Line #16 Music/JerryLeeLewis


1	[[quoteright:305:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jerry_lee_lewis.jpg]]
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3	->''"I chew my nails and I twiddle my thumbs\
4	I'm real nervous, but it sure is fun!\
5	C'mon baby, you drive me crazy\
6	Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!"''
7	-->-- "'''Great Balls of Fire'''"
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9	Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935 – October 28, 2022) was an American {{Rockabilly}} music pioneer, as well as a member of the "Million Dollar Quartet" along with fellow [[Music/SamPhillips Sun Records]] artists Music/ElvisPresley, Carl Perkins and Music/JohnnyCash.
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11	Known primarily for such hits as "[[{{Fireballs}} Great Balls of Fire]]" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", his SignatureStyle of piano-playing (flamboyant, with a lot of ''glissando'', getting up on the piano, etc.), and the KissingCousins scandal (in which his wife was discovered to not only be his first cousin once removed,[[note]]First cousins have (at least) one grandparent in common. "Once removed" means that one cousin's grandparent is the other's great-grandparent.[[/note]] but also just 13 years old--''and'' his divorce from his second wife - [[SerialSpouse of seven]] - still wasn't final) that almost completely derailed his career. Later on, he reinvented himself as a fairly successful mainstream CountryMusic artist.
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13	He has his own {{Biopic}}, ''Film/GreatBallsOfFire'', where he is portrayed by Creator/DennisQuaid, and appeared in another, ''Film/WalkTheLine'', where he is portrayed by Waylon Payne.
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15	Lewis continued to perform regularly until his passing in 2022. He was the [[LastOfHisKind last surviving rock star]] from the pre-[[Music/TheBeatles Beatles]] era, and last living member of the UsefulNotes/RockAndRollHallOfFame's inaugural class of 1986.
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17	Not related to the comedian Creator/JerryLewis. Jerry Lee was born a Lewis, while the comedian was born Joseph Levitch.
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19	----
20	!!Whole Lotta Tropin' Going On:
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22	* CatchPhrase:
23	** "Think about it, darlin'"
24	** "When you're good, you're good!" (in conversation, not in song)
25	* DaysOfTheWeekSong: "When I Get Paid" mentions Monday through Thursday.
26	* GenreShift: He had a fairly successful CountryMusic career in the 1960s through 1980s, although even "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On" and "Great Balls Of Fire" from his boogie-woogie days were #1 country hits.
27	* HollywoodMidLifeCrisis: "Middle Age Crazy"
28	* IAmSong: Quite a few, beginning in the '50s with "Lewis Boogie". Also, "Rockin' My Life Away", "Boogie Woogie Country Man", "Honky Tonk Rock 'N' Roll Piano Man".
29	* KillItWithFire: Goodness gracious, great balls of fire, indeed!
30	** [[RockersSmashGuitars Set his piano on fire on television.]]
31	** He'd even do this onstage. Lewis would frequently tour with Music/ChuckBerry and they'd alternate who'd open and close the show depending on the night. One night, Lewis lit his piano on fire after playing his encore, and told Berry, "Follow ''that'', [[PrecisionFStrike motherfucker]]."
32	*** There are a number of different versions of what exactly he said to Chuck Berry that night, but they're all fairly insulting.
33	** The cover of his 39th album ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Man_Standing_(Jerry_Lee_Lewis_album) Last Man Standing]]'' shows him with, you guessed it, a piano on fire.
34	* LargeHam: Oh God yes...
35	* LastOfHisKind: Music/LittleRichard's death in 2020 left him as the last surviving of the 50's rock pioneers, and [[Music/TheEverlyBrothers Don Everly]]'s death the next year left him as the last survivor of the inaugural Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction class.
36	* LyricalTic: He would often substitute the word "me" in lyrics with "Jerry Lee", i.e. "If you see Corrina, send her on home to Jerry Lee..."
37	* NonAppearingTitle: "High School Confidential", the theme song from the 1958 film of that name, notably performed by Lewis on the back of a moving flatbed truck in the opening. Though "high school hop" is sung multiple times in the chorus, the word "confidential" isn't close to being hinted at.
38	* OdeToIntoxication: "Drinkin' Wine Spo-dee O-dee"
39	* RedBaron: "The Killer Himself"
40	* {{Rockabilly}} and RockAndRoll: He is seen as one of the pioneers of the genre and one of the essentials who popularized it.
41	* SmallReferencePools: Many people know him only for "Great Balls of Fire", particularly because it was featured in ''Film/TopGun''.
42	* {{Supergroup}}: The Million Dollar Freaking Quartet!, plus he made two albums with fellow Sun Records alumni: ''Survivors'', with Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins, and ''Class of 55'', with Cash, Perkins and Roy Orbison.

Context Music / JerryLeeLewis