Jerry Lee Lewis has died at the age of 87 just days after TMZ falsely reported his passing.
The pianist, singer, and songwriter’s death has been confirmed by his publicist, Zach Farnum, who revealed that the pioneering rock ‘n’ roll star died of natural causes at his home in Mississippi.
“Judith, his seventh wife, was by his side when he passed away at his home in Desoto County, Mississippi, south of Memphis,” Farnum said.
“He told her, in his final days, that he welcomed the hereafter, and that he was not afraid.”
Lewis, who was one of the last surviving pioneers of his genre, was best known for his hits such as Great Balls of Fire and Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On.
At the peak of his music career, many believed that Lewis could potentially reach the heights of Elvis Presley and be branded as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll thanks to his outrageous energy and captivating performance on stage.
The musician, however, also suffered a fair share of criticism after marrying his 13-year-old cousin when he was 22 years old. After the news of his controversial marriage hit the headlines, Lewis was blacklisted from the radio and his career was upended.
Following years of alcohol and drug abuse and several marriages later, the troubled musician reinvented himself as a country singer and managed to rise from the ashes and return to the music scene.
“Lewis, perhaps the last true, great icon of the birth of rock’n’roll, whose marriage of blues, gospel, country, honky-tonk and raw, pounding stage performances so threatened a young Elvis Presley that it made him cry, has died,” his reps said.
“He was there at the beginning, with Elvis, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Carl Perkins, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, and the rest, and watched them fade away one by one till it was him alone to bear witness, and sing of the birth of rock’n’roll.”
Speaking of his music career, Lewis previously said he was “born to be on stage.”
“I couldn’t wait to be on it. I dreamed about it. That’s where I’m the happiest,” he said, Rick Bragg noted in a biography titled Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story.
In the biography, the singer added: “I ain’t no goody goody, and I ain’t no phony. I never pretended to be anything, and anything I ever did, I did it wide-open as a case knife. I’ve lived my life to the fullest and I had a good time doin’ it.”
He also told Bragg he wished to be remembered as a rock ‘n’ roll idol who knew how to deliver the show the people deserved.
“I want to be remembered as a rock-n-roll idol, in a suit and tie or blue jeans and a ragged shirt, it don’t matter, as long as the people get that show. The show, that’s what counts. It covers up everything,” Lewis said.
“Any bad thoughts anyone ever had about you goes away. ‘Is that the one that married that girl? Well, forget about it, let me hear that song.’”
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