How to do the jerry lewis dance
Throwback video of Jerry Lewis doing the jitterbug is still has people smiling today
It’s a name that the newer generation probably won’t have heard of, but the music genre called “Jitterbug” might ring a bell. The dance was extremely popular in the early 20th century and can be compared to some swing other dances. Jerry Lewis, who has had plenty of experience in the entertainment industry as a comedian and an actor, perhaps made this genre even more popular with his performance.
Source: ImgurJerry Lewis was an absolute superstar, even earning himself two stars on the prestigious Walk of Fame in Hollywood.
Unfortunately, Lewis passed away at his home residence a couple of years ago, but he had lived an interesting and fulfilling life. After his acting career started to dwindle down a little bit, he even got in involved with philanthropy, and you could definitely say that he’s built up a legacy that will live on for generations to come.
In fact, you can just ask the internet! The World Wide Web absolutely loves Lewis’s content and there are an immeasurable amount of videos online, just showcasing how popular this artist once was and still is.
His Jitterbug dance is still wildly popular, even in 2021. He performed it in the comedy film Living It Up by Paramount Pictures.
In the movie, Lewis partnered up with actor Dean Martin, and there’s one specific scene that will be remembered forever: the dance routine of their lives!
Lewis plays the role of Homer Flagg, a man who desperately wants to join a dance competition and he’s got a perfect style: dancing the Jitterbug. Martin, on the other hand, plays Dr. Steve Harris, and let’s just say that he’s not very optimistic about Homer’s dancing capabilities.
Source: YouTube Screenshot - Soleil SmileYou shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, because Homer was jitterbugging like the best with impeccable moves and rhythm.
The popular video kicks off right when the announcer says it’s time for the very last dance of the competition, which is all about Jitterbugging.
We see Homer heading towards to dance floor, asking for permission to compete.
Of course, the crowd absolutely loves it – his friend Harris, on the other hand, loudly shouts “No!” because he’s just not ready for what he’s about to witness.
The main character, of course, ignores the worries of his friend and proceeds to go absolutely footloose. He even dances along with Sheree North, who is the current Jitterbug champion.
Look at those two guys go!
Even just looking at it is exhausting, because they’re really giving it all they got with some serious moves. It’s almost as if they’re doing a cardio workout! If you think Jitterbugging is an alternative for going to the gym, this video will definitely back that up.
Source: YouTube Screenshot - Soleil SmileThe two dancers shake and twist around, and the dance talent here is pretty astonishing.
Source: YouTube Screenshot - Soleil SmileWho knew that Lewis, a comedian, could actually pull off those incredible dance moves?
Even though he’s not a professional dancer, practicing and perfecting this routine must’ve taken hours.
The things actors do for a movie!
Of course, we can’t forget that this is a comedy movie, which makes this Jitterbug performance even more memorable.
Being absolutely hilarious and pulling off these incredible dance moves at the same time? No wonder people called Jerry Lewis a true superstar.
Source: YouTube Screenshot - Soleil SmileIf you’d like to see how the hilarious Homer Flagg performed in this impeccable Jitterbug dance, definitely make sure to watch the video below.
But watch out, because the dancing can be quite infectious.
Watch the video below!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
Source: SoleilSmile, Do You Remember?, IMDb
Jerry Lewis - The Syncopated Times
As a musician, over the years, we occasionally have the opportunity to play with some giants or the industry. And about a decade ago, I got one such call.
During one of my trips back to Sydney (which I try and make annually) I was called to play a concert at the Sydney Opera House, in an orchestra of the city’s top session musicians, to accompany Jerry Lewis.
As you may be aware, it’s fairly common for a performer of this man’s stature to travel only with their musical director, and hire local musicians to fill out the rest of the orchestra. I did a similar concert a year or two prior with Debbie Reynolds, which was also a great experience. (If by now you’re thinking hmm.. Jerry Lewis, Sydney Opera House, Debbie Reynolds… he’s just shamelessly name dropping… then you’d be right. Consider me the journalistic equivalent of that old drunk at the end of the bar rambling on about the good ol’ days.)
Anyway, we the members of the orchestra arrived in the afternoon for the rehearsal. Jerry’s musical director was there already, music in hand, ready to rehearse. It’s important to note that Jerry does not come to rehearsals.
After all, it’s his show, and he already knows it pretty damn well by now.
So, his MD ran us through the arrangements and polished up the show, ready for the performance. Then dinner. Then change into our all blacks (standard musician attire for such an affair). Then wait backstage, ready for our call to go onstage. Twenty minutes out, no sign of Jerry. Ten minutes, still no sign. A few minutes out, we’re getting ready to walk on, and an assistant wheels a wheelchair into the backstage area with this old guy slumped into it, complete with an oxygen mask strapped to his face. I mean, he looked like death warmed up. And I’m thinking, “this is Jerry Lewis? What the hell is he gonna do out there? Go out on stage, do a couple of donuts in his wheelchair, pass out, then… curtain?” But of course, our job was to play the music, so out we went (without Jerry) to be seated and tune up.
And before the opening song was counted off, we hear “Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome: Jerry Lewis…” at which point this previously nearly comatose old man now bounds out into the stage in full dance mode, and proceeded to deliver a slick as hell, funny, entertaining, and energetic 90 minute straight performance, impressive for a performer at any age.
It was a transformation I couldn’t believe. His show included live renditions of some of my favorite scenes from his films: the scene from The Errand Boy mimed to the Basie Band, perfectly timed without him missing a beat, and recreating the amazing typewriter scene from Who’s Minding the Store. It was a schooling of the highest level in performance.
And after 90 minutes of boundless energy, a standing ovation, and an encore, he left the stage, only to be put straight back into his wheelchair, oxygen mask, then wheeled away into the bowels of the Opera House like some old cowboy off into the sunset. And that was that. I’ve not seen anything like it before or since. It was a lesson in professionalism, old-school showbiz dedication and the leave it all onstage attitude that would put performers a quarter of his age to shame.
