Rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis has died aged 87.
The musician, whose hits included Great Balls of Fire and Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On, was one of the last survivors of rock ‘n’ roll’s golden age which included Elvis Presley and Little Richard.
Nicknamed “The Killer”, Lee Lewis was as well known for his controversial private life as his music.
He died at his home in Memphis.
His publicist Zach Farnum said: “Lewis, perhaps the last true, great icon of the birth of rock ‘n’ roll, whose marriage of blues, gospel, country, honky-tonk and raw, pounding stage performances so threatened a young Elvis Presley that it made him cry, has died.
“He was there at the beginning, with Elvis, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Carl Perkins, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, and the rest, and watched them fade away one by one till it was him alone to bear witness, and sing of the birth of rock ‘n’ roll.”
