A Killer Life

Author: Jeff Little

Ferriday, Louisiana: where men are men and men marry their cousins. Well, that might not be true of all men from Ferriday, but it was definitely true in the case of one Jerry Lee Lewis, born in nearby Turtle Lake, Louisiana on September 29, 1935.

Scandals aside, Jerry Lee Lewis is known to all who treasure music as one of the greatest rock 'n' roll performers of all time. His hard-driving piano playing and magnetic vocal styling have thrilled listeners since his first recording hit the radio airwaves.

By age 5 "The Killer" (as he was later known) began to play the piano and would later hone his skills on an old upright model his impoverished parents borrowed money to buy.

Sharing lessons with two of his cousins (Mickey Gilley, who would grow-up to be a country music star and Jimmy Swaggert, well-known televangelist and renowned hypocrite).

By age 13 he was playing wherever he could for tips. By age 16 he was married. By age 18 he was married to his second wife (without the benefit of a divorce from the first). At 19 he got around to divorcing his first wife and having a son with the second. And by the age of 21 (having already lived an entire life by most people's standards) he had been discovered by Jack Clement of Sun Records (Elvis Presley's first label).

Surprisingly, Jerry Lee still had enough energy to record. In 1956 his version of "Crazy Arms" was a minor hit that paved the way for his 1957 smash "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On". Soon after, his single "Great Balls of Fire" followed and Jerry Lee's career was on fire.

Soon the press would also be on fire, reporting on the scandal that was Jerry Lee Lewis and his marriage (also in 1957) to 13-year-old second cousin, Myra Gail Brown. And adding more fuel to the ever-growing pyre…Jerry Lee had once again neglected to divorce before re-marrying. He did divorce wife number two in 1958 but the damage had already been done.

Even though he continued to make high-quality music and deliver high-energy performances, Mr. Lewis' career never fully recovered. Sometimes the public is never willing to fully forgive and forget. And even if they were willing to dismiss the past, they would have plenty of fresh material to dwell on in the future.

1981 was a bad year. It saw Lewis in a hospital bed and given only a 50/50 chance of survival due to the ravages of an ulcer. Predictably, even illness couldn't visit Jerry Lee without the taint of scandal. Reportedly, his physician was the same doctor who had contributed to Elvis' death.

As 1983 rolled around, Jerry Lee married again, making Shawn Michelle Stevens Mrs. Killer Number Four. But this was apparently the unluckiest number of all. Lewis' fourth wife died of a drug overdose in the same year they were wed. The good news? Jerry Lee had actually gotten a divorce before he married her.

1984 saw, you guessed it, another marriage which brought the count to (1-2-3-4) five.

At last report she was alive, well, and not married to a bigamist. The couple split in 2004.

Scandal, scandal, and more scandal. But, fortunately for Jerry Lee, when all is said and done, it's all about the music.

Phew! It makes a person tired just reading about Jerry Lee Lewis. Knowing him personally must really take its toll. No wonder they call him "The Killer".