When you are witness to the transformative power of music, and the transcendence of an imminently mortal being pushing themselves beyond their limits and doing what they were born to do, it’s hard not to be affected.
So whenever I’ve got to go onstage and I’m feeling a bit under the weather, hungover, or just in a plain old bad mood, I cast a thought to this old-school legend, sitting backstage in his wheelchair and oxygen mask… then tell myself to get my ass in gear, get out there, and give it my best. It’s the least I could do. And if I could deliver half the performance he did that day, it would be a good day.
Jerry Lee Lewis
Not to be confused with Jerry Lewis.
Jerry Lee Lewis (born September 29, 1935) is an American singer and pianist, often known by his nickname Killer . He has been called "the first great wild rock and roll and one of the most influential pianists of the twentieth century". [9]
A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made his first recordings in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis. "Crazy Hands" sold 300,000 copies in the South, but it was his hit 19'57" The whole Lotta Shakin 'Goin' On' for which Lewis became world famous.
This was followed by "Big Balls of Fire", "Breathless" and "Confidential in High School". However, Lewis's rock and roll career was shaken after he married Myra Gale Brown, his 13-year-old cousin.
His popularity waned quickly after the scandal, and with a few exceptions, such as the cover of Ray Charles's "What Would I Say", he did not have much chart success in the early 1960s. His live performances at that time were increasingly wild and energetic. His 1964 live album Live at the Star Club, Hamburg is considered by music journalists and fans to be one of rock's wildest and greatest live albums. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] In 1968, Lewis moved into country music and had hits with songs such as "Another Place, Another Time It revived his career , and throughout the late 1960s and 19During the 1970s, he regularly topped the country-western charts; in his seventy-year career, 30 of Lewis's songs reached the top ten.
Billboard Country and Western chart. [15] His No. 1 country hits include "Make Love Sweeter for You", "There Must Be More Love Than This", "Could You Give Me Another Chance?", and "Me and Bobby McGee" .
Lewis's success has continued for decades and he has embraced his rock and roll past with songs such as a cover of The Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace" and Mac Vickery's "Rockin' My Life Away".Into the 21st century, Lewis continues touring the world and is still releasing new albums.His 2006 album The Last Hero is his best-selling book to date, with over a million copies sold worldwide. This was followed by Angry Old Man in 2010, which received some of the best sales of Lewis' career.
Lewis has a dozen gold records in both rock and country. He has received four Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and two Grammy Hall of Fame Awards. [16] Lewis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and his pioneering contributions to the genre were recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
He was also a member of the first class inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. [17] In 1989 his life was filmed. Big Balls of Fire starring Dennis Quaid. In 2003, Rolling Stone listed his box set All Killers, No Fillers: An Anthology number 242 on their "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list. [18] In 2004 they ranked him number 24 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. [19] Lewis is the last surviving member of Sun Records' Million Dollar Quartet and Class of '55 album which also includes Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley.
Music critic Robert Christgau said of Lewis: "His drive, his timing, his casual vocal power, his unmistakable boogie-woogie piano, and his absolute confidence in the face of the void make Jerry Lee quintessential rock 'n' roll." [20]
Contents
- 1 Early years
- 2 Career
- 2.1 Sun Records
- 4.
3 Graceland arrest - 4.4 Financial problems
- 4.5 Health problems
- 5 Selected discography
- 5.1 composition
- 7 Outdoles
- 7
Exhibit at the Delta Music Museum in Ferriday, Louisiana representing Ferriday's Famous Cousins; left to right: Jimmy Swaggart, Lewis and Mickey Gilley
Lewis was born in September 1935 to a poor farming family, Elmo and Mamie Lewis, in Ferriday, Concordia Parish, eastern Louisiana. [21] As a youth, he began playing piano with two of his cousins, Mickey Gilley (later a popular country singer) and Jimmy Swaggart (later a popular TV evangelist). His parents mortgaged their farm to buy him a piano. Lewis was influenced by older cousin who played piano, Carl McVoy (who later recorded with Bill Black's Combo), radio and sounds from Haney's Big House, a black Juke Joint on rails. [22] On November 19, 1949, Lewis made his first public appearance, playing with a country and western band at a Ferryday car dealership.
The hit of his set was a cover version by R&B artist Palk McGee of Drinking Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee. [23] On the live album On Demand, More of the Greatest Live Shows on Earth . Lewis is heard naming Moon Mullican as the artist who inspired him. [ citation needed ] His mother enrolled him at the Southwestern Bible Institute, in Waxahachee, Texas, so that he could sing gospel songs exclusively. When Lewis boldly played the boogie-woogie performance of "My God Is Real" at a church meeting, he ended up talking to the school that same night. Pirrie Greene, then student body president, described how Lewis played "mundane" music during the talent show. The next morning, the dean of the school called Lewis and Green into his office to have them expelled. After this incident, he went home and began playing clubs in and around Ferryday and Natchez, Mississippi, becoming part of the growing new rock and roll sound and cutting his first demo at 1954 year.
Around 1955, he went to Nashville where he played clubs and tried to generate interest, but was turned down by the Grand Ole Opry as he was already on the Louisiana Hayride country scene and radio show in Shreveport. [ citation needed ] Career
Sun Records
Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, where Lewis began his career and recorded many of his most famous singles.
Sun Records artist Ray Harris sings "Greenback Dollar" and Lewis plays the piano.
In November 1956, Lewis traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to audition for Sun Records. Label owner Sam Phillips was in Florida, but producer and engineer Jack Clement recorded Lewis' performance of Ray Price's "Crazy Hands" and his own line-up of End of the Road In December 1956, Lewis began recording extensively as a solo artist and as a session musician for other artists Sun, including Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. His distinctive piano playing can be heard on many of the tracks recorded at Sun in the late 1956 - early 1957, including "Carl Perkins' Matchbox", "Your True Love," and "Put Your Cat Clothes On" and Billy Lee Riley's "Flyin' Saucers Rock'n'Roll".
