"Jerry Lee Lewis was known as a rebellious, rowdy piano player that would pound the keys and shock audiences. Nobody ever saw behavior like his in the 50's. He was the first to perform on stage and then set his piano on fire."" .
Jerry Lee was born on September 29th, 1935 at Turtle Lake on The Calhoun Plantation. He grew up on his parent's farm in the small town Ferriday, Louisiana. Jerry Lee is .
the second son to Elmo and Mary Ethel (Mamie) Lewis. His older brother, Elmo Jr., died when Jerry Lee was four years old. He has two sisters, Linda Gail and Frankie Jean, who also are musically talented. .
Jerry Lee's parents were both people of strong religion and musical backgrounds. Jerry's father actually signed with Sun Records in the fifties, although that was said to probably be Sam Phillips` last desperate attempt to keep Jerry Lee with his record company. His Mother Mamie was later a backup singer for a gospel song he performed known as "In Loving Memories-. .
Both of Jerry Lee`s sisters have recorded in the Sun Studios. Linda still has an ongoing career in the music industry. Frankie Jean runs the Ferriday family museum, and is also a competent singer. Elmo was a farmer, but a wild man who spent time in jail more than once. His corn harvests failed several years in a row, and he found comfort in his collection of Jimmie Rodgers records. Mamie was a gospel fan and a very religious woman. .
Gospel and country were Jerry Lee's basic influences. However he enjoyed rock and roll so much that he incorporated it into his own music. It was at his aunt's home that he first started to develop his own style. Not only him, but also his well-known cousins Jimmy Lee Swaggart and Mickey Gilley. His Father Elmo and mother Mamie quickly realized that Jerry Lee could be really good on the piano, so they mortgaged their farm, to buy Jerry Lee his first piano which was a Stark upright. Soon Jerry Lee discovered a new type of music; his own! .
