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Did Jerry Lee Lewis ever try to kill Elvis Presley?

By , About.com Guide

Question: Did Jerry Lee Lewis ever try to kill Elvis Presley?
Answer: No. Jerry Lee Lewis did visit Elvis Presley's mansion, Graceland, very early in the morning of November 22nd, 1976, and was told that Elvis was asleep. He drove off in a huff but returned the next day, invited there by The King himself. Unfortunately, one of Elvis' security guards hadn't been told, and when Jerry Lee was refused permission to enter, he supposedly reverted into Killer mode, brandishing a gun and claiming he'd come to kill Presley. Lewis was promptly arrested.

Here's Lewis' own account of what happened, as related by Kay Martin: "Elvis called him and asked him to come out to the house to talk to him. Jerry was out on the town and by the time he got to Elvis's house, it was much past when Elvis had expected him and Elvis was asleep. Jerry had driven up after a sheriff from MS had given him a brand new handgun, but since Jerry did not have a permit for a concealed weapon, he had it on the dashboard of his car, as the sheriff had supposedly suggested. The guard at Graceland asked Jerry what he was doing with the gun, and sarcastically Jerry said he hadn't brought it to kill Elvis, so the guy should chill out. He didn't. He called the cops. Jerry was PO'ed, but the gun stayed on the dash the whole time. The situation blew over because it was a tempest in a teapot. The sheriff who had given Jerry the gun cleared it up, too."

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