On December 4, 1956, Elvis Presley dropped in on Phillips for a social visit while Perkins was in the studio recording new tracks and Lewis supported him on the piano. Johnny Cash also watched Perkins. The four then began an impromptu jam session and Phillips left the tape on. [24] These recordings, almost half of which were gospel songs, were released on CD as Million Dollar Quartet . Tracks also include Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" and "Paralyzed", Chuck Berry's "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" and Pat Boone's "Don't Forbid Me".
Lewis's own singles (on which he was billed as "Jerry Lee Lewis and His Swinging Piano") propelled his career as a soloist in 1957 with hits such as "The Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and Big Maybelle cover, and "Big Balls of Fire", his biggest hit, which brought him international fame despite criticism for the songs, which led some radio stations to boycott them. In 2005, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" was selected for permanent storage in the National Register Library of Congress Sound Recordings According to several first-hand sources, including Johnny Cash, Lewis, a devout Christian, was concerned about the sinful nature of his own material, which he believed was leading him and his audience to Hell.
0009 [25] This aspect of Lewis's character was portrayed in Waylon Payne's role as Lewis in the 2005 film Walk the Line , based on Cash's autobiographies. As part of his stage act, Lewis tapped the keys with his heel, kicked off the piano bench and played while standing, raking his hands up and down the keyboard for dramatic effect, sitting on the keyboard and even standing on top of the instrument. Lewis told then Pop Chronicle it originally happened by accident, but when he got positive feedback, he left it in motion. [24] His first television appearance in which he demonstrated some of these moves was on The Steve Allen Show on July 28, 1957, playing "All Lotta Shakin' Goin On". [26] [27]
His dynamic performance style can be seen in films such as High School Confidential (he sang the title song from the back of a flatbed truck), and Jamboree . He has been called "rock and roll's first great wild man" as well as "rock and roll's first great eclectic man".
[28] Classical composer Michael Nyman also cites Lewis's style as the progenitor of his own aesthetic. [29] Marriage dispute
Lewis's turbulent private life was hidden from the public until a British tour in May 1958, when Ray Berry, a reporter for the London Heathrow Airport news agency (the only journalist present) learned of Lewis's third wife, Myra Gale Brown. She was Lewis' cousin once removed [30] [31] and 13 (although Lewis said she was 15) - and Lewis was 22. The publication caused an uproar and the tour was canceled after only three shows. [32]
In 1960, Phillips opened a new state-of-the-art studio at 639 Madison Avenue in Memphis, [33] leaving the old Union Avenue studio where Phillips recorded B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Lewis, Johnny Cash and others, and opened a studio in Nashville. It was in the last studio that Lewis recorded his only major hit during this period, a performance of Ray Charles's "What Would I Say" at 1961 years old.
In Europe, other updated versions of "Sweet Sixteen" (September 1962, UK) and "My God, Miss Molly" (March 1963) entered the hit parade. On popular EPs, "Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes", "I'm Been Twistin'", "Money" and "Hello Josephine" also became turntable hits, especially in the nascent period. discos. Another recording of Lewis playing an instrumental boogie-woogie arrangement. Glenn Miller's orchestra favorite "In the Mood" was released by the Phillips International label under the pseudonym "Hawk". [ citation needed ] Smash Records
Lewis's recording contract with Sun ended in 1963 and he joined Smash Records, where he made a number of rock records that did not advance his career. The Smash team (a division of Mercury Records) came up with "I'm on Fire", a song they thought would be perfect for Lewis, and as Colin Escott writes on the cover of the retrospective Half a Century of Hits , "Mercury kept the press thinking that they found Lewis's comeback a hit and it could have happened if the Beatles hadn't arrived in America changing playlists on the radio almost instantly Mercury didn't really know what to do with Lewis after that.
" Sun strokes, The Golden Hits of Jerry Lee Lewis , which was inspired by the enduring enthusiasm that European fans showed for Lewis' fiery rock and roll. In June 1963, Lewis returned to the UK for the first time since the scandal that nearly ended his career five years earlier to headline the MV Royal Daffodil festival, for a cross-channel rock and roll cruise from Southend, Essex, UK to Boulogne , France. In this performance, he was supported by Ritchie Blackmore and the Outlaws. [34] However, despite his successful touring, none of Lewis Smash's early albums, including Return of Rock , Memphis Beat , and Soul My Way , were commercial successes.
Live at the Star Club, HamburgOne of the major successes of these lost years was the live album Live at the Star Club, Hamburg , recorded with the Nashville Teenagers in 1964, considered one of the greatest live albums of all time. [10] [12] [13] [14] [35] In Joe Bonomo's book Lost and Found , producer Siggi Loh stated that the recording setup was uncomplicated, with microphones positioned as as close as possible to the instruments, and a stereo microphone placed in the audience to capture the atmosphere.
The results were sonically stunning, with Bonomo remarking, "Detractors complain about the album's amazing noisiness, the lack of subtlety with which Jerry Lee revisits the songs, the fact that the piano sounds too loud, but it's certain that Siggi Loch is on this spring evening captures something frankly honest about The Killer, the primal and timeless center of the very best rock 'n' roll...” The album showcases Lewis' skills as a pianist and singer honed by relentless touring. In a 5 out of 5 star review, Milo Miles wrote: A Rolling Stone a magazine that " Live at the Star Club, Hamburg is not an album, it is a crime scene: Jerry Lee Lewis kills his rivals in a thirteen-song set that feels like one long cramp." The return of country
Lewis performing with Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash at Johnny Cash Christmas special in November 1977
Frustrated with Smash's inability to succeed, Lewis was planning to leave the label when promotion manager Eddie Kilroy called him with the idea of setting a clean record country to Nashville.
