Way back in the day, no one thought Jerry Lee Lewis would be a survivor of the Class of '55 -- certainly not into the 21st century. But survive he has, and without any essential change, despite having lived one of the most dangerous, unique, iconoclastic, and some would say offensive lives in the history of American popular music. At a loss where to start enjoying his rich legacy? This selection of CDs, DVDs, and books represents an essential beginning.
1. A Half Century Of Hits
The new standard for Jerry Lee Lewis fans who want to get all his best-loved work in one place -- and not just the Sun singles you think of when The Killer's name gets mentioned. These three CDs offer a wealth of singles from the early years through 1983, most of which hit on the country charts. But since Jerry Lee never stopped being Jerry Lee, the end result is like discovering six times the man you remembered him as. Essential for any fan.2. The Essential Jerry Lee Lewis: The Legendary Sun Recordings
This, on the other hand, is where you point the neophyte who has the vaguest idea of who Jerry Lee is, or why he's so important. These two CDs represent the cream of Lewis' Sun recordings, which offered up four deathless hit singles everyone knows and about three dozen other country, rockabilly, and R&B workouts that were just as good. This is The Killer at the peak of his intensity and arrogance, an already fully-formed song stylist and legendary pianist.
3. Another Place Another Time/She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye
Jerry's rebirth as a straight country singer, however, showed him at the peak of his emotional depth -- if the early Killer was determined to burn out young, the older Lewis is a portrait of someone who bucked all the rules and lived to tell the tale, sometimes with regret. This twofer repackage actually reprises half of a third country album (She Still Comes Around [To Love What's Left of Me]), and since these three LPs represent the best of Lewis' country material, this package becomes a retrospective all its own.4. Live at the Star-Club
Jerry Lee Lewis was still the king of rock and roll in 1964, when this album was recorded at the Beatles' old stomping ground in Hamburg, Germany -- it's just that no one else agreed. Which may be why Lewis delivers a defiant, adrenalized middle finger to the public that had rejected him. Half the fun lies in hearing his backup band, The Nashville Teens of "Tobacco Road" fame, try to keep up. A blistering classic and, since his early stage years weren't captured, an indispensible artifact.5. "Rockin' My Life Away: Listening to Jerry Lee Lewis," Jimmy Guterman
Respected music critic and writer Guterman considers this his favorite of the six books he's published, and you can understand why: more than just a bio, it recreates the experience of listening to Lewis' recordings as a mystical epiphany, while making listening to the man seem like worshipping a tinhorn God. Guterman never attempts to distill the bullshit from the brilliance, realizing that both ingredients are necessary. And you can read the entire book online just by clicking the link above.6. "Hellfire: The Jerry Lee Lewis Story," Nick Tosches
The definitive biography, one that attempts to do with words what Jerry Lee did with music... and, therefore, a little baroque and unwieldy for some tastes. Not that Lewis' music could ever be called either, but Tosches (who made his rep with this bio) uses language to paint a picture of Jerry Lee as a tormented soul already born into hell, struggling with good and evil and attempting to keep his identity at any cost. Fascinating, if challenging, reading.7. The Devil, Me, and Jerry Lee," Linda Gail Lewis
This, on the other hand, is the kind of breezy but nontabloid memoir you'd expect from a loyal family associate -- in this case, Lewis' sister, Linda Gail Lewis, who's proven herself to be a solid musician in her own right. There's too much of her story here, but enough of her brother gets through to offer some fascinating snapshots of what it's like to be Jerry Lee, She doesn't shy away from the controversy, either, although she naturally takes the Killer's side.8. "Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis," Myra Lewis
Myra was, of course, Jerry's 14-year-old first cousin whom the singer married, crippling his career. In fact, this memoir served as the basis of the Dennis Quaid biopic "Great Balls Of Fire," but while that film was ultimately too tame to capture the man, the book pulls no punches. And since Myra knew Jerry from the beginning and stuck with him all the way to 1970, this story covers a large section of the Killer's craziest years. Indispensible.9. Jerry Lee Lewis and Friends
The Killer was still in amazing form back in 1989 during the British tour captured on this DVD, and since there's not much early Jerry Lee Lewis stage footage, this is your best bet to find out what Lewis looks like live. This particular concert's special because it's a tribute, a rare night where Jerry actually shares the spotlight -- with everyone from Van Morrison to the Kinks' Dave Davies and Queen's Brian May. As always, his personality eclipses everything around it.10. The London Sessions
Many of rock's pioneers had their careers revived by the London Sessions series of LPs, which united them with Britain's reigning rock royalty. Lewis had aleady re-established himself as a country superstar by '73, but as this record proves, it's all one music when the Killer gets through with it, anyway. An excellent jam session which careens from CCR to Johnny Ace to a closing medley that dares to take on Little Richard himself.