He died at the age of 87 Jerry Lee Lewispioneering singer credited with establishing the dominance of rock and roll in the 1950s.

His hits included the infamous “Great Balls of Fire”, “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”, “Breathless”, “High School Confidential”. and many others.

His hallmark was a very theatrical, “loud” and energetic style of live performances.

Nicknamed “The Killer”, Lewis had a reputation as a “bad guy” and shocked audiences around the world not only by being… a rock ‘n’ roll player on stage, but also behind the light.

Although scandals cost him his career, in 1986 he became one of the first artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In total, he recorded 40 albums, the last of which was released in 2014.

Since childhood, he has been a “bad boy”

He was born in Louisiana in 1935 to a poor farming family. His parents mortgaged their house to give little Louis his first piano.

His reputation as a “rebel” began at an early age when he was kicked out of evangelical school for daring to boogie-woogie to the gospel “My God is Real”.

He did not continue school, but devoted himself to music. At the age of 14, he performed live for the first time at the opening of a car dealership.

Working with Presley, Cash, Perkins

He then began performing at Sun Studios in Memphis, first as a musician and then as a solo artist.

One of his first recordings was in 1956 with fellow legends Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins, a group that would later become known as the Million Dollar Quartet.

It was an impromptu recording: Cash and Presley happened to be in the studio while Lewis played the piano for Perkins.

big hits

Finally, the following year, Lewis rose to fame with the single “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”, which peaked at No. 3 on the US charts.

When he performed it live on The Steve Allen Show, he captivated American audiences with his stunning, very fatal performance.

It was followed by his other big hit, “Great Balls of Fire”, which peaked at No. 2 on the US charts and became one of rock and roll’s most representative songs.

Murderous scandals

In 1958, scandal erupted when it was revealed that Lewis had married his 13-year-old cousin Myra Brown. It was the third of his seven marriages.

The singer was forced to cancel his UK tour as he was blacklisted by radio stations and concert promoters in the US. His songs never reached the US Top 20 again.

The infamous star was nicknamed “The Killer”. “Killer” is a euphemism for your friend in Louisiana, where Lewis is from, but in his case, there’s another reason…

After 13 years of marriage to Brown, his next two marriages brought more turmoil to him. His next two husbands, Jaren Pate and Sean Stevens, died under mysterious circumstances: the first drowned, and with the second there were rumors of domestic violence.

When he set the piano on fire

Another infamous incident was his fight with Chuck Berry. When the two of them were on tour, Lewis didn’t want Berry to marry him, so he set fire to his piano!

In 1976, he was arrested after showing up drunk at Elvis Presley’s Memphis home with a loaded gun in his car.

However, scandals also became the “tombstone” of his career. Although he switched to country music and had some hits, his star was definitely not as bright as he used to be.

In 1984, due to drug abuse, he had to have a third of his stomach removed.

Two of his six children died young: Steve Allen Lewis drowned in a swimming pool at the age of three, and Jerry Lee Lewis Jr. died in a car accident at the age of 19.

According to the Guardian