Nothing to lose, Lewis agreed to record Jerry Chesnut's "Another Place, Another Time", which was released as a single on 9March 1968 and, to everyone's surprise, took off on the country charts. At the time of release, Lewis played Iago in a rock and roll adaptation of Othello called Catch My Soul in Los Angeles, but was soon sent back to Nashville to record another batch of songs with producer Jerry Kennedy. This was followed by a series of hits that no one could have predicted, although country has always been an important part of Lewis's repertoire. As Colin Escott points out on the cover of the 1995 collection Killerland , the switch to country music in 1968 "looked like a drastic shift at the time, but it wasn't as abrupt and unexpected as it seemed. Jerry had always recorded country music, and his country music breakthrough" Another place, another time" had he been preceded by many national records, starting with his first, "Crazy Hands" in 1956. "Lewis's last song on the country charts was with 'Pen and Paper' in 1964, which reached No.
36, and "Another Place, Another Time" - to No. 4 and stay on the charts for 17 weeks.0003 Between 1968 and 1977, Lewis had 17 Top 10 hit singles on the Billboard Country Chart, including four No. 1 hits. Hits include "What Made Milwaukee Famous (Made a Loser Out of Me)", "Make Love Sweeter for You", "It Still Comes (Love What's Left of Me)", "Since I Met You, Baby", "Once More With Feeling", "One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart)" and "Sometimes One Memory Isn't Enough". Working on his early country albums like Another Place Another Time and She even woke me up to say goodbye was a rare, far from slick "Nashville sound" that was predominant on country radio at the time, and also expressed Lewis' total commitment to the country audience. The songs still featured Lewis' inimitable piano sound, but critics were most stunned by the rock and roll pioneer's light, soulful vocals, which had an emotional resonance on par with the most respected country singers of the time, such as George Jones and Merle Haggard.
In his book Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story , biographer Rick Bragg notes that the songs Lewis recorded "were of the type they started to call 'hard country', not because they had a rock beat or real transition to rock, but because they were more substantial than the annoying, exaggerated clutter on country radio." Smash producer Shelby Singleton, who bought Sun Records from Sam Phillips on July 19'69 wasted no time in repackaging many of Lewis' old country records with such efficiency that many fans considered them to be recent releases. One of his last unreleased Sun recordings, "One Minute of Eternity Gone," was released as a single and peaked at No. 2 in the country charts behind Lewis Mercury's recent performance of the hit "She even woke me up to say goodbye." Singleton milked these unreleased records for years, after Golden Cream of the Country featuring Taste of Country later at 1970 Grand Ole Opry exterior
Lewis played the Grand Ole Opry for the first and only time on January 20, 1973.
As Colin Escott writes in the liner notes for 's Half a Century of Hits , Lewis has always been ambivalent about Music City ever since he was rejected as an aspiring musician before his glory days at Sun Records: "It's been 18 years since he left Nashville broken and disappointed...Lewis was never truly accepted in Nashville. He didn't move there or chat there. He didn't fit in with the family values crowd. Lewis's family values weren't necessarily worse, but they were different."0003 According to the 2015 online magazine Rolling Stone article by Beville Dunkerley, Lewis opened with his comeback single "Another Place, Another Time" Ignoring his allotted time - and therefore commercial breaks - Lewis played 40 minutes (Opry average performs two songs, which is a maximum of 8 minutes on stage) and invited Del Wood - one of the members of the Opry who was kind to him when he was a teenager there - came on stage to sing with him. He also recorded "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On", "Workin' Man Blues", "Oh My God Miss Molly" and a host of other classics.
[36]
Session and Southern RootsLewis returned to the pop charts with Me and Bobby McGee in 1971 and Chantilly Lace in 1972, and this turn of events coupled with a resurgence public interest in vintage rock and roll inspired Mercury to fly with Lewis to London in 1973 to record with a group of talented British and Irish musicians including Rory Gallagher, Kenny Jones, and Albert Lee. Apparently, the meetings were tense. A remake of an old version of Lewis's "Drink Spo-Dee-O-Dee Wine" would become the album's hit, peaking at number 20 on the charts. Billboard country chart and peaking at number 41 on the pop chart. Session would be Lewis' best pop album since 1964. Jerry Lee Lewis Golden Hits , finishing 37th. It did well on the country albums chart, climbing to number 4. Later that year, he traveled to Memphis and recorded Southern Roots: Coming Home to Memphis , a soulful rock album produced by Huey Meaux.
According to Rick Bragg's official 2014 biography, "The Killer" was in a foul mood when he showed up at the Trans Maximus studios in Memphis for a recording: "During these sessions, he insulted the producer, threatened to kill the photographer, drank and took medication until he came out of the fog." ". During one exchange that can be heard on the 2013 re-release of Southern Roots: The Original Sessions, Moe asks Lewis "Do you want to try?" referring to the take, to which Lewis replies "If you have the fucking wit to cut it off." [ citation needed ] Lewis was still putting out country albums, although the hits were starting to dry up. His last big hit with the Mercury was "Middle Age Crazy", which peaked at No. 4 in 1977. Lewis performing in 1977
Later career
Lewis performing in 2009
In 1979, Lewis switched to the Electra and produced the critically acclaimed Jerry Lee Lewis , although sales were disappointing.
In 1986, Lewis was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Despite looking weak after several hospitalizations for stomach problems, Lewis was responsible for starting an unplanned late-night traffic jam that was eventually included in all future events. That same year, he returned to Sun Studio in Memphis to team up with Orbison, Cash and Perkins along with longtime fans such as John Fogerty to create the album Class of '55 , sort of a continuation of the Million Dollar Quartet session, although in the eyes of many critics and fans it lacked the spirit of the old Sun days. [ citation needed ] In 1989, a major film based on his early rock and roll life was made. Big balls of fire! , brought him back to the public eye, especially when he decided to re-record all of his songs for the film's soundtrack. The film was based on a book by Lewis' ex-wife Myra Gayle Lewis. Dennis Quaid as Lewis, Winona Ryder as Myra, and Alec Baldwin as Jimmy Swaggart.
