the Earth had shrunk to a tiny ball.” Lewis was in the first group of artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “Dear Mr Lewis, Our most heartfelt thank you for the tremendous tape you cut for me to take on Apollo 14. On the wall is a letter from astronaut Stuart Roosa, dated. His music has been played around the world, and further. And Lewis, growling and yelping, beating seven bells of hell out of that piano with his hands, feet and elbows, snakes of hair falling over his forehead, is one of its most memorable performers. Sixty years on from the birth of rock’n’roll, Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On and Great Balls Of Fire remain two defining songs of the 20th century. ![]() Jerry Lee Lewis is preparing for his final tour to the UK next month, to coincide with his 80th birthday. “You can ask about me, but as far as all his wives and stuff goes, he doesn’t like to talk about personal stuff,” Judith says. Myra was the most controversial, because she was only 13 years old when Lewis wed her. And don’t mention any bad words, and nothing negative,” says the formidable Judith, a former basketball player, and ex-wife of the brother of wife number three, Myra. “OK, you have to talk loud and slowly to Jerry.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |