Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Instrument	Guitar
name	Delaney Bramlett
birth date	July 01, 1939Pontotoc, Mississippi, United States
death date	Los Angeles, California, United States
genre	BluesRockCountryGospel
label	Magnolia Gold, Elektra, Atco, Atlantic, Crescendo, Motown, MGM, Columbia, Stax, CBS Various (see 'Discography')}}

Delaney Bramlett (July 1, 1939 – December 27, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer. Bramlett's five decade career reached peaks in creativity, performance, and notoriety in partnership with his then wife Bonnie Bramlett, in a revolving troupe of professional musicians and Rock superstars dubbed ''Delaney & Bonnie & Friends''.

Career

Bramlett was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, United States. After a stint in the United States Navy, Bramlett moved to Los Angeles, California in the early 60's. There he established himself as a singer-songwriter, writing with fellow musicians Joey Cooper, Mac Davis and Jackie DeShannon. By 1965 Bramlett was a regular member of the house band of the television show ''Shindig!'', the Shindogs. During this time, he worked with J.J. Cale and Leon Russell and released some unsuccessful solo singles.

The British guitarist Eric Clapton joined Delaney, Bonnie & Friends on tour in the late 1960s, after which Delaney produced and co-wrote songs for Clapton's debut solo album, ''Eric Clapton''. Clapton still credits Delaney for pushing him to sing and teaching him the art of rock vocals. Bramlett produced King Curtis' last LP, which had two hit singles: "Teasin'" and "Lonesome Long Way from Home".

Bramlett taught then Beatle George Harrison to play slide guitar, which led into a gospel jam that resulted in Harrison's hit "My Sweet Lord". After Harrison's success with My Sweet Lord, Harrison gave Bramlett his Rosewood Telecaster, which he used during the rooftop concert, the Get back sessions, and to record the abbey road and Let it be Album. Bramlett wrote, recorded, or appeared on stage with many notable performers, including Joe Cocker, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Billy Preston, John Lennon, The Everly Brothers, Spooner Oldham, Steve Cropper and Billy Burnette. Members of the ''Friends'' appearing in concert or recording with Bramlett on Friends albums include a galaxy of stars and highly respected side men, including Clapton, Harrison, Russell, Curtis, Duane Allman, Gregg Allman, Dave Mason, Rita Coolidge, Carl Radle, Jim Gordon, Bobby Whitlock, Jim Keltner, Bobby Keys, and Gram Parsons.

In 2006 Bramlett was one of the duet artists on the Jerry Lee Lewis album ''Last Man Standing'', singing and playing guitar on "Lost Highway". In 2008, the year of his death, Bramlett released his first CD in six years, ''A New Kind of Blues''.

Over the years, some of Bramlett's songs have reached music "standard's" status, such as "Superstar", which he co-wrote with Leon Russell and his first wife, Bonnie Bramlett. "Superstar", was most notably recorded by The Carpenters, reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart and spent two weeks at number one on the Easy Listening chart that autumn en route to going Gold. The song was also recorded by Luther Vandross, Sonic Youth, and Usher, among others.

The Bramlett's "Never Ending Song of Love" has been covered by others, and appears on the soundtrack of ''RV'' and ''A Good Year''. Bramlett co-wrote the Eric Clapton hit, "Let It Rain".

On January 18, 2011, Bramlett was inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame.

Death

Described in an obituary as a "Southern Legend", Bramlett died from complications of gall bladder surgery on December 27, 2008, in Los Angeles, California. Delaney was survived by his widow, Susan Lanier-Bramlett, a brother, John Wayne Bramlett, three daughters, Michele Bramlett, Suzanne Bramlett, Bekka Bramlett, a stepson Dylan Thomas and two grandchildren.

Discography

1969: ''Accept No Substitute'' (Elektra)

1969: ''Home'' (Stax)

1970: ''Delaney & Bonnie & Friends on Tour'' (WEA / Atlantic)

1970: ''To Bonnie from Delaney'' (Atco)

1971: ''Motel Shot'' (Atco)

1971: ''Genesis'' (GNP/Crescendo)

1972: ''Somethings Coming'' (Columbia)

1972: ''Country Life'' (Atco)

1972: ''D&B; Together'' (CBS)

1973: ''Best of Delaney Bramlett'' (Atlantic)

1973: ''Mobius Strip'' (CBS)

1975: ''Giving Birth to a Song'' (MGM)

1977: ''Class Reunion'' (Prodigal)

1978: ''Delaney Bramlett with Steve Cropper'' (Motown)

1990: ''Best of Delaney & Bonnie'' (Rhino)

1998: ''Sounds From Home'' (DK/Zane)

2002: ''Sweet Inspiration'' (Dreamsville Records)

2008: ''A New Kind of Blues'' (Magnolia Gold)

Other credits

1969: Elvin Bishop, ''Best of Elvin Bishop'': "Tulsa Shuffle" - Rhythm guitar, background vocals, producer

1970: The Crickets, ''Rockin' 50's Rock 'n' Roll'' - Producer

1970: Elvin Bishop, ''Best of Elvin Bishop'': "Crabshaw" - Producer

1970: Eric Clapton, ''Eric Clapton'' - Arranger, rhythm guitar, background vocals, producer

1970: Leon Russell, ''Leon Russell'' - Guitar

1970: Dave Mason, ''Alone Together'' - Guitar, vocals

1971: John Simon, ''John Simon's Album'' - Tambourine

1972: Elvin Bishop,'' Rock My Soul'' - Guitar, vocals, producer

1972: John Hammond Jr, ''I'm Satisfied'' - Producer, vocals, guitar

1972: Eric Clapton, ''The History of Eric Clapton'' - Guitar, vocals

1972: Eric Clapton, ''Eric Clapton at His Best'' - Producer

1972: Duane Allman, ''An Anthology'' - Rhythm guitar, vocals, producer

1972: Everly Brothers, ''Stories We Could Tell'' - Guitar, vocals

1973: Jerry Lee Lewis, ''Sometimes a Memory Ain't Enough'' - Guitar, vocals

1973: Pacific Gas & Electric, ''Best'' - Producer

1973: John Ussery, ''Ussery'' - Percussion, producer, slide guitar

1974: Duane Allman, ''An Anthology Vol. II'' - Guitar, vocals

1976: Free Creek, ''Summit Meeting'' - Guitar

1978: Commander Cody, ''Flying Dreams'' - Vocals

1978: Dann Rogers, ''Hearts Under Fire'' - Background vocals

1982: Eric Clapton, ''Time Pieces: Best of Eric Clapton'' - Rhythm guitar, producer

1988: Eric Clapton, ''Crossroads'' - Guitar, vocals, producer, horn arrangements

1991: Zoo, ''Shakin' the Cage'' - Background vocals

1992: Phil Driscoll, ''Picture Changes'' - Background vocals

1992: Classic Rock ''Classic Rock'' [Cema] - Producer

1996: ''Heroes of Country Music, Vol. 5'' - Vocals, producer

1997: Hank Thompson, ''Hank, Real Thing'' - Background vocals, National dobro

1998: Ian Whitcomb, ''You Turn Me On: The Very Best of Ian Whitcomb'' - Bass guitar

1998: T. Graham Brown, ''Wine into Water'' - Guitar, vocals

1999: Dave Mason, ''Ultimate Collection'' - Background vocals

2006: Jerry Lee Lewis, ''Last Man Standing'', "Lost Highway" - Vocals

References

External links

[ Delaney Bramlett biography] at Allmusic

Delaney Bramlett at MySpace

Category:1939 births Category:2008 deaths Category:People from Pontotoc, Mississippi Category:American male singers Category:Delaney & Bonnie & Friends members Category:Songwriters from Mississippi Category:American record producers Category:Deaths from surgical complications

da:Delaney Bramlett nl:Delaney Bramlett pl:Delaney Bramlett pt:Delaney Bramlett

name	Bonnie Bramlett
born	November 08, 1944Alton, Illinois
background	solo_singer
birth name	Bonnie Lynn O' Farrell
years active	1965–present}}

Bonnie Bramlett (born Bonnie Lynn O'Farrell; November 8, 1944) is an American singer and sometime actress known for her distinctive vocals in rock and pop music. This began in the mid 1960s as a backing singer, forming the husband-and-wife team of Delaney & Bonnie, and continuing to the present day as a solo artist.

Life and career

Bramlett was born in Alton, Illinois. She started her musical career at the age of thirteen as a backup singer for blues acts such as Fontella Bass, Albert King, and Little Milton.

She made history as the first Caucasian female to sing with Ike and Tina Turner as one of the "Ikettes". She eventually moved to Los Angeles, where she met fellow singer Delaney Bramlett in 1967 at a bowling alley gig for his band, The Shindogs. They were married within the week and are the parents of singer Bekka Bramlett, who was briefly a member of Fleetwood Mac in the 1990s.

The duo signed with Stax Records and became known as Delaney & Bonnie, becoming the first white artists among R&B; artists such as Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave, John Lee Hooker, and Booker T. and the MGs. They soon toured Europe with British rock legend Eric Clapton. With frequent drop-in performances by other noted musicians like Duane Allman, George Harrison, and Dave Mason, the group became known as Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. Despite this all-star assistance, the duo only managed to chart two songs, their best-known "Never-Ending Song of Love" and a cover of Mason's "Only You Know and I Know". During the course of their relationship with Eric Clapton, Bonnie Bramlett co-wrote the classic "Let It Rain" on Clapton's eponymous first album.

Delaney & Bonnie disbanded, both musically and maritally, in 1972. Bonnie Bramlett continued her career as a solo songwriter and recording artist. She released ''Sweet Bonnie Bramlett'' in 1973, backed by The Average White Band. Bramlett also continued to contribute vocals to recordings by a variety of other artists, including Little Feat and The Allman Brothers Band.

In the late 1970s, she toured with Stephen Stills, during which she gained some press notoriety for an incident with Elvis Costello at a Holiday Inn hotel bar in Columbus, Ohio. Costello referred to James Brown as a "jive-ass nigger," then upped the ante by pronouncing Ray Charles a "blind, ignorant nigger". A contrite Costello apologised at a New York City press conference a few days later, claiming that he had been drunk and had been attempting to be obnoxious in order to bring the conversation to a swift conclusion, not anticipating that Bramlett would bring his comments to the press. According to Costello, "it became necessary for me to outrage these people with about the most obnoxious and offensive remarks that I could muster." Bramlett also frequently appeared with The Allman Brothers Band.

In 1979, Bonnie Bramlett travelled to Havana, Cuba, to participate in the historic Havana Jam festival that took place between 2–4 March, alongside Stephen Stills, the CBS Jazz All-Stars, the Trio of Doom, Fania All-Stars, Billy Swan, Weather Report, Mike Finnegan, Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge and Billy Joel, plus an array of Cuban artists such as Irakere, Pacho Alonso, Tata Güines and Orquesta Aragón. Her performance is captured on Ernesto Juan Castellanos's documentary Havana Jam '79.

After exploring the gospel music genre in the '80s, in 1988, Bonnie married Danny Sheridan who soon produced her next recordings via the “Revolutionary Hard Rockin’ Blues” of their "Bandaloo Doctors". The group's music attracted the admiration of many Hollywood celebrities, and the couple was soon cast for several seasons as semi-regulars on the hit ABC series ''Roseanne''. Bonnie (credited as Bonnie Sheridan) played a co-worker and friend (who just so happened to be named Bonnie) of Roseanne Barr's character 'Roseanne Conner', with Danny Sheridan occasionally writing music and appearing as the character “Hank the bass player”. During this period, Delaney and Bonnie's daughter, Bekka Bramlett, also started a singing career, eventually joining Fleetwood Mac in 1993 after the departure of Stevie Nicks.

Bonnie and Delaney Bramlett had had small roles in the 1971 film ''Vanishing Point'' and in 1974's ''Catch My Soul''. Bonnie had also guest-starred in an episode of ''Fame'' in 1986 and in the 1991 movie ''The Doors'' as a bartender. She also appeared in the Andrew Davis film ''The Guardian'' (2006) starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher.

In 2002, Bonnie Bramlett returned to her musical roots, releasing her album ''I'm Still the Same''. In 2006, she appeared as a backup vocalist for Southern rock artist Shooter Jennings on his album ''Electric Rodeo'', however, she declined to accompany Jennings on the ensuing tour.

Discography

Delaney & Bonnie

* ''Home'' (Stax, 1969)

* ''Accept No Substitute'' (Elektra, 1969)

* ''On Tour with Eric Clapton'' (Atco, 1970)

* ''To Bonnie from Delaney'' (Atco, 1970)

* ''Genesis'' (GNP, 1971)

* ''Motel Shot'' (Atco, 1971)

* ''Country Life'' (Atco, 1972)

* ''D&B; Together'' (CBS, 1972)

* ''Catch My Soul'' (1973)

* ''The Best of Delaney & Bonnie'' (Atco, 1973)

* ''The Best of Delaney & Bonnie'' (Rhino, 1990)

Bonnie Bramlett

* ''Sweet Bonnie Bramlett'' (CBS, 1973)

* ''It's Time'' (Capricorn, 1975)

* ''Lady's Choice'' (Capricorn, 1976)

* ''Memories'' (Capricorn, 1978)

* ''Step by Step'' (1981)

* ''I'm Still the Same'' (Audium, 2002)

* ''Roots, Blues & Jazz'' (Zoho, 2006)

* ''I can Laugh About It Now'' (Zoho, 2006)

* ''Beautiful'' (Rockin' Camel, 2008)

* ''Piece Of My Heart - The Best Of 1969-78'' (Raven, 2008)

Filmography

''Vanishing Point'' (1971)

''Catch My Soul'' (aka ''Santa Fe Satan'') (1974)

''Fame'', episode "Fame and Fortune" (1986)

''The Doors'' (1991)

''Roseanne'' (1991–1992)

''The Guardian'' (2006)

''Roseanne's Nuts'', episode "Star Spangled Banner" (2011)

References

External links

[ All-Music Guide: Bonnie Bramlett]

The Bonnie Bramlett Official Website

Bonnie Bramlett's album recordings

Category:1944 births Category:Living people Category:American female singers Category:American television actors Category:American rock singers Category:Female rock singers Category:People from Madison County, Illinois Category:Delaney & Bonnie & Friends members Category:Ike & Tina Turner members

da:Bonnie Bramlett no:Bonnie Bramlett pt:Bonnie Bramlett

name	Roger Miller
background	solo_singer
birth name	Roger Dean Miller
born	January 02, 1936Fort Worth, Texas
died	October 25, 1992Los Angeles, California
instrument	Guitar, fiddle, drums
genre	Country
occupation	Singer-songwriter
years active	1957–1992
associated acts	Bill Anderson, George Jones, Dean Miller, Willie Nelson, Johnny Paycheck, Minnie Pearl, Ray Price, Jim Reeves, Sheb Wooley, Dwight Yoakam, Faron Young
website	www.rogermiller.com
notable instruments	}}

Roger Dean Miller (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs. His most recognized tunes included the chart-topping country/pop hits "King of the Road", "Dang Me" and "England Swings", all from the mid-1960s Nashville sound era.

After growing up in Oklahoma and serving in the United States Army, Miller began his musical career as a songwriter in the late 1950s, penning such hits as "Billy Bayou" and "Home" for Jim Reeves and "Invitation to the Blues" for Ray Price. He later started a recording career and reached the peak of his fame in the late-1960s, but continued to record and tour into the 1990s, charting his final top 20 country hit "Old Friends" with Willie Nelson in 1982. Later in his life, he wrote the music and lyrics for the 1985 Tony-award winning Broadway musical ''Big River'', in which he also acted.

Miller died from lung cancer in 1992, and was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame three years later. His songs continued to be recorded by younger artists, with covers of "Tall, Tall Trees" by Alan Jackson and "Husbands and Wives" by Brooks & Dunn, each reaching the number one spot on country charts in the 1990s. The Roger Miller Museum in his home town serves as a tribute to Miller.

Early life

Roger Miller was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the third son of Jean and Laudene (Holt) Miller. Jean Miller died from spinal meningitis when Roger was only a year old. Unable to support the family during the Great Depression, Laudene sent each of her three sons to live with a different one of Jean's brothers. Thus, Roger grew up on a farm outside Erick, Oklahoma with Elmer and Armelia Miller.

As a boy, Miller did farm work such as picking cotton and plowing. He would later say he was "dirt poor" and that as late as 1951 the family did not own a telephone. He received his primary education at a one-room schoolhouse. Miller was an introverted child, and would often daydream or compose songs. One of his earliest compositions went: "There's a picture on the wall. It's the dearest of them all, Mother."

Miller was a member of the National FFA Organization in high school. He listened to the ''Grand Ole Opry'' and Light Crust Doughboys on a Fort Worth station with his cousin's husband Sheb Wooley. Wooley taught Miller his first guitar chords and bought him a fiddle. Wooley, Hank Williams, and Bob Wills were the influences that led to Miller's desire to become a singer-songwriter. He began to run away and perform in Oklahoma and Texas. When he was 17, he stole a guitar out of desperation to write songs; however, he turned himself in the next day. He chose to enlist in the Army to avoid jail. He later quipped, "My education was Korea, Clash of '52." Near the end of his military service, while stationed in Atlanta, Georgia, Miller played fiddle in the "Circle A Wranglers," a military musical group started by Faron Young. While stationed in South Carolina, an army sergeant whose brother was Kenneth C. Burns from the musical duo Homer and Jethro, convinced Miller to head to Nashville after his demobilization.