The film focuses on Lewis's early career and his relationship with Myra and ends with a scandal at the end of 1950s. A year later, in 1990, Lewis made minor news when a new song he had recorded called "It Was the Whiskey Talkin' (Not Me)" was featured on the hit film soundtrack. Dick Tracy . The song is also featured in the film playing on the radio. The public downfall of his cousin, TV evangelist Jimmy Swaggart around the same time, led to more negative publicity for the dysfunctional family. Swaggart is also a pianist, like another cousin, a country star. Mickey Gilli. All three listened to the same music in their youth and frequented Haney's Big House, a Ferriday club that featured black blues performers. Lewis and Swaggart have had a complicated relationship over the years. Lewis performs at the Rhythm Festival in Bedford, England in 2006.
In 1998 Lewis toured Europe with Chuck Berry and Little Richard. [ citation needed ] On February 12, 2005, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy.
[16] On September 26, 2006, a new album called The Last Hero was released with many members of the rock and roll elite as guest stars. To positive reviews, the album charted on four different Billboard charts, including a two-week stay at number one on the Indie charts. Last Man Standing , containing live recordings featuring many guest artists, was released in March 2007 and the CD was Lewis's 10th official gold disc, selling over half a million copies in the US alone. The Last Hero is Lewis' best selling album of all time. [ citation needed ] It features material from Little Richard, Mick Jagger, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards and Rod Stewart, among others. Lewis now lives on a ranch in Nesbit, Mississippi with his family. [37] [38] [39] Lewis performing in 2006
London Forum 28 October with Wanda Jackson and his sister, Linda Gale Lewis. [40] In August 2009, in anticipation of his new album, a single titled "Angry Old Man" was released for download.
It was written by Kris Kristofferson. On November 11, an EP was released with this and four other songs. 29On October 2009, Lewis opened the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 25th Anniversary Concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. [41] In May 2013, Lewis opened a new club on Beale Street in Memphis. [42] [43] Lewis is still considered to be an active live performer, [44] although he had to cancel all performances after suffering a stroke on February 28, 2019, pending medical clearance. [45]
In March 2020, it was announced that Lewis was recording a new gospel cover album with producer T-Bone Burnett. This was the first time he had entered the recording studio since his stroke. [46]
On October 27, 2020, to commemorate Lewis's 85th birthday, a live stream was broadcast on YouTube, Facebook and his official website. Live broadcast special, Whole Lotta Celebratin Goin' On , popular performances and performances by Willie Nelson, Elton John, Mike Love, Priscilla Presley, Joe Walsh and more.
John Stamos served as host. [47] [48] Music Heritage
June 25, 2019 The New York Times Magazine listed Lewis among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal Fire. [49]
Praises
Lewis "Copper Note" on the Beale Street Walk of Fame in Memphis
Jerry Lee Lewis Drive in Ferryday, Louisiana
Together with Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Lewis Orby received the first award in the spoken word category for a very rare album of interviews released with some early copies of the book. Class of 55. album from 1986. [16] Sun's original version of "Great Balls of Fire" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, and Lewis Sun's recording of "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On" received the honor in 1999. [50] This award can only be given to recordings that are 25 years old and leave a lasting impression. On February 12, 2005, Lewis received the Recording Lifetime Achievement Award the day before the Recording Academy's main Grammy Awards, which he also attended.
[51] In June 1989, Lewis was honored for his contribution to the recording industry along with a star. Hollywood Boulevard on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. From 1957 to 2006, 47 singles and 22 albums were released ( Session counts as 2 albums) hit the Top Twenty Pop, Jukebox, Rock, Indie and/or Country charts in the US or UK. 14 [ clarification needed ] reached position #1. He has had ten official gold discs, the last of which was recorded on a 2006 album. The Last Hero , plus unofficial ones released by his record company Mercury for albums selling over a quarter of a million copies. The Last Hero has sold over half a million worldwide, making his album the best-selling album of all time. Lewis is also one of the Top 50 Billboard Country Artists of All Time. On October 10, 2007, Lewis received the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's American Music Masters Award. His next album, Angry Old Man , was released in September 2010 and peaked at number 30 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
0003 On November 5, 2007, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio honored Lewis with six days of conferences, interviews, and the premiere of a DVD and video clip dedicated to him, titled The Life and Music of Jerry Lee Lewis . [ citation needed ] November 10 ended the week with a tribute concert performed by Kris Kristofferson. Lewis attended the American Music Masters Award and closed his own tribute show with a performance of "Over the Rainbow". On February 10, 2008, he appeared with John Fogerty and Little Richard at the 50th Grammy Awards, performing "Great Balls of Fire" mixed with "My God, Miss Molly". On June 4, 2008, Lewis was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame and appeared on Fourth Capitol and performed the finale's final act with a medley of "Flip Beethoven", "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On" and "Big Fireballs".
In December 2019, Lewis was honored with the Mississippi Country Music Trail Award at his ranch in Nesbit, Mississippi, in honor of his contributions to country music.
[52] Piano Style
Lewis is widely regarded as one of the most influential pianists in rock and roll history. [ need quote ] In an oft-quoted tribute, Elvis Presley once said that if he could play the piano like Lewis, he would stop singing. [ citation needed ] Lewis's key role in popularizing the piano in rock and roll is undeniable. [ citation needed ] Up until his arrival, music was primarily associated with guitars, but his early Sun recordings and TV appearances brought the instrument to the forefront. [ need quote ] Lewis was also a fiery showman who often played with his fists, elbows, feet and buttocks, sometimes climbing the piano during concerts and even apocryphally setting it on fire. [53] Like Chuck Berry's guitar playing, Lewis's piano style became synonymous with rock and roll, influencing generations of pianists.
In a 2013 interview with Leah Harper, Elton John recalls that prior to Great Balls of Fire, “the piano playing I heard was more relaxed.
