Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis (1935-2022), known as the Killer, was one of the founding fathers of rock and roll and arguably its most dangerous performer. His piano playing — pounding, percussive, and physically violent — was as revolutionary as Chuck Berry's guitar. Great Balls of Fire (1957), Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On (1957), and Breathless (1958) were recorded at Sun Records alongside Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins. Lewis played piano standing up, kicking the bench away, sometimes setting the instrument on fire. His career was derailed by scandal in 1958 when his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin was revealed during a UK tour, but he reinvented himself as a country artist in the late 1960s. He was among the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.