Career

Nashville songwriter

After his discharge, Miller traveled to Nashville to begin his musical career. Once there, he met with Chet Atkins, who asked to hear Miller, and even loaned him his guitar after learning that he did not own one. Out of nervousness, Miller played the guitar and sang a song in two different keys. Atkins advised him to come back at a later date, after a little more work. Miller remained in Nashville and worked as a bellhop at the Andrew Jackson Hotel, to make ends meet; he soon became known as the "singing bellhop," Meanwhile, he was hired by Minnie Pearl to play fiddle in her band, and later met up with George Jones, who introduced him to music executives from the Starday Records label for an audition. The label was impressed with Miller and awarded him with a session in Houston, accompanied by Jones. Jones and Miller collaborated, writing "Tall, Tall Trees" and "Happy Child."

}} After getting married and having a child, Miller decided to put his Nashville career on hold and left for Amarillo, Texas to become a fireman. He did not altogether abandon his musical career; although he worked as a fireman during the day, he spent the nights performing gigs. Miller later recounted that during his career as a fireman, he saw only two fires, a "chicken coop" and another that he "slept through." After the latter, the department "suggested that...[he] seek other employment." Miller met with Ray Price, and was hired as a member of his Cherokee Cowboys. He moved back to Nashville, and penned the song "Invitation to the Blues," which was covered by Rex Allen and later by Price, for whom it became a number three hit on country charts. Miller signed with ''Tree Publishing'' on a salary of $50 a week. He wrote: "Half a Mind" for Ernest Tubb, "That's the Way I Feel" for Faron Young; and his first number one, "Billy Bayou," which along with "Home" were recorded by Jim Reeves. Miller became one of the biggest songwriters of the 1950s. However, Bill Anderson would later remark that "Roger was the most talented, and least disciplined person that you could imagine" citing the attempts of Miller's ''Tree Publishing'' boss, Buddy Killen to force him to finish a piece. He was also known to give away lines, inciting many Nashville songwriters to follow him around since "everything he said was a potential song." (Killen)

Recording career

Miller signed a recording deal with Decca Records in 1958. He was paired with singer Donny Little, who would later gain fame under the name Johnny Paycheck, to perform the Little-penned "A Man Like Me", and later "The Wrong Kind of Girl." Both songs were honky tonk and did not chart. His second single with the label, featuring the B-side "Jason Fleming," foreshadowed Miller's future style. To make extra money, Miller went on tour and joined Faron Young's band as a drummer, although he had never drummed before. During this period, he signed a record deal with Chet Atkins at RCA Records, for whom Miller recorded "You Don't Want My Love" (also known as "In the Summertime") in 1960, which marked his first appearance on country charts, peaking at #14. The next year, he would make an even bigger impact, breaking through the top 10 with his single "When Two Worlds Collide," co-written with Bill Anderson. But Miller soon grew tired of writing songs, divorced his wife and began a party lifestyle that earned him the moniker "wild child." He was dropped from his record label and began to pursue other interests.

After numerous appearances on late night comedy shows, Miller decided that he might have a chance to go to Hollywood to be an actor. However, short of money, he signed with the up and coming label Smash Records, asked the label for $1,600 in cash, in exchange for recording 16 sides. Smash agreed to the proposal, and Miller performed at his first session for the company early in 1964, when he recorded the hits "Dang Me" and "Chug-a-Lug". Both were released as singles, peaking at #1 and #3 respectively on country charts; both also fared well on the Billboard Hot 100 reaching #7 and #9. The songs transformed Miller's career, although the former was penned by Miller in only four minutes. Later that year, he recorded the #15 hit "Do-Wacka-Do," and soon after the biggest hit of his career "King of the Road," which topped Country and Adult Contemporary charts while peaking at #4 on the Billboard 100. The song was inspired by a sign in Chicago that read "Trailers for Sale or Rent" and a hobo happened upon by Miller while at an airport in Boise, but took months for Miller to write. The song was certified gold in May 1965 after selling a million copies. It won Miller numerous awards, and earned him a royalty check worth $160,000 that summer. Later in the year Miller scored hits with "Engine Engine #9", "Kansas City Star" (a Top Ten country hit in 1965 about a local television rhinestone cowboy personality who would rather stay in the safety and security of his success in Kansas City rather than try to become a bigger star - or risk failure - in Omaha) and "England Swings" (an adult contemporary #1). He began 1966 with the hit "Husbands and Wives."

Miller was given his own TV show on NBC in September 1966 but it was canceled after 13 weeks in January 1967. During this period Miller recorded songs written by other songwriters. The final hit from his own composition was "Walkin In the Sunshine," which reached #7 and #6 on the country and adult contemporary charts in 1967. Later in the year he scored his final top 10 hit with a cover of Bobby Russell's "Little Green Apples." The next year, he was one of the first artists to cover Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobbie McGee," taking the song to #12 on country charts. In 1970, Miller recorded the album ''A Trip in the Country,'' made up of honky tonk standards penned by Miller, including "Tall, Tall Trees." Later that year, after Smash Records folded, Miller was signed by Columbia Records, for whom he released ''Dear Folks: Sorry I Haven't Written Lately'' in 1973. Later that year, Miller wrote and performed three songs in the Walt Disney animated feature ''Robin Hood'' as the rooster/minstrel Alan-a-Dale, including "Whistle-Stop" which was sampled for use in the popular The Hampster Dance web site. He also provided the voice of Speiltoe, the equine narrator of the Rankin/Bass holiday special ''Nestor, The Long-Eared Christmas Donkey'' in 1978. Miller collaborated with Willie Nelson to create an album titled ''Old Friends.'' The title track was based on a song he had previously penned for his family in Oklahoma. The song, with guest vocals from Ray Price, was the last hit of Miller's career, peaking at #19 on country charts in 1982.

Late career

He continued to record for different record labels and charted a few songs, but stopped writing in 1978, feeling that his more "artistic" works were not being appreciated. He was absent from the entertainment business following the release of ''Old Friends'' in 1981, but returned after receiving an offer to write a Broadway score for a new musical based upon Mark Twain's ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.'' Although he had never read the novel, Miller accepted the offer after discovering how the story brought him back to his childhood in rural Oklahoma. It took him a year and a half to write the opening but he eventually finished. The work, entitled ''Big River'' premiered at Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York on April 25, 1985. The musical received glowing reviews, earning seven Tony Awards including "Best Score" for Miller. He also acted the part of Huck Finn's father Pap for three months after the exit of actor John Goodman, who left for Hollywood.

Miller left for Santa Fe to live with his family following the success of ''Big River''. He co-wrote Dwight Yoakam's hit "It Only Hurts When I Cry" from his 1990 album ''If There Was a Way'', and supplied background vocals. The song was released as a single in 1991, peaking at #7 on country charts. He began a solo guitar tour in 1990, which he ended the following year after being diagnosed with lung cancer. His last performance on television occurred during a special tribute to Minnie Pearl that aired on TNN on October 26, 1992, the day after Miller's death.

Style

Although usually grouped with country music singers, Miller's unique style defies easy classification. Many of his recordings were humorous novelty songs with whimsical lyrics, coupled with scat singing or vocalese riffs filled with nonsense syllables. Others were sincere ballads, which also caught the public's fancy, none more so than his signature song, "King of the Road." The biographical book ''Ain't Got No Cigarettes'' described Miller as an "uncategorizable talent", and stated that many regarded him as a genius.

On his own personal style, Miller remarked that he "tried to do" things like other artists but that it "always came out different" so he got "frustrated" until realizing "I'm the only one that knows what I'm thinking." He commented that the favorite song that he wrote was "You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd." Johnny Cash discussed Miller's bass vocal range in his 1997 autobiography. He commented that it was the closest to his own that he had heard.

Personal life and death

Miller was married three times, and fathered seven children. Miller's first wife Barbara bore his first child, Michael, who later died. The couple had 3 more children subsequent to Michael's death—Alan, Rhonda and Shari. By the time Shari was born, Miller's career was beginning to blossom into national popularity. The family remained in Inglewood for a short time after Miller found fame. The increasing interest in Miller caused struggles for the performer: he suffered from depression and insomnia and had a drug addiction that contributed to the end of both his first and second marriages; Miller was known to walk off of shows and get into fights. who like his father, went on to become a singer-songwriter. The Christmas song, "Old Toy Trains" was written by Miller about his son, who was only two years old when it was released in 1967. After divorcing Leah, Miller married Mary Arnold, whom he had met through Kenny Rogers. Arnold was a member of The First Edition a band that included Rogers. They adopted two children: Taylor and Adam. After The First Edition, she subsequently performed with Miller on tours, including a White House performance for President Gerald Ford. In 2009 she was inducted into the Iowa Rock'n Roll Hall of Fame, Arnold currently manages Roger Miller's estate. She sued Sony for copyright infringement in the 2007 case Roger Miller Music, Inc. v. Sony/ATV Publishing, LLC, which went to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Arnold was ultimately awarded nearly $1 million in royalties and rights to the songs Miller wrote in 1964.