My father used to collect George Shearing records, but that was the first time I heard someone beat the crap out of a piano. saw Little Richard in Harrow Granada, he played it standing up, but Jerry Lee Lewis actually jumped on the piano! I was amazed that people could do it. Those records had a huge impact on me and they were just so great. I learned to play like that.” Lewis is primarily known for his "boogie-woogie" style, which is characterized by a conventional left-hand bass and dance rhythm, but his command of the instrument and highly individual style made him stand out. Appears on Memphis Sounds with George Klein In 2011, Lewis cited a decisive influence on his older cousin Carl McVoy, who plays the piano, stating, "He was a great pianist, a great singer and a likeable man, very well-behaved." I really miss Carl. Lewis also cited Moon Mullican as an inspiration. [ citation needed ] Although Lewis is almost entirely self-taught, in 2014 Lewis admitted to biographer Rich Bragg that Paul Whitehead, a blind pianist from Meadville, Mississippi, had another effect on him.
a key influence in his early club days.0009 [ citation needed ] Although Lewis's piano playing is commonly referred to as boogie-woogie, gospel was another major influence in shaping his technique. In Joe Bonomo's 2009 book Jerry Lee Lewis: Lost and Found , Memphis producer and musician Jim Dickinson refers to Lewis's occasional tendency to interrupt the standard boogie-woogie left progression by skipping the seventh and repeating the fifth and sixth, creating a repetitive, driving, almost menacing momentum, “revolutionary, almost inexplicable. Ella Mae Morse, maybe Moon Mullican did it, but not in a way that drives the song. Rock 'n' roll piano up to this point had been defined by Roscoe Gordon: Ike Turner, and to some extent, Ray Charles. None of them did it. Even Little Richard, as primitive as he was, didn't do that shuffle... There was something about Jerry Lee that didn't want to play seventh, and that's the church. Of course, in white sacred music, you avoid sevenths.
” [ need quote ] Personal life
Relationships and children
Lewis has been married seven times. [54] During his marriage he had six children. In 1962, his son Steve Allen Lewis drowned in a pool accident at the age of three, and in 1973, Jerry Lee Lewis Jr. died at the age of 19. [55] [56] when he overturned the Jeep he was driving. [55]
When he was 16, he married Dorothy Barton, the daughter of a preacher. [57] Their union lasted 20 months, from February 1952 to October 1953. [55]
His second marriage, in September 1953, to Jane Mitchum, was of dubious validity, having taken place 23 days before his final divorce from Burton. After four years, Lewis filed for divorce in October 1957. The couple had two children: Jerry Lee Lewis Jr. (1954–1973) and Ronnie Guy Lewis (b. 1956).
His third marriage was 13 year old Myra Gale Brown, his cousin once removed 12 December 1957 [58] However, his divorce from Jane Mitchum was not finalized before the ceremony, so he remarried Brown on June 4, 1958.
[59] In 1970 Brown filed for divorce on grounds of adultery and abuse, [59] accusing her of having "been subjected to every kind of physical and psychological abuse imaginable". [60] They had two children: Steve Allen Lewis (1959–1962) and Phoebe Allen Lewis (b. 1963). His fourth marriage was to Jaren Elizabeth Gunn Pate (October 1971 - June 8, 1982). Pate drowned in the pool at the home of a friend she was living with weeks before her divorce was finalized. [61] They had a daughter, Lori Lee Lewis (b. 1972).
Mary Cathy 'KK' Jones of San Antonio, Texas testified in court during Lewis's 1984 income tax evasion trial that she lived with him from 1980 to 1983. [62]
His fifth marriage to Sean Stevens lasted 77 days, from June to August 1983 years old, and ended with her death. [63] Journalist Richard Ben Kramer claimed that Lewis raped her and may have been responsible for her death, but the allegations have never been verified.
[64] His sixth marriage to Kerry McCarver lasted 21 years, from April 1984 to June 2005. They have one child: Jerry Lee Lewis III (b. 1987). [65]
In 1993, Lewis moved to Ireland with his family, which was suggested (but rejected) to avoid problems with the Internal Revenue Service. [66] He lived in a rented house on Westminster Road in Foxrock, Dublin, and while he was living there, the German company Neue Constantin Film Production GmbH sued for failing to attend a concert in Munich in 1993. [67] Lewis returned to the US in 1997 after Irish promoter Kieran Cavanagh resolved his tax problems. [68]
Lewis married his seventh wife Judith Lewis (née Brown) on March 9, 2012. [54] The next day, Lewis severed business ties with his daughter, Phoebe Lewis-Loftin, who was his manager, and recalled her. power of attorney. [69] In 2017, Lewis sued his daughter and her husband, Zeke Loftin, alleging that she owed him "significant amounts of money.
" [70] In the lawsuit, Lewis, his wife Judith Lewis and his son Jerry Lee Lewis III also alleged that Loftin slandered them on Facebook. Lewis-Loftin and her husband filed a counterclaim alleging that Judith Lewis and Jerry Lee Lewis III interfered in the business relationship. In April 2019, U.S. District Judge Neil Biggers ruled that most of the lawsuits were dismissed by the three-year statute of limitations, with the exception of defamation lawsuits. [69] Religious beliefs
As a teenager, Lewis attended Southwestern Bible Institute in Waxahachee, Texas before being dropped for daring to play a boogie-woogie version of "My God Is Real", and this an early incident foreshadowed his lifelong conflict over his belief in God and his love of playing "devil's music". Lewis had a recorded argument with Sam Phillips during a recording session for "Big Balls of Fire", a song he initially refused to record because he thought it was blasphemous ("How can.
.. How can the devil save souls? What are you talking about ? he asks Philips during one heated conversation.) During the famous Million Dollar Quartet Jam featuring Lewis, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash, they performed several gospel songs. Lewis biographer Rick Bragg explains that part of the reason only Lewis and Elvis sing on the recording is because "only Elvis and Jerry Lee [were] raised in the Assembly of God", and ""Johnny and Carl really didn't know the words ... they were Baptists, "said [Lewis], and so was deprived." [71] In the 1990 documentary The Jerry Lee Lewis Story Lewis told an interviewer, “The Bible doesn't even talk about religion. There is not even a word about religion in the Bible. Consecration! Are you sanctified? Have you been saved ? See, I was a good preacher, I know my Bible. I found myself devoid of the glory of God.” [ citation needed ]
The gospel was a staple of his performing repertoire.
