Jerry Lee Lewis has never been away from controversy. All the different stories about him could be a blog itself. For instance, upon arriving in the UK for his first tour he brought along his 13-year-old cousin, who happened to be his wife. Or the fact he’s been married SEVEN times. He has been accused of killing two of his ex-wives. Another one is that during an all-star tour with Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and the Crickets and The Chantels. Upset that Berry was closing the show, Lewis, during his big hit ‘Great Balls of Fire’ actually set fire to the piano while he was playing. He then reportedly said “Beat that, N*****” to Chuck whilst walking off stage. The stories are endless.
So, on his 85th birthday today, I thought it would be a good idea to tell a story about him. Not about marrying his 13-year-old cousin. Or about any of his six wives and the accusations surrounding some of them. This involves a feud with a former label mate. A story which involves a birthday celebration, a gun, and the king of Rock ‘n’ Roll. This week The Beat Marches On to 29th September 1976.
The story starts when Jerry turns 41. Celebrating his birthday with a few drinks…and maybe some other indulgences, he wanted to shoot a newly acquired gun. Did he want to go to a shooting range? No. Did he want to go outside the building? Also no. Did he even want to leave his seat? No, he was quite comfy where he was. So, Lewis sat there in his office shooting the door.
This wasn’t any old gun. This was a .357 Magnum. The top handgun of choice for aficionados. This weapon can do a lot of damage. Even if it grazes you. Not many people survive a shot from this calibre of weapon.
Lewis’ bass player, Norman Owens, found this out first-hand. Walking past the office minding his own business, he managed to get multiple bullets in the chest from the aptly named Killer. Lying on the floor after the incident there wasn’t much sympathy for Owens as Lewis’s girlfriend at the time was more concerned about the blood on the carpet rather than the injured man whose blood it was.
Luckily, Owens survived however understandably did not want to perform with Lewis again. The damage was done, and he eventually sued the Killer. He claimed that he was shooting some soda cans and a bullet ricocheted towards his bass player. No charges were brought against Jerry other than a misdemeanour for having a firearm within city limits.
This gives you an idea of the crazy world of Jerry Lee Lewis. Classed by some people as the original rock star, exploits like this have surrounded the star since his career started with Sun Records. Part of the “million-dollar quartet” with Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash in 1955, he kept in close contact with his fellow to their deaths. Or so we would think.
A little under a month after his birthday bass player incident, Jerry Lee Lewis headed over to Graceland, the world-famous home of the king of rock ‘n’ roll, Elvis Presley. Lewis insisted that Elvis called him to come over because the king wanted some company. Upon arrival, Lewis and his wife approached in his Rolls Royce at the gates and were told that Elvis was asleep. Not thinking too much about it he turned around and went on his way.
Approaching a sharp corner while returning home Lewis flipped the Rolls Royce. No one was hurt but the police were called to the scene and breathalysed Jerry, but the result was inconclusive. However, the officers knew he was under the influence of something. So, they issued him a ticket for driving under the influence more commonly known as DUI.
This wasn’t the only incident that involved the two on this day. After purchasing a new car, this time a Lincoln Continental, and spending some time in a bar drinking Champagne Lewis decided to visit Graceland again. So, under the influence of Champagne and maybe other substances (it was the 1970s and the music industry) the Killer drove in his new car to visit his friend.
The owner of the bar who was a sheriff for the local police department, handed Jerry a gun before he left and told him to leave it on the dashboard so it could be visible for the police to see if he was to be pulled over. He also handed Lewis a bottle of Champagne for the road. As you do.
Jerry Lee Lewis arrived at Graceland at around 0230 in the morning. Depending on which account you read he was either angry or really angry. Either way, he was eventually arrested and taken away by the police. According to Lewis, he received another phone call from Elvis at the bar he was drinking at. The king was lonely and wanted some company. Jerry was only happy to oblige.
By the time Lewis arrived, something had changed in the moods between the two. Arriving at the gates of Graceland the guard spoke to him and said Elvis didn’t want any visitors. Jerry explained he wouldn’t be there unless the King had asked him to, but the guard still refused. By this point, the Killers blood was boiling. The Champagne bottle went flying and smashed into the car. Jerry was aiming to throw it out the window however he didn’t realise that the window was up. He then grabbed the gun on the dashboard.
Lewis started waving the gun around demanding to speak to the King. He was shouting towards the guard at the gates “I want to show him who the true king of Rock ‘n’ Roll is”. Elvis watching on his closed-circuit TV was scared for his life and called the police. Again, depending on which report you read the Killer drove through the gates.
The police arrived at Graceland and took Lewis away and charged him with drunk and disorderly conduct. He was more hurt by Elvis calling the cops on him rather than being arrested. The charges were dropped later however the trust was gone. It is not known whether the two spoke to each other again after this incident but less than a year later Elvis died.
Jerry has never disputed that he hit the gates or that he was covered in Champagne. He fully admits that there was a gun on the dashboard and that he was at the bar in Memphis drinking Champagne. He does however dispute that he was ranting and raving about who was the true king of rock ‘n’ roll but had just wanted to see his friend. He is adamant that Elvis called and asked him to pay a visit.
It was known to most around Elvis that he had a prescription drug addiction at this time. It is not known whether Pressley called Lewis and forgot that he had because of being strung out. Jerry Lee Lewis wasn’t any stranger to drugs either and could’ve imagined the whole thing. It is another one of those stories where the true answer is unknown. With the number of drinks and drugs involved the characters in the story may not even remember what happened. They class Lewis as the original rock n roll Wildman. With stories like this, you may think this is true.
The Beat Marches On is a music blog written by Jimmy Whitehead. Jimmy has been blogging for six years specialising in Sports (especially American Football). If you want to follow Jimmy on Twitter: @Jimmy_W1987
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If anyone reading this would like to read more about this story, the sites used for research were:
https://groovyhistory.com/jerry-lee-lewis-arrested-graceland-elvis
https://bestclassicbands.com/jerry-lee-lewis-arrested-graceland-11-23-15/
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