Jerry Lee Lewis, Rock 'N' Roll Legend, Dead at 87
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The influential rock 'n' roll singer and pianist passed away at his home in Mississippi on Friday.
Rock 'n' roll pioneer and boogie-woogie piano player Jerry Lee Lewis has died, Parade can confirm. He was 87.
The news was announced on Friday, Oct. 28, with a statement shared by his publicist, Zach Farnum. No cause of death has been revealed at this time.
The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer passed away at his home in Desoto County, Miss., south of Memphis, with his seventh wife, Judith Coghlan by his side.
Lewis—who stands among the likes of other rock 'n' roll icons, including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry and more—was reportedly in poor health for quite a while, suffering from "various illnesses and injuries," including a stroke, in the last years of his life.
"He said he was ready to be with Jesus," his wife stated, per the press release. He apparently told Judith in his final days that he was not afraid to be approaching death.
His death was prematurely announced on Friday, October 26 by TMZ before they retracted the statement a little while later.
Lewis—nicknamed "The Killer"—first rose to fame back in the '50s after signing with Sun Records and releasing his song "Whole Lotta Shaking' Goin' On,' his second single, which ended up becoming a smash hit and one of the biggest songs of the early rock 'n' roll days.
"I had created rock & roll before they ever thought about having rock & roll," Lewis previously told Rolling Stone in 2014. Lewis—who has long been considered a rival to Presley, the King of Rock 'N' Roll—said, "When Elvis came out, he was rockabilly. When I came out with 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On,' that was rock & roll. That’s when the name ‘rock & roll’ was put in front.”
But his stardom quickly became tainted as a result of his scandalous marriage to his 13-year-old cousin Myra Gale Brown, who he was wed to from 1957-1970.
Much of his personal life ended up being shrouded with tragedy, including the drowning of his three-year-old son Steve Allen in 1962, the death of another son, Jerry Lee Lewis Jr. in a car crash in 1973, and the deaths of two of his former wives, Jaren Gunn Lewis, who drowned in a pool and Shawn Michelle Lewis, who was found dead in their bedroom in 1983.
Despite the controversy and tragedy, Lewis remained relevant in music culture for most of his life as a result of his influence and pioneering in the industry. In 2006, his Last Man Standing album sold a million copies, making it his best-selling album of his career. He later received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2005.
Lewis was also recently inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame earlier this year, although he was too ill to attend the ceremony in person.
Lewis is survived by his wife, Judith, his children Jerry Lee Lewis III, Ronnie Lewis, Pheobe Lewis and Lori Lancaster, sister Linda Gail Lewis, cousin Jimmy Swaggart and many grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
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