Includes bibliographical references (pages 730-739).
Contents:
Introduction: Jolson in the river -- The father of waters -- Whiskey in the ditches two feet deep -- The big house -- Mr. Paul -- Sun -- "I been wantin' to meet that piano player" -- Too hot to rock -- England -- "Who wants some of this?" -- American wilderness -- "He who steals my name" -- Jet planes and hearses -- The year of the gun -- "Babies in the air" -- The fork in the road -- Last man standing -- Stone garden -- Epilogue: Killer.
Summary:
The result of two years' worth of interviews, a chronicle of Lewis' life and career relates encounters with other musical legends and his lifelong rivalries with Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry for the title of king of rock and roll. Jerry Lee Lewis spent his childhood raising hell in Ferriday, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi; galvanized the world with hit records that gave rock and roll its devil's edge; caused riots and boycotts with his incendiary performances; nearly scuttled his career by marrying his thirteen-year-old second cousin; ran a decades-long marathon of drugs, drinking, and women; and survived it all to be hailed as "one of the most creative and important figures in American popular culture and a paradigm of the Southern experience."
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.