After a string of country album hits, he decided to record his first gospel album at 1970 year. Graceland arrest
On November 22, 1976, Lewis was arrested on the street. Elvis Presley taking Graceland home on charges of intent to shoot him. [72] Lewis had already nearly killed his bassist Butch Owens on September 29, 1976 (Lewis's 41st birthday) when a .357 Magnum accidentally hit his hand. [73] In Rick Bragg's 2014 official biography Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story Lewis said the reclusive Presley tried to contact him and finally did so on November 23, begging him to "come inside the house". Lewis replied that he would have done it if he had the time, but he was busy trying to get his father Elmo out of prison in Tunica, for driving under the influence. Later that night, Lewis was at a Memphis nightclub called Vapors drinking champagne when he was given a gun. Lewis suddenly remembered that Elvis wanted to see him and, climbing aboard his new Lincoln Continental with a loaded pistol on the dashboard and a bottle of champagne under his arm, he rushed to Graceland.
Shortly before three in the morning, Lewis accidentally crashed into the famous Graceland Gate. Presley's surprised cousin Harold Lloyd stood at the gate and watched as Lewis tried to throw a bottle of champagne through the car window, not realizing that the window had been rolled up, breaking both. Bragg reports that Lewis denies ever intending to harm Presley, that the two were friends, but "Elvis, watching closed-circuit television, told the guards to call the police. Memphis police found a gun in the car and handcuffed Lewis, protesting, screaming, threatening them." Lewis said: "The cops asked Elvis, 'What do you want us to do? And Elvis told them, "Lock him up." It hurt me. It was funny to be afraid of me - to know me for who he was." Lewis was charged with carrying a gun and public drunkenness. Released on $250 bail, his provocative photo was sent around the world. Presley himself died in Graceland. months later. [74] [75] [76]
Financial Trouble
Lewis Ranch Gate in Nesbit, Mississippi
dollars.
[77] The property included several cars, a tractor, five motorcycles, jewelry, musical instruments, home entertainment equipment and firearms. In 1980, an auction was held, but only 150 potential bidders turned up. The auction collected 9$1,382, less than a third of the debt. [77] In 1984, he was found not guilty of tax evasion. However, the following year, the IRS seized property at Lewis's ranch in Nesbit. [77]
In 1988, Lewis filed for bankruptcy, claiming he owed more than $3 million, including $2 million he owed the IRS. [77]
Health problems
On February 28, 2019, Lewis suffered a minor stroke in Memphis. [78] He is expected to make a full recovery and had to cancel several upcoming shows. [79]
Choice Discography
Main article: Discography Jerry Lee Lewis
- Jerry Lee Leeis (1958)
- Greater (1962)
- GMB, HAMBB, HAMBRG 1964)
- Return of the rock (1965)
- Country-song for citizens / All countries (1965)
- Memphis BIT (1966)
- Shower my path (1967)
- other place, other time, other time, other time.
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(1968) - She Still Coming (1969)
- Sings Country Music Hall of Fame Hits, Vol. 1 (1969)
- Sings Country Music Hall of Fame Hits, Vol. 2 (1969)
- Golden cream of the country (1969)
- She even woke me up to say goodbye (1970)
- Taste Country (1970)
- should be more love than (1971)
- Touch to house (1971 1971 (1971 )
- Could you give me another chance? (1971)
- Killer Rock (1972)
- Who will play this old piano? (1972)
- Session ... Recorded in London with 9 great artists0016 (1973)
- Sometimes there is not enough memory (1973)
- Southern roots: Return home to Memphis (1973) I-40 Country (1974)
- Bugi-vugi Country) )
- Strange person in (1975)
- Country Class (1976)
- Memories of the country (1977)
- Jerry Lee continues to light (1978)
- Jerry0016 (1979)
- When two worlds collide (1980)
- Country of killers (1980)
- I am (1984)
- G.
(1986) - Young blood (1995)
- Last Hero (2006)
- Last person, surviving (2007)
- Angry old man (2010)
- ROK-N-ROLLA (2014) (2014) (2014) (2014)
Compositions
Lewis wrote or co-wrote the following songs: "End of the Road" (1956), "Lewis Boogie" (1956), "Rock Piano" [80] (1957), "Confidential in High School" (1958), " Memory of You" [81] (1958), "Baby Baby Bye Bye" [82] (1960), although Discogs lists songwriters Jerry Lee Lewis and Huey "Piano" Smith, the song is copyrighted in 1960 to Lewis Smith [83] "Lewis Workout" [84] (1960), "He took it like a man" (1963, from the 1967 album) Soul My Way ), "Baby Hold Me Closer" [85] (1965) from the 1965 album The Return of Rock , "What a Mess" [86] ( 1966), "Lincoln Limousine" [87] (1966), "Alvin" [88] (1970), "Wall Around Heaven" from the 1972 album Who will play this old piano? , "Rockin' Jerry Lee" [89] (1980, B-side "Honky Tonk Stuff", from the album When Two Worlds Collide 9 Christgau, Robert (1981). American comedian, director and screenwriter. Real name Jerry Lewis (Jerry Lewis) - Joseph Levich (Joseph Levitch). He was born March 16, 1926, Newark, New Jersey, USA. His career began in 1940 at the age of 14, he began to take part in theatrical productions. In addition to theater work in 1946, Jerry began performing on the stage: he sang in nightclubs and performed on the radio in a duet with actor and singer Dean Martin . In 1950, he received the title of "Most Promising TV Star". Lewis and Martin were active in revues, comic reviews, parody concerts, and music programs. Jerry Lewis' film career began with My Friend Irma in 1949. At