Rock N’ Roll’s first great wild man!
Best known for his energetic performances, boogie-woogie piano chops, and marrying his 13-year-old cousin, Jerry Lee Lewis lived life in the fast lane.
His first success came in 1957 with Whole Lot Of Shakin’ Goin’ On, released on the Sun Records label, which Elvis had started out in but left a couple of years earlier.
Jerry Lee’s next single and signature song came the same year. Great Balls Of Fire kept to the same promiscuous theme and sold a million copies in just ten days.
Both of these tunes were covers, but Jerry Lee made them his own with his intense performances and piano skills.
As everything was looking great, he made the terrible mistake of getting involved with his 13-year-old cousin. At first, he lied about it and said she was 15, and they had just married. When the world found out she was actually 13, Jerry Lee Lewis’s career tanked.
He did make somewhat of a comeback, rebranding himself as a country artist in the ’60s after divorcing his cousin, but nothing would compare to 1957 when he became a worldwide superstar.
Covers released as singles post-1957 include:
- What’d I Say (1961)
- Money (1961)
- Sweet Little Sixteen (1962)
- Good Golly Miss Molly (1962)
- Green Green Grass Of Home (1965)
- Roll Over Beethoven (1970)
- Me and Bobby McGee (1971)
- Georgia On My Mind (1977)
- Save The Last Dance For Me (1961 and 1979)
- Over The Rainbow (1980)
- I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (1982)
- Honky Tonk Woman (2007)
Despite his controversial marriage and lack of chart success from the ’60s onward, Jerry Lee Lewis was a huge star who enjoyed great success touring and with various projects, such as “Class of 55” with Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins.
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine named him the 24th greatest artist of all time.
Jerry Lee Lewis Tunes | Related Pages
Georgia On My Mind
You can learn how to play Georgia On My Mind by Ray Charles using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| G | B7/F# B7 |
Georgia, Georgia…
Great Balls Of Fire
You can learn how to play Great Balls Of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| N.C (G A B ) | C N.C | N.C (C D E) |
You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain…
Me and Bobby McGee
You can learn how to play Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recordings.
| G | G |
Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waitin’ for a train…
Money (That’s What I Want)
Learn how to play Money (That’s What I Want) by Barrett Strong using chords, lyrics, a chord chart, a backing track, a chord chart, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| F N.C | N.C Bb C |
The best things in life are free…
Over The Rainbow
You can learn how to play Over The Rainbow by Eva Cassidy using chords, lyrics, TAB, chord analysis, a chord chart, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| Gsus2 /F# | Em /D | Bm7b13 | G7 Amadd4 /B |
Somewhere over the rainbow…
Roll Over Beethoven
You can learn how to play Roll Over Beethoven by Chuck Berry using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| D7 | G7 | D7 | D7 |
Well, I’ma write a little letter, I’m gonna mail it to my local DJ…
Jerry Lee Lewis on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was an article about Jerry Lee Lewis tunes, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not by practising scales or studying theory in isolation.
