Jerry Lee Lewis (born September 29, 1935) is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. He is known by the nickname 'The Killer'. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis had hits in the late 1950s with songs such as "Great Balls of Fire", "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", "Breathless" and "High School Confidential". Lewis's career soon faltered after he married his young cousin. He didn't have much success in the charts following the scandal until his popularity recovered in the late '60s after making a career extension to country and western music with songs such as "Another Place, Another Time". More country hits soon followed over the late 1960s and through the 1970s. Lewis's successes continued throughout the decade and he embraced his rock and roll past with songs such as "Chantilly Lace" and "Rockin' My Life Away". In the 21st century Lewis continues to tour to audiences around the world and still releases new albums one of which, titled
Last Man Standing is his best selling to date at over a million copies sold worldwide.
Lewis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. In 2003, Rolling Stone Magazine listed his box set
All Killer, No Filler: The Anthology number 242 on their list of "500 greatest albums of all time". In 2004, they ranked him number 24 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. His live album
Live at the Star Club, Hamburg is often regarded by many music journalists and fans as one of the wildest and greatest rock and roll concert albums ever. In 2008, he was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
Jerry Lee Lewis is one of the last surviving pioneers of '50s rock and roll music and the last remaining member of Sun Records Million Dollar Quartet and Class of 55 which altogether included Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley, as well as Lewis himself.
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