the same time, he continued to work with Dean Martin on television and in a number of satirical and comedic films of the first half of the 50s. In 1960, the actor founded his film company, wrote scripts and acted in these films: The Messenger / The Corridor (1960), The Boyfriend / The Ladies Man (1961), The Scapegoat / Errand Boy (1964), Family Jewels/Family Treasures (1965). His most significant work as an actor and director was the film "Crazy Professor / Crazy Professor" , filmed in 1963. It was a comic version of R. Stevenson's novel about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In the 1980s he appeared in films The King of Comedy and The Snack Table . In the 90s, he mainly worked in the theater, took up dubbing cartoons ( "The Simpsons" etc.). In 1995, he played a role in the comedy "Jokes aside" . Actor Big Finish (2014) Big Finish… Chairman, rumors Max Rose (2013) Max Rose… Max Rose Curious George 2: In the wake of the monkeys (video, 2009) Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey!… Stationmaster, VO The Nutty Professor (Video, 2008) The Nutty Professor… Julius Kelp, Buddy Love, VO Law and order. Jokes aside (1995) Funny Bones ... George Fawkes Arizona Dream (1993) Arizona Dream ... Leo Sweetie No crazy about you (TV series 1992 - 1999) Mad About You ... Freddy Statler Mr. Saturday night (1992) Saturday Night ... Jerry Lewis The Simpsons (TV series 1989 - ...) The Simpsons ... Professor John Frink, Sr., voice Bun (1989) Cookie… Arnold Ross Egghead (TV series 1987 – 1990) Wiseguy… Eli Sternberg Fight for Life (TV, 1987) Fight for Life… Dr. Bernard Abrams Par où t'es rentré? On t'a pas vu sortir (1984) Par où t'es rentré? On t'a pas vu sortir... Clovis Blaireau Catch me... or be in trouble! (1984) Retenez-moi… ou je fais un malheur!… Jerry Logan Smorgasbord (1983) Smorgasbord… Warren Nefron / Dr. Perks / Gangster / Speed Armeter The King of Comedy (1982) The King of Comedy… Jerry Langford Slapstick (1982) Slapstick (Of Another Kind)… Wilbur Swain / Caleb Swain Hard Work (1980) Hardly Working… Bo Hooper The Day the Clown Cried (1972) The Day the Clown Cried… Helmut Doork VIP swing (TV series 1971 – 1980) V. Which Way to the Front? (1970) Which Way to the Front?… Brendan Byers III 69) Hook, Line and Sinker… Peter J. Ingersoll / Fred Dobbs Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River (1968) Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River… George Lester Big Mouth (1967) The Big Mouth… Gerald Clamson / Syd Valentine Way… Way Out (1966) Way… Way Out… Pete Mattemore Three on a Couch (1966) Three on a Couch… Christopher Pride / Warren / Ringo / Rutherford / Heather Boeing-Boeing (1965) Boeing (707) Boeing (707)… Robert Reed Family Values (1965) The Family Jewels… Willard Woodward / James Peyton / Everett Peyton / Julius Peyton / Capt. Eddie Peyton / Skylock Peyton / 'Bugs' Peyton The Disorderly Orderly (1964) The Disorderly Orderly… Jerome Littlefield The Patsy (1964) The Patsy… Stanley Belt / Singers of the Trio Who will take care of the shop? (1963) Who's Minding the Store?… Norman Phiffier The Nutty Professor… Professor Julius Kelp, Buddy Love, Baby Kelp It's Only Money (1962) It's Only Money… Lester March The Messenger (1961) The Errand Boy… Morty S. Ben Casey (TV series 1961 – 1966) Ben Casey… Dr. Dennis Green Ladies Man (1961) The Ladies Man… Herbert H. Heebert / Mama Heebert Cinderfella (1960) Cinderfella… Cinderfella Corridor (1960) The Bellboy… Stanley / playing himself Visit to a small planet ( 1960) Visit to a Small Planet… Kreton Don't Give Up the Ship (1959) Don't Give Up the Ship… John Paul Steckler I / John Paul Steckler IV / John Paul Steckler VII The Geisha Boy (1958) The Geisha Boy… Gilbert Wooley Rock- a-Bye Baby (1958) Rock-a-Bye Baby… Clayton Poole The Sad Sack… Private Meredith C. Bixby The Delicate Delinquent… Sidney L. Pythias Hollywood or 1956 Hollywood or Bust Malcolm Smith Pardners (1956) Pardners… Wade Kingsley Jr. / Wade Kingsley Sr. Artists and Models… Eugene Fullstack You're Never Too Young… Wilbur Hoolick 3 Ring Circus (1954) 3 Ring Circus… Jerome F. 'Jerry' Hotchkiss Living It Up… Homer Flagg Money from Home (1953) Money from Home… Virgil Yokum Caddy (1953) The Caddy… Harvey Miller, Jr Scared to Death (1953) Scared Stiff… Myron Mertz The Stooge… Theodore 'Ted' Rogers Jumping Jacks (1952) Jumping Jacks… Hap Smith Watch Out Sailor (1952) Sailor Beware… Melvin Jones The Red Show Skelton (TV series 1951 – 1971) The Red Skelton Show… Magician's Assistant / Silent Spot This is my boyfriend (1951) That's My Boy… 'Junior' Jackson Deserters (1950) At War with the Army… Pfc.
"Jerry Lee Lewis". Christgau Record Guide: Rock Albums of the 70s . Da Capo Press. p. 225. ISBN 0-30680409-3 . His drive, his rhythm, his unexpected vocal power, his unmistakable boogie-woogie piano, and his absolute confidence in the face of the void make Jerry Lee a quintessential rock 'n' roller. He's a country artist because of geography and a simple annoyance with the scared and shitty masters of rock - after all, it was the inadequacy of country moralism that pushed him into rockabilly. 9 "Ol' Glory - Jerry Lee Lewis | Song info". All music . Retrieved October 25, 2019.
References
external links
Jerry Lewis, Actor: photo, biography, filmography, news
Died August 20, 2017. Jerry Lewis. Biography
Jerry Lewis. Career path
Works Jerry Lewis continued the tradition of "silent" comic cinema, were full of satire. Jerry Lewis. Filmography
Special Corps (TV series 1999 - ...) Law & Order: Special Victims Unit ... Uncle Andrew Munch 
I.P.-Schaukel… playing himself / Helmut Doork 
Tashman 
