The Killer is gone but he'll never be forgotten.
A friend and I have had a decades-long, friendly, dispute over who was the real 'king of rock & roll', Elvis or Jerry Lee Lewis? *
My friend is a diehard Elvis fan. Not quite one of the 'Elvis People', as my old friend Billy Poore and I would say (meaning the cult-like followers who, to this day, believe he's alive and may well be the 2nd coming of the Lord) but fanatical enough to overlook the over-the-top ridiculousness of Elvis' post Army career. I mean really, the bulk of those movies were trash. The music was just as bad. "Do The Clam" and "Edge of Reality" come to mind. Sure, he had a few good songs here and there ("Burning Love" and "Suspicious Minds" were both great!) but the majority of it was a snoozefest. Elvis could have claimed the crown and held on to it if he hadn't been so good at following orders. He always had someone to tell him what to do and when to do it. Jerry Lee, on the other hand, didn't take orders from anyone.
Needless to say, I'm on Team Killer. Jerry Lee rocked unlike anyone before or since. As any piano player knows, his left hand was ruthless. He didn't even really need a full band. Just him and a drummer would have more than sufficed. Add in a bass and guitar (or fiddle, steel, mandolin, whatever) and you had everything you could ever want and more. He could sing his ass off too! He could howl, moan, shout, and growl. He could play straight ahead rock and roll, rockabilly, boogie woogie, honky tonk, blues, country, and/or gospel and probably anything else he had a mind to. And he could do it better...if not better, he could do it with more honest conviction, attitude, and confidence. Elvis never seemed confident, at least not to me.
Jerry Lee Lewis was just different! He and Elvis both grew up poor, southern, white boys. They both listened to the radio and they both learned their church gospel songs, but Jerry Lee always went farther. As a kid, he'd sneak into Haney's Big House and listen to the black blues artists, live and in the flesh, before getting chased out. When he did, he'd just sneak back in. Elvis' mama babied him. Jerry Lee's daddy saw profit potential in his boy and had him playing piano anywhere he could get a crowd and make a few bucks. I've heard a few stories about him playing piano in a brothel when he was around 12 years old. I can't say for certain whether those stories are true or not, but damn...it explains some of the difference between the two. Elvis crooned. Jerry Lee exploded.
To a lot of folks, they're both just old 50s artists. Happy Days stuff. But Jerry Lee went even further. After his rock and roll career was all but shattered, he dug in deep and started recording some of the best damned country songs anyone ever heard. The world paid attention and started buying his records by the truckload. He went back to playing the large venues, after years of playing any gig that paid. He was back on top. Unlike Elvis, he never stopped gigging.
Sure, you could say that Elvis was busy making movies...but like I said, most of those were crap. Jerry Lee got some movie offers too. He was just smarter about them. You can see him at the beginning of the film High School Confidential. He wasn't about to do corny movies like the Presley boy. He held out for more substantial work. He got the chance when he was offered the role of Iago in the musical adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello (Catch My Soul). The Killer rocked it, pure and simple. The rest of the time, Jerry Lee was busy gigging, recording, and keeping his fans happy.
Jerry Lee Lewis was also a real man, and by that, I mean a provider for his family. Sure, Elvis took care of Mom & Dad and later on his wife and kid (and any number of mooches) but Jerry Lee had a lot of wives (7 in total), 6 kids, as well as his parents and siblings. He provided for them all. I've heard he was supportive of his nieces and grandkids as well. He took care of his band too, provided he didn't shoot them.
Elvis and The Killer both had rough times in their lives. Of the obvious, one could say they brought a lot of it on themselves. But Jerry Lee had it rougher than most. He lost his son Steve Allen when he drowned in the family pool at the age of 3. Jerry Lee Jr. died at 19 in a car crash. Either of those instances would crush most people. The Killer had run-ins with the law, the tax man, and cheated death more times than I can count. I remember in the 1980s, most people didn't think he'd make it to 1990!
Then there was the big mess: marrying his 13-year-old second cousin. That almost killed his career. It definitely derailed it for a number of years. But to his credit, he owned up to it. He didn't lie about it...unlike Elvis, who was known to be romantically involved with Priscilla when she was about the same age. Elvis hid it and kept it hidden until she was of an age most considered OK to get married. Their daughter was born 9 months to the day after their wedding. If you want to believe they never even kissed before the wedding, I can help you buy some lovely property in Florida.
I spoke with my old friend Hayden today. He worked with Jerry Lee just prior to his first hits. The Killer played piano on some of Hayden's early recordings. Musically and personally, Jerry Lee Lewis was like a wild animal. Sure, you might eventually get to pet him, but he was still a wild animal and was just as likely to eat you alive.
He played by his own rules and no one else's...but it doesn't mean he didn't try. He went to school to be a preacher but got kicked out for making a joyful noise. I guess the good folks at Southwestern Assemblies of God University were unfamiliar with Psalm 100:1-5. He tried being a salesman. Again, he did it his own way, outselling his competitors and getting himself fired for maybe not following through as expected. It's possible that he just didn't know. I can't say.
I got to meet him once. What a treat! It was seeming to be a typical 'Hi, thanks for coming to the show, here's an autograph' moment until I requested a couple of songs that I knew he'd recorded but never released. He became suspicious and asked, in no uncertain tone, "Where the hell did you ever hear THOSE???" When I told him I knew a guy he worked with at Mercury Records, he had a laugh and called my friend a name I won't repeat. I told him I had them on a tape in my car if he'd like to hear them. He was intrigued by this, so he asked me to go get them. We listened to them backstage (and had a few drinks). He seemed to have a good time with it. A dozen years or so later, I was introduced to his sister at a gig in the UK. I mentioned this story and she finished it for me. Apparently, Jerry Lee had fond memories of this and had told the story himself a few times.
Jerry Lee Lewis died today, age 87. That in itself is miraculous. He lived a hard life. He partied like 10 Keith Richards. He married like Elizabeth Taylor. He rocked and rolled like no one before or since. Elvis who? Oh, you mean the dandy fatboy in the rhinestone jumpsuits? Jerry Lee never had to dress like a queen. He was too busy being a king. Rest In Peace Killer. God called you home. He was ready and I hear, you were too.
* Trick question! The real answer is Little Richard!
