Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story - Softcover

Bragg, Rick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062078240 ISBN 13: 9780062078247

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks, 2015

Synopsis

New York Times Bestseller

The greatest Southern storyteller of our time, New York Times bestselling author Rick Bragg, tracks down the greatest rock and roller of all time, Jerry Lee Lewis—and gets his own story, from the source, for the very first time.

A monumental figure on the American landscape, Jerry Lee Lewis spent his childhood raising hell in Ferriday, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi; galvanized the world with hit records like “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and “Great Balls of Fire,” that gave rock and roll its devil’s edge; caused riots and boycotts with his incendiary performances; nearly scuttled his career by marrying his thirteen-year-old second cousin—his third wife of seven; ran a decades-long marathon of drugs, drinking, and women; nearly met his maker, twice; suffered the deaths of two sons and two wives, and the indignity of an IRS raid that left him with nothing but the broken-down piano he started with; performed with everyone from Elvis Presley to Keith Richards to Bruce Springsteen to Kid Rock—and survived it all to be hailed as “one of the most creative and important figures in American popular culture and a paradigm of the Southern experience.”

Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story is the Killer’s life as he lived it, and as he shared it over two years with our greatest bard of Southern life: Rick Bragg. Rich with Lewis’s own words, framed by Bragg’s richly atmospheric narrative, this is the last great untold rock-and-roll story, come to life on the page.

About this title

From the Back Cover

One of Rolling Stone's 10 Best Music Books of the Year

For nearly sixty years, Jerry Lee Lewis has been a monumental figure in American life. He electrified the world with hits like "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," "Great Balls of Fire," and "Breathless." Poised to steal the crown from Elvis Presley, he seemed unstoppable—until news of his marriage to his thirteen-year-old cousin broke during his first British tour, nearly ending his career. Now, for the first time, Lewis's story is told in full, as he shared it over two years with Pulitzer Prize–winning writer Rick Bragg. From the fields and levees of Depression-era Louisiana to the legendary Million Dollar Quartet session at Sun Records; from barnstorming tours with Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Holly to his lifelong rivalry with Elvis; from comedown to comeback, here is the story of the Last Man Standing.

About the Author

Rick Bragg is the author of a trilogy of bestselling books on the people of the American South. He is a professor of writing at the University of Alabama.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0062078240
• ISBN 13: 9780062078247
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 512