Miller was a lifelong cigarette smoker. During a television interview Miller once explained that he composed his songs from "bits and pieces" of ideas he wrote on scraps of paper. When asked what he did with the unused bits and pieces, he half-joked, "I smoke 'em!" Miller died of lung and throat cancer in 1992, at the age of 56 shortly after the discovery of a growth under his vocal cords.

Discography

Artist	Roger Miller
Studio	19
Live	3
Compilation	69
Singles	37
Option color	blue
2option	3
2option name	No.1 Single
2option color	orange
References	}}

Main albums

''Roger and Out'' (1964)

''The Return of Roger Miller'' (1965)

''The 3rd Time Around'' (1965)

''Words and Music'' (1966)

''Walkin' in the Sunshine'' (1967)

''A Tender Look at Love'' (1968)

''Roger Miller'' (1969)

''Roger Miller Featuring Dang Me!'' (1969)

''A Trip in the Country'' (1970)

''Roger Miller 1970'' (1970)

''Dear Folks, Sorry I Haven't Written Lately'' (1973)

''Celebration'' (1976)

''Painted Poetry'' (1977)

''Off the Wall'' (1978)

''Waterhole #3'' (1978)

''Making a Name for Myself'' (1979)

''Old Friends'' (with Willie Nelson) (1982)

''The Country Side of Roger Miller'' (1986)

''Green Green Grass of Home'' (1994)

#1 singles

;Released and recorded by Miller

"Dang Me" (1964)

"King of the Road" (1965)

"England Swings" (1966)

;Recorded and released by other artists

"Billy Bayou" – Jim Reeves (1958)

"Don't We All Have the Right" – Ricky Van Shelton (1988)

"Tall, Tall Trees" – Alan Jackson (1995)

"Husbands and Wives" – Brooks & Dunn (1998)

Awards

In addition to 11 Grammy Awards, Roger Miller won Broadway's Tony award for writing the music and lyrics for ''Big River'', which won a total of 7 Tonys including best musical in 1985. He was voted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1995. Miller's 11 Grammy Awards held the record as the most won by any artist until Michael Jackson's 1982 album ''Thriller''. In Erick, Oklahoma where he grew up, a thoroughfare was renamed "Roger Miller Boulevard" and a museum dedicated to Miller was built on the road in 2004.

Below is a list of awards won by Miller:

1964 — Grammy Award: Best Country Song: "Dang Me"

1964 — Grammy Award: Best New Country and Western Artist

1964 — Grammy Award: Best Country and Western Recording, Single: "Dang Me"

1964 — Grammy Award: Best Country and Western Performance, Male: "Dang Me"

1964 — Grammy Award: Best Country and Western Album: "Dang Me"/"Chug-a-Lug"

1965 — Jukebox Artist of the Year

1965 — Grammy Award: Best Country Song: "King of the Road"

1965 — Grammy Award: Best Country Vocal Performance, Male: "King of the Road"

1965 — Grammy Award: Best Country and Western Recording, Single: "King of the Road"

1965 — Grammy Award: Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Male: "King of the Road"

1965 — Grammy Award: Best Contemporary (Rock 'N Roll), Single: "King of the Road"

1965 — Grammy Award: Best Country and Western Album: "The Return of Roger Miller"

1965 — Academy of Country and Western Music: "Best Songwriter"

1965 — Academy of Country and Western Music: "Man of the Year"

1973 — Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame

1985 — Tony Award for Best Score and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics for ''Big River''

1988 — Academy of Country Music: Pioneer Award

1995 — Country Music Hall of Fame

1997 — Grammy Hall of Fame Song : "Dang Me"

1998 — Grammy Hall of Fame Song : "King Of The Road"

2003 — CMT's ''40 Greatest Men of Country Music'': Ranked #23.

References

Bibliography

Cooper, Daniel. (1998). "Roger Miller." In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music.'' Paul Kingsbury, Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 347–8.

External links

All Roger Miller Songs Written and Released

Episode of Quincy ME starring Roger Miller

Roger Miller Museum in Erick, Oklahoma

Roger Miller interview on the Pop Chronicles

Category:1936 births Category:1992 deaths Category:People from Fort Worth, Texas Category:American country singers Category:American male singers Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American military personnel of the Korean War Category:American novelty song performers Category:Musicians from Oklahoma Category:Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Cancer deaths in California Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Deaths from lung cancer Category:Deaths from esophageal cancer Category:American musicians of European descent Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Mercury Records artists Category:People from Beckham County, Oklahoma Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Smash Records artists Category:Starday Records artists Category:Tony Award winners Category:United States Army soldiers Category:American composers

cs:Roger Miller da:Roger Miller de:Roger Miller fr:Roger Miller it:Roger Miller nl:Roger Miller (zanger) no:Roger Miller pt:Roger Miller ru:Миллер, Роджер sv:Roger Miller

Name	Little Richard |image Little Richard in 2007.jpg
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Richard Wayne Penniman
Alias	Little Richard
Birth date	December 05, 1932
Origin	Macon, Georgia, U.S.
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, recording artist, actor
Instrument	Vocals, piano, keyboards. saxophone
Genre	Rock and roll, rhythm and blues, soul, gospel
Years active	1945–present
Background	solo_singer
Label	RCA Camden, Peacock, Specialty, Gone, Atlantic, Bell, Brunswick, Coral, Critique, Elektra, End, Guest Star, Kent, Lost-Nite, Mainstream, Manticore, MCA, Mercury, Modern, Vee Jay, Okeh, Reprise, K-Tel, Black Label, Warner Bros., WTG}}

Richard Wayne Penniman (born December 5, 1932), known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and contributed significantly to the development of soul music. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame web site entry on Penniman states that:

He claims to be "the architect of rock and roll", and history would seem to bear out Little Richard’s boast. More than any other performer – save, perhaps, Elvis Presley, Little Richard blew the lid off the Fifties, laying the foundation for rock and roll with his explosive music and charismatic persona. On record, he made spine-tingling rock and roll. His frantically charged piano playing and raspy, shouted vocals on such classics as "Tutti Frutti", "Long Tall Sally" and "Good Golly, Miss Molly" defined the dynamic sound of rock and roll.

Penniman began performing on stage and on the road in 1945, when he was in his early teens. He began his recording career on October 16, 1951 by imitating the gospel-influenced style of late-1940s jump blues artist Billy Wright, who was a friend of his that set him up with the opportunity to record. His early fifties recordings, however, did not achieve remarkable commercial success. However, in 1955, under the guidance of Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Penniman began recording in a style he had been performing onstage for years, featuring varied rhythm (derived from everything from drum beats he would hear in his voice to the sounds of trains he would hear thundering by him as a child), a heavy backbeat, funky saxophone grooves, over-the-top gospel-style singing, moans, screams, and other emotive inflections, accompanied by a combination of boogie-woogie and rhythm and blues music. This new music, which included an original injection of funk into the rock and roll beat, inspired many of the greatest recording artists of the twentieth century, including James Brown, Otis Redding, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson, and generations of other rhythm & blues, rock, and soul music artists.

On October 12, 1957, while at the height of stardom, Penniman abruptly quit rock and roll music and became a born-again Christian. He had charted seventeen original hits in less than three years. In January 1958, he enrolled in and attended Bible college to become a preacher and evangelist and began recording and performing only gospel music for a number of years. He then moved back and forth from rock and roll to the ministry, until he was able to reconcile the two roles in later life.

Penniman was among the first group of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and one of only four of those artists (along with Ray Charles, James Brown, and Fats Domino) to also receive the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2003, Penniman was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2007, his 1955 original hit "Tutti Frutti" was voted Number 1 by an eclectic panel of renowned recording artists on ''Mojo'''s The Top 100 Records That Changed The World, hailing the recording as "the sound of the birth of rock and roll." In 2010, The United States of America's Library of Congress National Recording Registry added the groundbreaking recording to its registry, claiming that the hit, with its original “A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom!” ''a cappella'' introduction, announced a new era in music.

Biography

Early life and early career: 1932–1951

Richard Wayne Penniman was born in Macon, Georgia, the third of 12 children born to Charlie "Bud" Penniman, Sr. (10 April 1910 – 12 January 1952), a bootlegger and his wife Leva Mae (née Stewart). He grew up in a religious family in which singing was an integral part of their lives; they performed in local churches as The Penniman Singers, and entered contests with other singing families. His family called him "War Hawk" because of his loud, screaming singing voice. His grandfather, Walter Penniman, was a preacher, and his father's family were members of the Foundation Templar African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Macon. His maternal grandmother was a member of Macon's Holiness Temple Baptist Church. Penniman attended the New Hope Baptist Church in Macon, where his mother was a member. Penniman's favorites were the Pentecostal churches because of the music and the fun he would have doing the holy dance and speaking in tongues with members of the congregation. When he was 10, he became a faith healer, singing gospel songs and touching people, who would testify that they felt better afterwards. Inspired by Brother Joe May, a singing evangelist known as "The Thunderbolt of the West", Penniman wanted to become a preacher.

