Jerry Lee Lewis, Influential & Controversial Rock Musician, Dies At 87

Jerry Lee Lewis, the songwriter and pianist who notoriously married his 13-year-old cousin, has died at the age of 87. His death was incorrectly reported two days earlier on Wednesday, and he had fallen ill with reported flu which caused him to miss his induction ceremony into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Lewis was known for songs like “Great Balls of Fire,” a cover of “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” by Big Maybelle and “Me and Bobby McGee.” He rose to prominence quickly in the late-1950s. His career then stalled after an uproar over the fact that he was marrying his then 13-year-old first cousin once-removed: Myra Lewis Williams (née Gale Brown).

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They had to remarry after their first marriage in 1957 because he was still married to his second wife and divorced in 1970 on grounds of adultery and abuse. Williams later said that Lewis subjected her to “every type of physical and mental abuse imaginable,” and wrote a memoir The Spark That Survived about her marriage.

Lewis was married seven times and had six children. One journalist alleged that he had abused his fifth wife Shawn Stephens and may have been responsible for her death, but those claims never garnered sufficient supporting evidence.

He was also once arrested outside of Elvis Presley’s home Graceland for crashing into the gates driving drunk and having a gun, though he denies intending to shoot Presley. He has also had issues with the IRS, which has seized his properties due to outstanding debts on several occasions.

Jerry Lee Lewis was born in Ferriday, Louisiana on September 29, 1935. He got his start playing piano with two cousins, one of whom was the late country music singer Mickey Gilley. He was suspended from a Christian University for playing boogie-woogie music at a church assembly and began touring around Louisiana and Mississippi.

He then moved to Tennessee where he became a solo artist and session musician for Sun Records, where he played piano for huge artists including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins. His solo career eventually gained steam, and his live shows gained attention for his dramatic playing of the piano which included kicking the piano bench aside and playing standing.

Lewis’ musical style encompassed rock, country and gospel music over 40 studio albums. Despite the controversy of his teenage bride and later financial difficulties, Lewis still found pretty significant radio and chart success throughout his career, and he was also awarded several Grammy Awards along with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.