Myra was wife number three? I thought Myra’s brother played in the band. Did Jerry Lee marry twice before he left Louisiana and went to Memphis?
The article mentions his first wife but not the second. Or maybe I missed it.
Back in the 80s I saw him at a club in Temple, Texas. I walked up to the stage and handed him a business card with “One Minute Past Eternity” written on the back. He looked at and said “Okay” and started playing it.
Quaid did a lousy job of playing him. He acted like he was retarded. Kinda’ reminded me of the Reverend Jim character on TAXI.
It’s kinda sad to see how obsessed he is with Elvis, even after all these years. Makes me wonder if there is a story there that we are never going to hear about.
Lewis was a surprise guest at a festival I attended a few years ago. Honestly, I thought he was dead. Yes, he’s older and not in the best of health, but the man could still play.
Great post!
Jerry Lee Lewis - Live at the Star Club 1964
Named by some ‘the best live rock and roll album ever’.
He’s backed by the Nashville Teens (known today mostly for Tobacco Road).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66iOLET0U24
Bump for later listening
“Myra was the most controversial, because she was only 13 years old when Lewis wed her.”
This was the reason why Elvis (reluctantly) married Priscilla.
When he first met her in Germany, she was only 14 years old. After he was discharged from the Army, Elvis wanted Priscilla to move to Graceland. She was still underaged. He had to cajole and pour on the charm and make all sorts of promises to convince her parents to let Priscilla move to Memphis. They eventually relented.
Years go by and the novelty of having Priscilla around has long since worn off. In all the years Priscilla has been living at Graceland, Elvis was never faithful to her.
Priscilla and her parents were tired of waiting around for Elvis to do right by her and started putting the screws to Elvis. They were calling in their chips and there was a hint of possible blackmail as Elvis started going around with Priscilla when she was 14 and if Elvis broke it off with her, there was the possibility of Priscills parents were threatening to sue for breach of promise and go to the gossip sheets to tell all about the relationship.
This terrified Elvis. What happened to Jerry Lee Lewis resided in the back of his mind. It was cemented there. Jerry married his 13 year old cousin and Jerry lost it all as a consequence.
Elvis loved his bachelorhood. He didnt want to get married to Priscilla or any other girl. He went to his Father and his manager Parker to ask them what he should do. The both of them said “marry the girl”. So Elvis proposed to Priscilla. Afterwards he was literally crying to his friends how he didnt want to get married.
On the day of the wedding, just before they were to leave for the ceremony, one of his best men (Marty Lacker) went to retrieve Elvis from his bedroom because Elvis was stalling. Elvis was sitting on the edge of his bed saying how he didnt want to get married. Marty told him, “then dont” and call it off. But Elvis couldn’t be swayed. He was convinced that if he didnt go through with the wedding, he would lose it all the same way jerry lee lewis did. It didnt occur to him that the late 60s was a different world from the late 50s and that all his fans wouldnt have cared and would have been quite forgiving.