Almost all of Penniman's dramatic phrasing and swift vocal turns are derived from black gospel artists of the 1930s and '40s. He said Sister Rosetta Tharpe was his favorite singer when he was a child. She had invited him to sing a song with her onstage at the Macon City Auditorium in 1945, after hearing him sing before the concert. The crowd cheered, and she paid him more money than he had ever seen after the show. He was also influenced by Marion Williams, from whom he got the trademark "whoooo" in his vocal, Mahalia Jackson and Brother Joe May. He was influenced in appearance (hair, clothing, shoes, makeup, etc.) and sound by late 1940s gospel-style, jump blues shouter Billy Wright, a friend of his who was known as the "Prince of the Blues". Wright set Penniman up with DJ Zenas Sears, who scored the newcomer his first recording contract in 1951. One of Penniman's main influences in piano-playing was Esquerita (Eskew Reeder, Jr.), who showed him how to play high notes without compromising bass. Penniman met Esquerita when he traveled through Macon with a preacher named Sister Rosa.

Penniman lived in a black neighborhood; he had some contact with whites but, due to racial segregation, he could not cross the line where the whites lived. While in high school, Penniman played alto saxophone in the marching band. He began losing interest in school and began performing in a variety of travelling shows in his mid-teens.

Early recordings: 1951–1955

In October 1951, Penniman began recording jump blues records for RCA Camden. His father was shot to death while he was performing at a club on January 12, 1952. In October 1953, he began recording with Peacock Records. Records were released each year during 1951–54, but none were significant hits.

Following two recording sessions with Peacock in 1953, Penniman, dissatisfied with his solo career, began to form a new R&B; road band that he called "The Upsetters." The band began with New Orleans drummer Charles "Chuck" Connors and two saxophonists, including Wilbert "Lee Diamond" Smith. By 1955, the band was joined by saxophonists Clifford "Gene" Burks and Grady Gaines, who became its leader, along with Olsie "Baysee" Robinson on bass, and Nathaniel "Buster" Douglas on guitar.

At Lloyd Price's suggestion, Penniman recorded a demo for gospel/R&B; label Specialty Records on February 9, 1955. Specialty's owner, Art Rupe, loaned him money to buy out his contract from Peacock Records and placed his career in the hands of Specialty's A&R; man Robert "Bumps" Blackwell.

Rupe and Blackwell originally pictured Penniman as a commercial rival to Ray Charles, who was experiencing success with Atlantic Records by taking gospel songs and developing them in a bluesy setting with a beat. Penniman told Rupe he liked Fats Domino's sound, so Rupe and Blackwell booked Cosimo Matassa's J & M Recording Studio in New Orleans, and hired studio musicians who had worked with Domino (including Earl Palmer on drums and Lee Allen on sax) rather than members of Penniman's road band on many of the mid-1950s Specialty tracks.

Following some recordings that did not satisfy Blackwell, they took a break. Penniman began pounding out a boogie woogie rhythm on piano and hollering out impromptu recital of "Tutti Frutti", a song he had written and had been performing on stage for years. Blackwell was so impressed with the sound that he had Penniman record the song. However, in order to make it commercially acceptable, Penniman's lyrics were rewritten. Blackwell recognized that the lyrics, with their “minstrel modes and homosexuality humor” needed to be cleaned up. For example “Tutti Frutti, good booty", were replaced with “Tutti Frutti, aw-rooty”. The song featured the a cappella intro "A-wop-bop-a-loo-lop-a-lop-bam-boom!", which Penniman first belted out years before onstage based on a drum beat he heard in his voice, that had also been altered slightly to make it commercially acceptable. The recording was released on Specialty in October 1955.

Initial success: 1955–1957

"Tutti Frutti" climbed to the top of ''Billboard'''s R&B; chart. Sixteen more hit singles followed in less than three years, seven of which reached number 1. While most of these hits were characterized by a driving piano, boogie-woogie bass line, a variety of rhythmic drumbeats, and wild screams before Lee Allen's sax solos, such as "Rip It Up", "Lucille", "Jenny, Jenny", "Good Golly, Miss Molly" and "Keep A-Knockin'", a few of them were slower in tempo and more soulful, such as "Slippin' and Slidin'", "Send Me Some Lovin'" and "True Fine Mama". During this period, he also appeared performing his hit songs in three films, including ''The Girl Can't Help It'' (1956), in which he sang the hit title track, ''Don't Knock the Rock'' (1956), and ''Mister Rock and Roll'' (1957).

"Tutti Frutti" was quickly covered by both Elvis Presley and Pat Boone. While Presley's versions only appeared as album tracks, Boone's covers were released as singles and his "Tutti Frutti" single outsold the source record and "outdid Richard's on the hit parade". Boone also released a version of "Long Tall Sally" with slightly bowdlerized lyrics, but this time, the original version outperformed the cover on the Billboard pop chart. Presley and Bill Haley tackled Penniman's fourth R&B; chart topper, "Rip It Up", but his single was the hit.

Penniman, along with his road band, performed his hits in sports stadiums and concert venues across the United States through 1956 and 1957. He brought the races together at his concerts, at a time in the United States when laws still dictated that public facilities (including concert venues) be divided into separate "white" and "colored" domains. His audiences would start out segregated in the building, usually with one race on the floor and the other on the balcony, but most of the time, by the end of the night they were mixed together. Racists in the south, such as the North Alabama White Citizens Council, responded by putting out statements on television, warning the public that "Rock n Roll is part of a test to undermine the morals of the youth of our nation. It is sexualistic, unmoralistic and ... brings people of both races together." The demand for him was so great, however, that even in the south where segregation was most rampant, the taboos against black artists appearing in white venues were being shattered.

Penniman was an innovative and charismatic performer, appearing in sequined capes under flicker lights that he brought from show business into the music world. He would run off and on the stage, jumping, yelling, and whipping the audience into a frenzy. At a concert in Baltimore, Maryland, US concert history was made when excited people had to be restrained from jumping off the balconies, and the police had to stop the show twice to remove dozens of girls that had climbed onstage to try to rip souvenirs from Penniman. Later in the show, girls began to throw their undergarments onto the stage.

While on the road in the mid-50s, Penniman would have notorious parties, replete with orgies, in hotel rooms wherever they appeared. In late 1956, he met a voluptuous high school graduate in Savannah, Georgia, by the name of Lee Angel (née Audrey Robinson). She became his girlfriend and started traveling on the road with him. Penniman would invite attractive men to his parties and would enjoy watching them having sex with his girlfriend.

Conversion to Christianity: 1957–1962

In early October 1957, on the fifth date of a two-week tour of Australia, Penniman was flying from Melbourne to appear in front of 40,000 fans in concert in Sydney. Shocked by the red hot appearance of the engines against the night sky, he envisioned angels holding up the plane. Then, while he performed at the stadium, he was shaken by the sight of a ball of fire that he watched streak across the sky overhead. He took what was actually the launching of Sputnik 1, the first human-made object to orbit the earth, as another sign to quit show business and follow God. The following day he departed Sydney on a ferry and threw his $8,000 ring in the water to show his band members that he was serious about quitting. The plane that he was originally scheduled to fly back home on ended up crashing in the Pacific Ocean, which he took as confirmation that he was doing what God wanted him to do.

The news of his quitting at the height of his career had broken all over the world by the time he returned to the United States. He attended one more recording session for Specialty on October 18, 1957, and, at the request of DJ Alan Freed, performed a farewell concert at the Apollo Theatre in New York. He then had his roadies drive his Cadillacs across the United States to a property he bought for his mother in California and gave her the keys. He formed the Little Richard Evangelistic Team, travelling across the country preaching, and helped people locally through a ministry on skid row in Los Angeles.

From October 1957 to 1962, Penniman recorded gospel music for End, Mercury, and Atlantic Records. In 1958, he enrolled in the Seventh-day Adventist Oakwood College (now Oakwood University), in Huntsville, Alabama, where he planned to take a three-year course which was to culminate in ordination. In November 1957, he met Ernestine Campbell at an evangelistic meeting in Washington, D.C.. They were married on July 11, 1959.

Return to secular music and personal decline: 1962–1976

Following release of his gospel album for Mercury Records titled ''The King of the Gospel Singers'', Little Richard met Mahalia Jackson, one of his childhood heroes. She was appearing in Los Angeles and he stopped her on the street to invite her to hear him sing at the Mount Maria Baptist Church. She attended and indicated that she was delighted with his singing, stating that "he was singing gospel songs the way they should be sung" and "he had that primitive beat and sound that came so naturally." Three of his gospel songs during this period hit the pop charts - "He's Not Just a Soldier" (1961) and "He Got What He Wanted" 1962 (UK) for Mercury Records, and "Crying In The Chapel" (1963) for Atlantic Records. He continued in the ministry but was experiencing marital problems and some difficulty living his ideal of a disciplined Christian life.

