Jerry Lee Lewis was the first of a long line of rock’n’rollers considered to be the antichrist. A song stylist in the grand tradition of Al Jolson, Jimmy Rodgers and Hank Williams, he was an American original, one of the greatest vocal interpreters of the 20th century, able to take any song and make it his own.
However, during a 1958 UK tour at the peak of his fame, he was embroiled in scandal after it was revealed he had married his 13-year-old cousin, Myra Brown – it would be the third of his seven marriages. There was outrage in the British press and the rest of his tour was cancelled. US radio stations and concert promoters also blacklisted him, and his popularity faded. He never again had a US Top 20 hit.
