Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story - Softcover

Rick Bragg

Softcover

ISBN 10: 085786159X ISBN 13: 9780857861597

Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd, 2015

Synopsis

Recording his first hits at Sun Studios alongside artists such as Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis was present at the birth of rock and roll and was the prototype wild man of rock, with a turbulent private life to match. This authorized biography gives Lewis's own account of the controversial marriages, the drug and alcohol abuse and the fluctuating fortunes of his musical career.

About this title

From the Back Cover

For nearly sixty years, Jerry Lee Lewis has been a monumental figure in American life. The wildest and most dangerous of the early rock and rollers, he electrified the world with hit records such as “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Great Balls of Fire,” and “Breathless.” His music was raucous, exuberant, slyly sexual; his wailing vocals were grounded by the locomotive force of his pumping piano. But his persona and performing style were what changed the world: whipping his long hair back, he would pound the keyboard like a coal-fired steam engine, then kick back the bench, climb atop the piano, and work the audience like the Pentecostal preacher he almost became. 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. In a narrative rich with atmosphere and anecdote, we watch Jerry Lee emerge from the fields and levees of Depression-era Louisiana, blazing a path across Bible colleges and nightclubs en route to international fame. He shared bills with Johnny Cash and Chuck Berry, toured Australia with Buddy Holly and Paul Anka, and went Cadillac for Cadillac with Elvis on the streets of Memphis—even as both of them struggled with the conflict between their faith and their music. After a decade in the wilderness, he returned as the biggest star in country music, but his victory lap became a marathon of excess, a time of guns and pills and Calvert Extra. He crashed Rolls-Royces and Lincolns, including one he drove into the gates of Graceland; suffered the deaths of wives and loved ones; and nearly met his maker twice himself. Yet after six marriages, a long spell without a recording contract, and a bruising battle with the IRS, he overcame a crippling addiction, remarried, and scored his biggest hit records since the 1970s. Today, as he approaches his eightieth year, he continues to electrify audiences around the world.

The story of Jerry Lee Lewis has inspired songs and articles, books and films, but in these pages Rick Bragg restores a human complexity missing from other accounts. The result is a story of fire and faith and resilience, informed by Rick Bragg’s deep understanding of the American spirit, and rich with Jerry Lee’s own unforgettable voice.

About the Author

Jerry Lee Lewis was the very first performer inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His #1 hit records, including ''Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On'' and ''Great Balls of Fire,'' helped define the wild frontier of rock and roll. His most recent albums, Last Man Standing and Mean Old Man, were his most successful in thirty years. Still performing today, he recently opened Jerry Lee Lewis' Cafe and Honky Tonk on Beale Street in Memphis. He lives in Nesbit, Mississippi.

Rick Bragg is the author of three bestselling books, Ava's Man, All Over but the Shoutin', and The Prince of Frogtown. As a feature writer for the New York Times, he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1996 for his ''elegantly written stories about contemporary America.'' He divides his time between New Orleans and his native Alabama.

About this edition

• Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 085786159X
• ISBN 13: 9780857861597
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 512