Although rock and roll sales were in a slump in America in 1962, Penniman's records were still selling well in England. From April to May of that year, The Beatles, then still an obscure band, co-resided with Penniman at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany, during which time he advised them on the proper technique for performing his songs. Included in this instruction was teaching Paul McCartney his "woo holler." British promoter Don Arden then booked Penniman for an October 1962 tour of Great Britain, with the Beatles as an opening act. Penniman thought he was going to perform gospel music, but Arden had promoted the concert as a rock and roll show. On the first night of the tour he began performing gospel music, but gave in to the pressure and began performing his secular hits. He walked off to a standing ovation. The frenzied crowd reaction was to be repeated wherever he appeared.

He returned to Specialty Records in March 1964, recording one secular track, following a Don Arden headlining deal, accepted by Penniman, who decided not to disclose his reactivated Rock and Roll activity to the church community because he was convinced that rock and roll was evil and still wanted to keep his options open in the ministry.

He had successfully toured England and Wales in October and November 1963, Mick Jagger would later state, "I heard so much about the audience reaction, I thought there must be some exaggeration. But it was all true. He drove the whole house into a complete frenzy... I couldn't believe the power of Little Richard onstage. He was amazing." Near the end of the tour, Penniman recorded a television show, ''The Little Richard Spectacular'', with Sounds Incorporated as the backing band and The Shirelles performing backing vocals, for Britain's largest independent television company at the time, Granada. After the show was first aired in May 1964, Granada received over 60,000 letters from fans, which prompted the company to two repeat broadcasts of the show. Much of the footage was used for a TV special, highlighting the frenzy and excitement associated with rock and roll, that was seen all over the world.

Penniman recorded four more secular tracks for Specialty in April 1964. One of these recordings, "Bama Lama, Bama Loo" was released as a single and was a minor hit on the Billboard charts but a Top Twenty in the U.K.

Around January 1965 he brought a fledgling Jimi Hendrix (who wanted to be known at the time as 'Maurice James') into his band, full-time. Hendrix began dressing and growing a mustache like Penniman's. He toured with Penniman and played on at least a dozen tracks for Vee Jay Records between the spring of 1964 and 1965. Of these, "I Don't Know What You Got But It's Got Me" and covers of "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" and "Goodnight, Irene" hit the pop and/or R&B; charts with moderate success.

Penniman continued to record and perform only secular music in the mid-60s, during which time he began drinking heavily. He has stated that he could have had more commercial success during this period, but southern preachers displeased with his backslide from the ministry pressured R&B; radio stations throughout the southern U.S. not to play his music, while on the West Coast, particularly in Los Angeles following the Watts Riots, some black DJs were not playing his music because he was drawing both races to his concerts.

In 1966 and 1967, Penniman recorded two soul albums for Okeh Records, with his old friend from the mid-'50s, Larry Williams, as producer, and Johnny Guitar Watson on guitar. The first album produced the hit single, "Poor Dog." In August 1967, the second album, which was an Okeh Club concert performance, returned Penniman to ''Billboard'''s Top 200 Albums chart for the first time in 10 years. Williams also acted as the musical director for Penniman's live performances used for the album, and Penniman's bookings during this period skyrocketed.

With the emergence of the Black Power movement in the latter part of the decade, Penniman was invited to perform for strictly black crowds. He refused because he did not want to exclude any races from attending his shows. He remained a popular concert attraction, travelling extensively in the United States and Europe, as well as in Mexico and Canada, throughout the remainder of the decade. These albums resulted in four minor hits for Reprise Records between 1970 and 1973 and a single charted briefly for Manticore in 1975. That same year, he played piano on the Top 40 single "Take It Like a Man" from the Bachman–Turner Overdrive hit album ''Head On'' and recorded a gospel song entitled, "Try To Help Your Brother". In 1976, he re-recorded twenty of his biggest '50s hits in Nashville for a K-Tel Records album.

Penniman also continued his wild partying through the first half of the seventies and developed a dependency on a variety of drugs and alcohol. He and his brothers started their own management company, Bud Hole Incorporated.

Return to Christianity: 1977–1984

In 1977, Penniman reached a crossroad in his life. Two close friends, a brother and a nephew that he loved as a son, died, and he came close to being shot by his long-time friend, Larry Williams, over a drug debt. Even though he and Williams were very close friends, cocaine addiction fueled a rage in Williams when Penniman failed to repay him because he was high. In what he referred to as the most fearful moment of his life, Penniman happened to have the money and Williams spared him.

Penniman repented for his wayward living and returned to evangelism. He also represented Memorial Bibles International and sold their Black Heritage Bible, which highlighted the many black people in the Bible. In 1979, he recorded a gospel album entitled ''God's Beautiful City'', and embarked upon an evangelical campaign across the U.S. During this period, he proclaimed that it was not possible to perform rock and roll music and serve God at the same time.

Penniman evangelized to crowds of as few as 250 in small churches to packed auditoriums of 21,000 through the remainder of the 1970s and the first half of the 1980s. His preaching focused on bringing the races together and lost souls to repentance through God's love, as well as the rejection of his former lifestyle of alcoholism, drug addiction and bisexuality.

Show business comeback and recognition: 1984–2000

In 1984, Charles White's authorized biography of Penniman (''The Life and Times of Little Richard'') was published, featuring extensive first-person input from its subject, testimonials of Penniman's influence on many legendary recording artists, and attracting attention for its "juicy anecdotes". The publication catapulted Penniman into the limelight again with a number of the world's largest newspapers and magazine's featuring major reviews.

Shortly before the publication of the biography, Penniman's mother died. Not long before she died he promised her that he would remain a Christian. He thereafter reconciled his role as an evangelist and as a rock and roll artist, stating that he believed that rock and roll music could be used for good or evil.

In an effort to merge his faith with his music, Penniman enrolled his old friend Billy Preston to help him write a song with religious lyrics that sounded like rock and roll. The song was destined for the soundtrack of a new motion picture entitled ''Down and Out in Beverly Hills''. The result was "Great Gosh A'Mighty (It's a Matter of Time)", which became a hit. The hit theme song appeared in a different version on an album of faith-based material entitled ''Lifetime Friend'', recorded (primarily in England) from late 1985 into early 1986. Penniman referred to his new style of music as "message music" and "messages in rhythm", which included a track that was an innovative blend of rap and funky rock music. Penniman also acted in the hit motion picture and received critical acclaim for his performance.

Near the end of the recording process for ''Lifetime Friend'', Penniman flew back to the United States to appear in an episode of the television show ''Miami Vice''. Following the filming he broke his leg in an automobile accident, which prevented him from attending the first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on January 23, 1986, at which he was honored as one of the first inductees.

In 1987, Penniman recorded a track for the 1988 tribute album ''Folkways: A Vision Shared'' ("The Rock Island Line", backed by Fishbone). He also recorded the theme song for the ''Twins'' motion picture soundtrack with Philip Bailey and appeared in a promotional music video of the recording for the movie with Bailey, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito.

The pressure to return to singing his classic secular hits seemed to mount as the spotlight on Penniman continued. On November 11, 1988, Penniman was filmed as he appeared at "The Legends of Rock and Roll Concert" in Rome, Italy, along with Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, B.B. King, Ray Charles, and James Brown. Penniman sang three songs; two faith-based ("Great Gosh a'Mighty" and "Joy, Joy, Joy") and the third family-themed ("No Place Like Home"). While others sang the lyrics of one of his secular hits ("Tutti Frutti"), introduced by Jerry Lee Lewis during the all-star jam session finale involving all of the artists, Penniman refused to sing the lyric, instead passing the microphone to Bo Diddley, who seemed to support him by changing the song. However, at an AIDS benefit concert hosted by Cher in March 1989, Penniman performed his classic, "Lucille" for the first time in 13 years. This event marked Penniman's second return to performing his classic brand of rock 'n' roll, though not to the hedonistic lifestyle he had ventured after his first return to secular music in the sixties.

Penniman would go on to continue to perform some of his faith-based brand of rock 'n' roll music at his concerts, as well. In April 1989, he preached, rapped in funky rhyme style, and sang background vocals on the live, extended version of the 1989 U2/B.B. King hit "When Love Comes to Town". He also recorded on a gospel music track with John P. Kee.

Penniman remained active throughout the 1990s on television, in music videos, commercials, movies, in concert and as a guest recording artist. In 1990, he recorded a rap segment for Living Colour's "Elvis Is Dead" (featuring Maceo Parker on saxophone) and then performed it with the band live on television. He appeared in "Mother Goose Rock N Rhyme" (as Ol' King Cole)in 1990. He appeared (as a preacher) in music videos for Cinderella's "Shelter Me" and in a new recording of "Good Golly Miss Molly" for the motion picture ''King Ralph'' (1991). He recorded an album of classic children's songs in his original rocking style for Disney, as well as the opening theme song for the science mystery cartoon ''The Magic School Bus''. He has also voiced an animated version of himself in an episode of ''Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures''. He recorded duets with Jon Bon Jovi, Hank Williams, Jr., Elton John, Tanya Tucker and Solomon Burke on his ''Definition of Soul'' album. He also recorded new tracks for two motion picture soundtracks: ''Casper'' (1995) and ''Why Do Fools Fall in Love'' (1998).

