Music and Hollywood Stars Remember ‘Genuine Rocker’ Jerry Lee Lewis: ‘The Killer Has Left the Building’
With official reports of the death of rock ‘n’ roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis’ death, music execs, musicians, Hollywood figures and fans alike have all expressed their condolences online.
Dennis Quaid, who starred as Lewis in the 1989 musical biopic “Great Balls of Fire!” released a statement expressing the timelessness of his music.
“Jerry Lee was a Christian, an American icon and the greatest piano player in the world,” Quaid wrote. “People will be listening to ‘Great Balls of Fire’ and ‘Whole Lot of Shakin” 500 years from now. I will miss him. God bless you Jerry Lee.”
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The Marshall Tucker Band, meanwhile, released a statement on Twitter, recalling an encounter that showcased just how full of life Lewis was.
“We are very sorry for the loss of Jerry Lee Lewis…The Killer. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family,” Doug Gray and the band wrote. “Once we both were on private jets landing at the same airport in Nashville. He got off his plane and complimented our jet. We complimented his… he then wanted to trade planes and fly away!”
“We were all a little inebriated. It didn’t happen, of course,” the statement continued. “They pilots weren’t having it! It was pretty hilarious at the time. He was a man who never wanted to stop… until now… God Bless JLL and his family!”
“The Killer. The greatest. The wildest. The one that changed rock and roll. And country. And influenced a whole lotta piano players,” wrote SiriusXM host and music publicist Eric Alper. “Jerry Lee Lewis has died at the age of 87. Long live Jerry Lee Lewis.”
Lewis, known for hits like “Great Balls of Fire,” “Crazy Arms” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” died Friday at the age of 87.
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“Judith, his seventh wife, was by his side when he passed away at his home in Desoto County, Mississippi, south of Memphis,” his representative Zach Farnum said in a statement. “He told her, in his final days, that he welcomed the hereafter, and that he was not afraid.”
Lewis’ death had been wrongly reported earlier this week by TMZ.
Read below for more memories and tributes to the “Great Balls of Fire” singer.
RIP Jerry Lee Lewis. Genuine rocker, genuine mad man, genuine monster, genuine genius. So many examples of all four but I’m thinking now of the opening scene from Nick Tosches’ brilliant bio HELLFIRE, in which Jerry Lee tries to murder Elvis Presley. pic.twitter.com/48PEAhilFn
— Steven Hyden (@Steven_Hyden) October 28, 2022
Mom and I are sad to hear about the passing of “The Killer” @jerryleelewis.Thankfully he lived to receive his recent @countrymusichof induction medallion. Prayers to his family and many fans. – CD, Jr. and Hazel Daniels pic.twitter.com/wC9SxfXdwO
— Charlie Daniels (@CharlieDaniels) October 28, 2022
RIP, Jerry Lee Lewis
From one goodness, gracious, great balls of fire God Damned handsome man to another.— Joel Gertner (@StudMuffinSays) October 28, 2022
The Killer has left the building. pic.twitter.com/Yrt8SrknEv
— greg dulli (@MrGregDulli) October 28, 2022
RIP Killer.
I'll have some more to say later..
but for now, lets acknowledge that a genius has left the room.
Jerry Lee Lewis
1935 – 2022
- adam pic.twitter.com/cwtPvzI4T2— Low Cut Connie (@LowCutConnie) October 28, 2022
#RIP Jerry Lee Lewis.
Great balls of fire was and is an insane song.— Alexis “ho ho ho” Cardoza
(@_AlexisCardoza) October 28, 2022
Watching Jerry Lee Lewis & piano driven down main street on a flatbed truck while playing & singing "High School Confidential" in that movie was one of the many events that confirmed me in my vow to become a musician.#jerryleelewis
— Labi Siffre (@labisiffre) October 28, 2022
I am listening to Jerry Lee Lewis in honor of his death, and … every song sounds like Great Balls of Fire.
— Allison Carter (@AllisonLCarter) October 28, 2022
God Bless @jerryleelewis and his family
— Marshall Tucker Band (@MarshallTucker) October 28, 2022