The character of Jerry Lee Lewis, “The killer”, (Ferriday, Louisiana, 1935) fits in perfectly with what one would expect from a rock'n'roll star: fun-loving, a womaniser, nonconformist, arrogant, and a show-off. He not only fits the stereotype, but he gives it a new dimension in each of his stage performances and savage piano-playing. He symbolises everything that the rock’n’roll explosion brought in the fifties, the musical basis for most of the music trends that would come later – for they say Jerry was rocking way before rock was invented.

It is not easy to summarise such a long and turbulent biography, except for providing a sketch of one of the greatest legends of modern music. Everything started very early – his precocious and natural talent for music was as evident as his rebellious streak. At ten, he already played the piano perfectly. Inspired by gospel in his first years, he would soon take elements from blues, country, jazz, rockabilly and R&B to shape his own original and unmistakable style. He recorded a couple of singles in Louisiana and went to Memphis to follow the steps of Elvis Presley. His vigorous acts, were he sang energetically and viciously pounded the piano before a wild audience, earned him the nickname of "The killer". His third single, "Great balls of fire", was his greatest success worldwide, and the film Jamboree firmly established him as a teenage idol. From the eighties onwards, his career started to be valued for its real worth. In 1986 he was the first artist to be included in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland, Ohio) and in 2003 the magazine Rolling Stone declared him the twenty-fourth best musician of the century.

Having survived the tragedies and excesses of his personal life, “The Killer" continues his musical career, playing and recording, accompanied by his unbribable rock muses.

www.jerryleelewis.com