Penniman appeared (as himself) in ''Why Do Fools Fall in Love'', as well as in the 1999 film ''Mystery, Alaska'', in which he sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "O Canada". He also guest starred as himself in television shows including ''Columbo'' (in an episode entitled "The Murder of a Rock Star"), ''Full House'' (in the episode entitled "Too Little Richard Too Late"), ''Muppets Tonight'' (in an episode full of cameo appearances), ''Martin'' (in the episode entitled "Three Men and a Mouse") and ''The Fresh Prince of Bel Air''. On June 2, 1995, he appeared on the ABC daytime soap opera ''One Life to Live''. He portrayed a fictionalized version of himself, officiating the wedding of supercouple Bo Buchanan and Nora Gannon, who were huge fans of 1950s rock and roll music.

In the summer of 1998 he toured Europe with Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Current work: 2000–present

In 2000, Robert Townsend directed a television biopic entitled ''Little Richard'' about the artist's life from childhood to his early 30s (circa 1962). Leon Robinson received an Emmy Award nomination for his performance in the starring role.

Penniman's continued to record, tour, and appear on television throughout the decade. Later that year, he was retained by Simon Cowell to be a judge in the Fox television series ''Celebrity Duets''. On March 24, 2007, Penniman performed and lectured students at the University of Texas event "40 Acres Fest", featuring 1,200 bands. He also performed that year at the Capitol Fourth, a July 4 celebration in front of the White House. On July 25, 2007, he made an appearance on the ABC show ''The Next Best Thing''. On November 22, 2007, he headlined the half-time show for a Thanksgiving football game at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. In 2007, to help raise funds to benefit sick and dying children, as well as to debunk the notion that Don Imus was a racist, he recorded a guest track for ''The Imus Ranch Record'' (2008). In June 2008, Penniman also made a cameo appearance on ''The Young and the Restless'' as an ordained piano-playing minister.

Reverend Richard Penniman, who had performed wedding ceremonies for celebrities including Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Steve van Zandt and John Branca (for whom Michael Jackson was best man), spoke a message with a heavy spiritual emphasis at his old friend Wilson Pickett's January 2006 funeral, officiated at a wedding of 20 couples in December 2006, and preached at Ike Turner's December 2007 funeral. On May 30, 2009, following a performance in honor of Fats Domino to raise funds to help rebuild children's playgrounds devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Penniman led Domino and others present in prayer. On June 12, 2009, prior to performing for the grand finale of 29th annual Riverbend Music Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee he said, "although I sing rock 'n' roll, God still loves me. I'm a rock 'n' roll singer, but I'm still a Christian." In late November 2009, Penniman asked for fans to pray for his quick and full recovery from a recent surgery on a hip, which had been causing him pain in his left leg for some time.

Little Richard continued to recover from the operation on his left hip in the first part of 2010. On June 5–6, 2010, he spent time at The Rock House in Franklin, Tennessee to record a new track — a cover of Dottie Rambo's "He Ain't Never Done Me Nothing But Good", as part of a star-studded tribute to the late gospel songwriting legend which is slated for release in 2011.

In January 2011, Penniman appeared for an interview on the set of Charles Wright's "Express Yourself Show." Interviewed by Mr. Duran, Penniman preached a brief messsage to his Latino fans, spoke of his ongoing recovery from the operation on his hip, and introduced his rap recording artist nephew, RR112, who performed a partial rhyme at the end of the interview. He performed at "A Capital Fourth" celebration in Washington, D.C. on July 4, 2011. His performance included several of his most well known hits, including Good Golly Miss Molly.

Personal life

Born the third of twelve siblings, Penniman was raised in a family with deep evangelical Christian roots. He was put out of the home by his father, who told him that he had spoiled his wish to have seven sons because of his sexual mannerisms. After Penniman began making records, his father had started to open up to him. But he was shot dead by Penniman's best friend, James LeRoy, outside a local bar. At the time Penniman was 19 years old.

Penniman became actively involved in orgies in the mid-1950s. In June 1956, Penniman met what has been described as his life-long soul mate, a young woman by the name of Audrey Robinson, who also went by the name Lee Angel. Robinson, who was 16 years of age when they first met, had graduated from high school early and was a college student at the time. Penniman converted to Christianity in October 1957, and met Ernestine Campbell at an evangelical church rally. They were wed in 1959. Penniman had some difficulty living a disciplined Christian life and was drawn so much to show business that he ended up divorcing his wife in 1963. The marriage did not produce any children. However, Penniman did adopt the son of a deceased church associate in the early 1960s.

Penniman's sexuality has been a long topic of debate with the singer himself admitting that he had homosexual experiences as a young adult but later in life after becoming born again, he told a biographer that homosexuality was "contagious". In the same breath, he announced to the same biographer that he was "omnisexual" and in an interview with ''Penthouse'' magazine in 1995, said that he knew he was homosexual. Richard has had affairs with both men and women in the past.

Following over a decade of wild living, Penniman encountered a series of devastating personal experiences, including a near fatal, drug-fueled clash with his long-time friend Larry Williams in 1977. He returned to evangelical ministry and walked away again from rock and roll music, stating that it was not possible to serve God and perform that style of music at the same time. Prior to the death of his mother in 1984, Penniman promised her that he would remain a Christian. He proceeded to use rock and roll to produce gospel recordings that he referred to as "messages in rhythm," changing his stance by stating that rock and roll could be used for good or evil.

Penniman has remained single for many years, is deeply spiritual, and now lives in Tennessee. In recent years, he has been in the company of his former girlfriend from the mid-1950s, Audrey Robinson.

Influence

Penniman's influence on the development of a variety of major musical genres in the twentieth century and many of those genres most significant artists was immense. James Brown, who called Penniman his idol, stated that he was the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat via his mid-1950s road band. Otis Redding, who entered the music business because of Penniman, indicated that Penniman contributed significantly to the development of soul music. Richie Unterberger of allmusic.com stated that "Little Richard merged the fire of gospel with New Orleans R&B;, pounding the piano and wailing with gleeful abandon. While numerous other R&B; greats of the early '50s had been moving in a similar direction, none of them matched the sheer electricity of Richard's vocals. With his bullet-speed deliveries, ecstatic trills, and the overjoyed force of personality in his singing, he was crucial in upping the voltage from high-powered R&B; into the similar, yet different, guise of rock & roll. Although he was only a hitmaker for a couple of years or so, his influence upon both the soul and British Invasion stars of the 1960s was vast, and his early hits remain core classics of the rock repertoire."

Penniman has been recognized for his outstanding musical contributions by many other high-profile artists. In November 1988, Ray Charles introduced him at the Legends of Rock n Roll concert in Rome, as "a man that started a kind of music that set the pace for a lot of what's happening today." Paul McCartney said that he idolized Penniman when he was in school and always wanted to sing like him, and Mick Jagger called Penniman "the originator" and "my first idol." Bob Dylan performed Little Richard songs on piano as a schoolboy in his first band and declared in his high school yearbook in 1959 that his ambition was "to join Little Richard", and in 1966, Jimi Hendrix, who recorded and performed with Penniman from 1964 to 1965." and began to emulate him in appearance (mustache, clothing, etc.) during that time, was quoted as saying, "I want to do with my guitar what Little Richard does with his voice." Cliff Richard, George Harrison, Keith Richards, Bob Seger, John Fogerty, David Bowie, Elton John, Freddie Mercury, Rod Stewart, and AC/DC band members Bon Scott, Angus Young, and Brian Johnson are among the many other top-selling recording artists of the twentieth century who indicated that Penniman was a primary rock 'n' roll influence. In 1979, as he began to develop his solo career, Michael Jackson was quoted as saying that Penniman was a huge influence on him.

Awards and honors

In 1956, ''Cashbox'' awarded Penniman the Cashbox Triple Crown Award for his second hit single "Long Tall Sally".

In 1984, "Little Richard" Penniman was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.

In 1986, Penniman was one of the first group of recording artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1990, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1993, he then received an Honorary Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. In 1994, he was the fourth recording artist (the others being Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and James Brown) to be recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

In 1995, he received two Keys to the City of Providence, Rhode Island; one was awarded spontaneously, on stage, by Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci

In 1997, he received the American Music Award of Merit.

On May 14, 2002, Little Richard was honored as one of the first three BMI Icons at the 50th annual BMI Pop Awards. He was presented the award along with BMI affiliates Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry. In 2002, he received the NAACP Image Award - Hall of Fame Award for having "distinguished himself as not only an unparalleled musical genius, but also as a unique and innovative performing artist—fusing pure vocal talent with exhilarating showmanship." In 2003, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked him #8 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

In 2006, he was inducted into the Apollo Theater Legends Hall of Fame, at the same time as Ella Fitzgerald (who was one of the first winners of 'Amateur Night at the Apollo' in 1934) and Gladys Knight & the Pips.

