BIOGRAPHY
JERRY LEE LEWIS
Album: Last Man Standing
Release: 2006-10-09
It's been half a century since Jerry Lee Lewis first rocketed to the top of America's
pop, country and R&B charts with "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great
Balls of Fire" and while those iconoclastic performances still define the essence of
rock 'n' roll for millions, Jerry Lee himself continues to thrill audiences around the
world with the scorching blend of blues, country, gospel and music that he calls
his own.
With Last Man Standing, the Killer's first new studio album in more than a decade,
rock 'n' roll's greatest showman finds himself in the company of 22 rock, blues
and country music superstars, contemporaries and disciples alike, dueting on a
dream set list of classic songs, many of which might not even exist had Jerry Lee
Lewis not kicked open the floodgates back in the 1950s.
With a lifetime of triumph and tragedy to draw from, Jerry Lee Lewis sings and
plays with the seasoned wisdom of a man who's seen it all and the savvy
confidence of a performer who knows that music--and the emotional truths it
carries--is the thing that matters most.
Joining Jerry Lee on Last Man Standing are Jimmy Page ("Rock and Roll"), B.B.
King ("Before The Night Is Over"), Bruce Springsteen ("Pink Cadillac"), Mick
Jagger (vocals) and Ronnie Wood (pedal steel guitar) ("Evening Gown"), Neil
Young ("You Don't Have To Go"), Toby Keith ("Old Glory"), John Fogerty
("Travelin' Band"), Keith Richards ("That Kind of Fool"), Robbie Robertson
("Twilight"), Merle Haggard ("Just A Bummin' Around"), Kid Rock ("Honky Tonk
Woman"), Rod Stewart ("What's Made Milwaukee Famous"), Willie Nelson
("Couple More Years"), George Jones ("Don't Be Ashamed of Your Age"), Eric
Clapton ("Trouble In Mind"), Little Richard ("I Saw Her Standing There"), Delaney
Bramlett ("Lost Highway"), Buddy Guy ("Hadacohl Boogie"), Don Henley ("What
Makes the Irish Heart Beat"), and Kris Kristofferson ("The Pilgrim").
Jerry Lee Lewis, who cut his first record in 1954, is the "last man standing" from
Sun Record's legendary collection of talent that included Elvis Presley, Johnny
Cash, Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins, who along with Chuck Berry and Little
Richard could be called the Founding Fathers of Rock ‘n Roll.
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BIOGRAPHY
Born September 29, 1935 into a poor family in Ferriday, Louisiana, Jerry Lee
Lewis was developing his own ferocious approach to the piano by the age of 10,
synthesizing the boogie-woogie sounds he heard on the radio with the Southernfried R&B emanating from Haney's Big House, a local juke joint owned by his
uncle.
Jerry Lee later enrolled him in Southwestern Bible College in Waxahatchie,
Texas, but he didn't last long. The siren call of music pulled him onto a trajectory
that would change the world. Bringing together elements of R&B, boogie woogie,
gospel, and country into a sound uniquely his own, Jerry Lee Lewis became an
integral part of the emerging rock 'n' roll that was usurping and supplanting the
big band sounds of popular music.
By 1956, Jerry Lee had found his way into Sam Phillips' fabled Sun Studios,
where he cut his first charting single, a revved-up rendition of Ray Price's "Crazy
Arms," and worked as an in-house session musician. One day, while playing
piano for some Carl Perkins sessions, Jerry Lee became part of an impromptu
jam session that included Perkins, Johnny Cash, and a young Elvis Presley. The
engineer rolled the tape and that session became the lone recording of the fabled
"Million Dollar Quartet."
With the release of Jerry Lee Lewis's "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great
Balls of Fire" in 1957, the flamboyant young performer crossed over onto the pop,
R&B, and country charts and landed on-screen performance roles in the films
"High School Confidential" and "Jamboree." When Elvis saw Jerry Lee Lewis
perform, he said that, if he could play piano like that, he'd stop singing.
Since the beginning, Jerry Lee Lewis's irrepressible confidence and insatiable
energy have inspired countless fans and foes. His storied career has been
colored by exploit and scandal: He was the original bad boy, the first legend of
rock ‘n roll who paved the way for all those to follow - from the Rolling Stones to
Green Day.
Described by Johnny Cash as an American Original and by Roy Orbison as the
best raw performer in the history of rock 'n' roll music, Jerry Lee Lewis is a
musician of exceptional talent and versatility. Along with his rock ‘n roll hits, he
has had many country chart toppers, including “Another Time, Another Place” in
1968. He became one of the very first inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of
Fame in 1986. That same year, Jerry Lee went back to Sun Studios in Memphis
to record the album "Class of '55" with Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and Carl
Perkins. "Interviews from the Class of '55 Recording Sessions" earned the 1987
Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.
Jerry Lee Lewis has never stopped touring. 50 years after his first hit and in his
70th year, he remains an explosive performer, delivering fury, finesse and fun to
audiences around the world.
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BIOGRAPHY
In February 2005, Jerry Lee Lewis was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by
the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS).
Last Man Standing is pure Jerry Lee Lewis, an important and monumental
collection of pure rock 'n' roll from the last original rock ‘n’ roller.
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