American rock ‘n roll icon, Jerry Lee Lewis, has died at the age of 87, according to his publicist. He died at his home in DeSoto County, Mississippi, of natural causes. Besides singing and songwriting, Lewis was also noted for his mastery of the piano and is widely regarded as one of the most influential pianists of the 20th century.
This news comes days after TMZ erroneously reported Lewis’ death, and later clarified saying “were told by someone claiming to be Lewis’ rep that he had passed. That turned out not to be the case.”
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According to a statement published by his representatives, “Judith, his seventh wife, was by his side when he passed away at his home in Desoto County, Mississippi, south of Memphis”. further adding, “He told her, in his final days, that he welcomed the hereafter, and that he was not afraid.”
It was Lewis’ numerous hit songs, including the likes of Great Balls of Fire, Breathless, and Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin On, that helped rock ‘n roll become one of the most popular genres of mainstream music in the 1940s and 1950s.
Lewis’ career was halted by controversy when he married Myrla Gale Brown, his once-removed first cousin, when she was only 13 years of age. Lewis was 22 at that time.
The legendary singer was born in 1935 in a poor Louisiana family. They were so poor that in order to get Lewis his very first piano, the family had to mortgage their home.
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Lewis, in 1956, formed a rock ‘n roll quarter called the Million Dollar Quartet, along with other legends of the genre like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins.
Lewis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. He has won four Grammy Awards for his music, besides two Grammy Hall of Fame Awards and one Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
He was married for a total of seven times and had six children. Two of them, Steve Allen Lewis and Jerry Lee Lewis Jr., died in 1962 and 1973, respectively.
