Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story
Oct 2014 · Harper Collins
4.4star
13 reviewsreport
Ebook
513
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About this ebook
The greatest Southern storyteller of our time tracks down the greatest rock and roller of all time—and gets his own story, from the source, for the very first time.
The New York Times Bestseller
One of Rolling Stone’s 10 Best Music Books of the Year
A monumental figure on the American landscape, Jerry Lee Lewis spent his childhood raising hell in Ferriday, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi; galvanized the world with hit records like “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and “Great Balls of Fire,” 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—his third wife of seven; ran a decades-long marathon of drugs, drinking, and women; nearly met his maker, twice; suffered the deaths of two sons and two wives, and the indignity of an IRS raid that left him with nothing but the broken-down piano he started with; performed with everyone from Elvis Presley to Keith Richards to Bruce Springsteen to Kid Rock—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.”
Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story is the Killer’s life as he lived it, and as he shared it over two years with our greatest bard of Southern life: Rick Bragg. Rich with Lewis’s own words, framed by Bragg’s richly atmospheric narrative, this is the last great untold rock-and-roll story, come to life on the page.
“An enthralling look at the birth of rock & roll and the ensuing life of its arguably most colorful exponent.” —Entertainment Weekly
The New York Times Bestseller
One of Rolling Stone’s 10 Best Music Books of the Year
A monumental figure on the American landscape, Jerry Lee Lewis spent his childhood raising hell in Ferriday, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi; galvanized the world with hit records like “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and “Great Balls of Fire,” 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—his third wife of seven; ran a decades-long marathon of drugs, drinking, and women; nearly met his maker, twice; suffered the deaths of two sons and two wives, and the indignity of an IRS raid that left him with nothing but the broken-down piano he started with; performed with everyone from Elvis Presley to Keith Richards to Bruce Springsteen to Kid Rock—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.”
Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story is the Killer’s life as he lived it, and as he shared it over two years with our greatest bard of Southern life: Rick Bragg. Rich with Lewis’s own words, framed by Bragg’s richly atmospheric narrative, this is the last great untold rock-and-roll story, come to life on the page.
“An enthralling look at the birth of rock & roll and the ensuing life of its arguably most colorful exponent.” —Entertainment Weekly
Ratings and reviews
4.4
13 reviews
Todd Phipps
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January 23, 2015
One, if not, the best book I've ever read. The man, the music, the legend. Brilliant writing. I felt like I lived every moment of Jerry's life page by page. Thank you, sir, for such a raw and inside journey through the life of a man who will never be duplicsted.
Brent Hurlburt
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December 12, 2014
I was a fan of his music and I am old enough to have heard all the stories as they unfolded. The book is well done and easy to read because I grew up listening to the musicians he talks about. In the end I felt sorry for the life he lived. How much more great music could he have created if he had some discipline and self control?
Nate Mulliken
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January 3, 2015
Remarkable. Well balanced for music fans and people who love a great story alike.
About the author
Rick Bragg is the author of a trilogy of bestselling books on the people of the American South. He is a professor of writing at the University of Alabama.
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