Wild man of rock dead at 87

Jerry Lee Lewis, the original wild man of rock 'n' roll whose explosive records, fiery performances and real-life scandals made him one of the genre's most fascinating and fearsome figures, died on Friday. He was 87.

Lewis' publicist announced the singer's death in a statement, following a premature report of his demise from TMZ earlier in the week.

The cause of death was not revealed. Lewis had been hospitalized in early 2019 after suffering a stroke, forcing him to cancel his planned spring and summer concerts.

A brash backwoods maverick with a wavy blond pompadour and an arrogant sneer, Lewis brought nervy authority and a personal stamp to his unruly concoction of country, gospel, and rhythm and blues.

The singer-pianist's first two hits, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls of Fire," were definitive incarnations of rock 'n' roll's primal allure.

John Lennon referred to "Whole Lotta Shakin'" as "the perfect rock 'n' roll record." Elton John adopted Lewis' signature maneuver of kicking the piano bench across the stage.

But Lewis' influence transcended the music. He was the prototype of the hard-rocking, hard-living renegade, and his example of audacity and independence became a part of rock's DNA.

His music and his life also embraced some of the great dichotomies of the American experience - notably, the interplay between Black and white America that his music embodied, and the conflict between spirit and flesh that arose from his upbringing in a Pentecostal church.

Lewis is considered one of the key founders of rock 'n' roll, along with Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Little Richard. He was a charter inductee in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy at the 2005 Grammys. In 2022, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

"He's the only guy, other than Ray Charles, who sings country and rock 'n' roll authentically," said singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson, a longtime friend. "I don't think he's gotten the credit for how good he really is. I'm sure that he ranks right up there with Frank Sinatra and all the great American singers."

Despite his musical success, Lewis was relentlessly self-destructive yet seemingly indestructible. His life was strewn with tragedy (the deaths of a brother, two children and two wives), excess (drinking and drug use triggered two near-fatal ailments), tax problems and sheer recklessness - he accidentally shot his bassist in the chest, and he was arrested for packing a pistol and drunkenly driving his car into the gates of Elvis Presley's Graceland estate.

Yet, somehow, Lewis survived, outlasting nearly all his peers. Even after his rock 'n' roll career was derailed when he married his 13-year-old cousin in 1957, he rebranded himself as a country singer in 1968 and occupied the charts for 15 more years.

Jerry Lee Lewis was born Sept. 29, 1935, in Ferriday, Louisiana, a small farming and sawmill community on the Mississippi River. His father, Elmo, was a cotton farmer and bootlegger who did time in jail. His mother, Mamie, was a deeply religious woman who was known to speak in tongues during church services.