Rock ‘n’ roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis dies at 87

Jerry Lee Lewis, whose frenetic piano playing on hits like “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and “Great Balls of Fire” defined the early years of rock ‘n’ roll music, has died, according to a statement on his website. He was 87.

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“Services and more information will be announced in the following days,” family members said in the statement. “In lieu of flowers, the Lewis family requests donations be made in Jerry Lee Lewis’ honor to the Arthritis Foundation or MusiCares – the non-profit foundation of the GRAMMYs / National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.”

“The Killer” had been ill with the flu and was unable to attend his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame earlier this month. Kris Kristofferson accepted on his behalf.

Lewis’ career was defined by his wild piano playing, when he would rake the piano keys with his hands, play the instrument with his heel and kick the piano bench aside.

“Great Balls of Fire” reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 1958 and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957.

Lewis had 30 songs reach the top 10 on Billboard’s Country and Western charts.

But his popularity in the late 1950s declined in 1958 after it was revealed that he had married his 13-year-old cousin, Myra Gale Brown. Brown was Lewis’ third wife and his first cousin, one generation removed; the singer was 22 at the time. She was the daughter of J.W. Brown, who was Lewis’ first cousin and a bass player in his band.

They divorced after 13 years of marriage.

Lewis was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

“He was an unrepentant, wild example for the naysayers to use when they spoke out against what even Lewis himself called ‘the Devil’s music,’” the Hall of Fame noted in Lewis’ biography.

He had 14 songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart from 1958 to 1973. But it was on Billboard’s country charts where Lewis excelled, with four No. 1 hits and 23 singles that broke into the top-10. Fifty-five songs were rated in Billboard’s Hot 100.

His remake of The Big Bopper’s “Chantilly Lace” held the No. 1 position for three weeks in 1972, and “There Must Be More to Love Than This” was a chart-topper for two weeks in 1970. Lewis also had No. 1 singles with “To Make Love Sweeter for You” in 1968 and “Would You Take Another Chance on Me” in 1971.

Lewis was also nominated for three Grammy Awards and won in 1955 for best spoken word or nonmusical recording.

Lewis’ family life has been fraught with tragedy.

His 3-year-old son, Steve Allen Lewis, died in a drowning accident on April 22, 1962, in Memphis, Tennessee, according to the child’s death certificate.

Jerry Lee Lewis Jr., the singer’s son by his second wife, Sally Jane Mitcham, died Nov. 13, 1973, in an automobile accident near Hernando, Mississippi. He was 19.

The singer’s fourth wife, Jaren Lewis, also died from drowning in a swimming pool, United Press International reported. She was found floating in a backyard pool in Collierville, Tennessee, on June 8, 1982. The Lewises had filed divorce petitions several times over the previous three years and were due to have a hearing in late June 1982.

Lewis is survived by his wife, Judith Coghlan Lewis; his children, Jerry Lee Lewis III, Ronnie Lewis, Phoebe Lewis and Lori Lancaster; and several grandchildren.