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(Clicka qua per la versione Italiana)
Among early white rockers,
Jerry Lee Lewis was, by far, the most faithful to the wild style of black
rockers. Instead of guitar, Lewis preferred the piano, the favorite instrument
for boogie-woogie artists (like his idol Cecil Grant or Al Jolson).
His singing could never muster the passion of the great black singers, but
certainly was more influenced by the "shouters" than by country singers.
In other words, Lewis summarized in one person the classic boogie-woodie duo
of pianist and shouter.
That style, it turned out, matched the rebellious mood of rock and roll.
But Lewis went beyond a mere adaptation of a pre-existing genre to the
hunger for vibrations among white youth: by pushing to the edge both elements,
Lewis coined a style of psychotic singing that will make the history of rock
music (unlike Elvis Presley's, that will make the
history of easy listening) and coined a style at the piano that was as
ferocious as Chuck Berry's guitar riffs.
Full bio.
(Translated
from my original Italian text
by Ornella C. Grannis)
Born in Louisiana, Jerry Lee Lewis started early, playing piano in
local western swing and rhythm and blues bands. Initially influenced
by Moon Mulligan, he tried without success the career of Nashville
piano player, but finally found shelter in Memphis, which had become
the capital of rockabilly. There Lewis prevailed with the 45 Whole Lotta
Shakin' Goin' On (1957). His rock and roll was spontaneous and essential,
based on instinctive and throbbing piano playing and arrogant histrionics.
Within a year Lewis released successive provocations to the common sense
of decency such as Great Balls Of Fire (1957), Breathless and High School
Confidential (both in 1958, both written by Otis Blackwell), and the album
Jerry Lee Lewis (1957). Lewis was a "black" white man also in an other
sense: his lyrics and his attitude made continuous references to sex.
With those masterpieces Lewis left a indelible imprint on rock and roll,
introducing the maniacal and licentious musical mannerism of the blacks
to the playing of the whites. However there is a clean fracture between
the excessive but devout abandonment of Little Richard, that obviously
derives from gospel, and the scornful and detached cynicism of Jerry Lee
Lewis. The derisive sarcasm of Lewis derived mostly from the brutal and
vulgar customs of the white South, customs that had in Lewis an effectual
and faithful observer.
Already regarded badly for the reputation of his live shows, the moralists
destroyed him when he decided to marry a thirteen year old cousin, without
having divorced his second wife. His career declined quickly, and for a
while he had to content himself with playing in smaller clubs, recording
very rarely. Practically obliged to abandon rock and roll, Lewis went back
to country, and from Another Place Another Time (1968), he enjoyed a small
series of hits that reached the charts, but nothing after 1971. During the
punk-rock years, that he had after all anticipated, the record industry
tried unsuccessfully to revive his career.
In the meantime all kinds of disasters befell his private life: his sons
died in two separate accidents, his fourth wife drowned in a swimming pool,
the fifth one died of an overdose, he accidentally shot his bassist.
However nothing seemed to impede his touring or stopped him from giving his
best
on stage. In 1981 he ended up in the hospital with a hemorrhage due to a
stomach ulcer. For several days he remained suspended between life death;
four months later he gave one of his most memorable concerts.
Lewis' career rebounded in the 21st century with albums such as
Last Man Standing (2006) and Mean Old Man (2010).
Lewis died in 2022.
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