In 2007, his 1955 original hit "Tutti Frutti" topped ''Mojo'''s The Top 100 Records That Changed The World. In 2008, Penniman was inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame. In 2009, he was formally inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

In 2009, he was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

In 2010, The Library Of Congress National Recording Registry added Penniman's original 1955 hit “Tutti Frutti” to its registry, claiming that the hit announced a new era in music: “A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom!”}}

Notes

References

Kirby, David, ''Little Richard: The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll'', Continuum, 2009.

White, Charles, ''The Life And Times Of Little Richard: The Authorized Biography'', Omnibus Press, 2003, reprint of 1984.

External links

Little Richard biography at the Encyclopaedia Britannica

Little Richard in Rolling Stones Top 10 Artists of all Time

Little Richard biography with pictures

"Little Richard" Penniman (entry in the New Georgia Encyclopedia)

Louisiana Music Hall of Fame Induction Page

Little Richard Official Myspace Page

Little Richard News

"Richard, the First" Marc Myers, ''The Wall Street Journal'', 10 August 2010

Category:1932 births Category:African American pianists Category:African American songwriters Category:American Christians Category:African American male singers Category:American Seventh-day Adventists Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American rock singer-songwriters Category:American soul singers Category:African American rock musicians Category:African American rock singers Category:Bisexual musicians Category:Charly Records artists Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:LGBT African Americans Category:LGBT Christians Category:LGBT musicians from the United States Category:Living people Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Okeh Records artists Category:People from Macon, Georgia Category:People from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees‎ Category:Rockabilly Hall of Fame inductees Category:Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:Specialty Records artists Category:Vee-Jay Records artists

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name	Jerry Lee Lewis
background	solo_singer
landscape	yes
alias	The Killer
birth date	September 29, 1935
origin	Ferriday, Louisiana, U.S.
instrument	Vocals, piano, guitar
genre	Rock and roll, country, rockabilly, blues, Honky tonk, gospel
occupation	Singer, songwriter, pianist
label	Sun, Mercury, Sire/Warner Bros, MCA
years active	1954–present
website	www.jerryleelewis.com}}

Jerry Lee Lewis (born September 29, 1935) is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The Killer'. His guitarist for more than 40 years is Kenny Lovelace.

Lewis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. In 2003, Rolling Stone Magazine listed his box set ''All Killer, No Filler: The Anthology'' number 242 on their list of "500 greatest albums of all time". In 2004, they ranked him number 24 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2008, he was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Jerry Lee Lewis is the last surviving member of both Sun Records' Class of 55 and the Million Dollar Quartet - which both alltogether included Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Elvis Presley, as well as Lewis himself.

Early life

Lewis was born to the poor family of Elmo and Mamie Lewis in Ferriday in Concordia Parish in eastern Louisiana, and began playing piano in his youth with two cousins, Mickey Gilley and Jimmy Swaggart. His parents mortgaged their farm to buy him a piano. Influenced by a piano-playing older cousin, Carl McVoy (who later recorded with Bill Black's Combo), the radio, and the sounds from the black juke joint across the tracks, Haney's Big House, Lewis main influence growing up was Moon Mullican.

His mother enrolled him in Southwest Bible Institute in Waxahachie, Texas, so that her son would be exclusively singing his songs to the Lord. But Lewis daringly played a boogie woogie rendition of "My God Is Real" at a church assembly that sent him packing the same night. Pearry Green, then president of the student body, related how during a talent show Lewis played some "worldly" music. The next morning, the dean of the school called Lewis and Green into his office to expel them. Lewis said that Green should not be expelled because "he didn't know what I was going to do." Years later Green asked Lewis: "Are you still playing the devil's music?" Lewis replied "Yes, I am. But you know it's strange, the same music that they kicked me out of school for is the same kind of music they play in their churches today. The difference is, I know I am playing for the devil and they don't."

After that incident, he went home and started playing at clubs in and around Ferriday and Natchez, Mississippi, becoming part of the burgeoning new rock and roll sound and cutting his first demo recording in 1954. He made a trip to Nashville circa 1955 where he played clubs and attempted to build interest, but was turned down by the Grand Ole Opry as he had been at the Louisiana Hayride country stage and radio show in Shreveport. Recording executives in Nashville suggested he switch to playing a guitar.

Lewis traveled to Memphis, Tennessee in November 1956, to audition for Sun Records. Label owner Sam Phillips was in Florida, but producer and engineer Jack Clement recorded Lewis's rendition of Ray Price's "Crazy Arms" and his own composition "End of The Road". During December 1956, Lewis began recording prolifically, as a solo artist and as a session musician for such Sun artists as Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. His distinctive piano can be heard on many tracks recorded at Sun during late 1956 and early 1957, including Carl Perkins' "Matchbox", "Your True Love", "You Can Do No Wrong", and "Put Your Cat Clothes On", and Billy Lee Riley's "Flyin' Saucers Rock'n'Roll". Formerly, rockabilly had rarely featured piano, but it proved an influential addition and rockabilly artists on other labels also started working with pianists.

On December 4, 1956, Elvis Presley dropped in on Phillips to pay a social visit while Perkins was in the studio cutting new tracks with Lewis backing him on piano. Johnny Cash was also there watching Perkins. The four started an impromptu jam session, and Phillips left the tape running. These recordings, almost half of which were gospel songs, survived, and have been released on CD under the title ''Million Dollar Quartet''. Tracks also include Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" and "Paralyzed", Chuck Berry's "Brown Eyed Handsome Man", Pat Boone's "Don't Forbid Me" and Presley doing an impersonation of Jackie Wilson (who was then with Billy Ward and the Dominoes) on "Don't Be Cruel".

Lewis's own singles (on which he was billed as "Jerry Lee Lewis and his Pumping Piano") advanced his career as a soloist during 1957, with hits such as "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls of Fire", his biggest hit, bringing him international fame, despite criticism for the songs' overtly sexual undertones which prompted some radio stations to boycott them. In 2005, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.

According to several first hand sources, including Johnny Cash, Lewis himself, who was devoutly Christian, was also troubled by the sinful nature of his own material, which he firmly believed was leading himself and his audience to hell. This aspect of Lewis's character was depicted in Waylon Payne's portrayal of Lewis in the 2005 film ''Walk the Line'', based on Cash's autobiographies.

Lewis would often kick the piano bench aside and play standing, rake his hands up and down the keyboard for dramatic accent, sit on the keyboard and even stand on top of the instrument. His first TV appearance, in which he demonstrated some of these moves, was on ''The Steve Allen Show'' on July 28, 1957, where he played the song "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On". It is widely believed that he once set fire to a piano at the end of a live performance, in protest at being billed below Chuck Berry. but he is quoted in an online article in Esquire Magazine as saying "I never set fire to a piano. I'd like to have got away with it, though. I pushed a couple of them in the river. They wasn't any good."

His dynamic performance style can be seen in films such as ''High School Confidential'' (he sang the title song from the back of a flatbed truck), and ''Jamboree''. He has been called "rock & roll's first great wild man" and also "rock & roll's first great eclectic." Classical composer Michael Nyman has also cited Lewis's style as the progenitor of his own aesthetic.

Scandal

Lewis's turbulent personal life was hidden from the public until a May 1958 British tour where Ray Berry, a news agency reporter at London's Heathrow Airport (the only journalist present), learned about Lewis's third wife, Myra Gale Brown. She was Lewis's first cousin once removed and only 13 years old. (Brown, Lewis, and his management all insisted she was 15). Lewis was nearly 23 years old. The publicity caused an uproar and the tour was cancelled after only three concerts.

The scandal followed Lewis home to America, and as a result, he was blacklisted from radio and almost vanished from the music scene. Lewis felt betrayed by numerous people who had been his supporters. Dick Clark dropped him from his shows. Lewis even felt that Sam Phillips had sold him out when the Sun Records boss released "The Return of Jerry Lee", a bogus "interview" cut together by Jack Clement from excerpts of Lewis's songs, which made light of his marital and publicity problems. Only Alan Freed stayed true to Jerry Lee Lewis, playing his records until Freed was removed from the air because of payola allegations.

Jerry Lee Lewis was still under contract with Sun Records, and kept recording, regularly releasing singles. He had gone from $10,000 a night concerts to $250 a night spots in beer joints and small clubs. He had few friends at the time whom he felt he could trust. It was only through Kay Martin, the president of Lewis's fan club, T. L. Meade, (aka Franz Douskey) a sometime Memphis musician and friend of Sam Phillips, and Gary Skala, that Lewis went back to record at Sun Records.

By this time, Phillips had built a new state-of-the-art studio at 639 Madison Avenue in Memphis, thus abandoning the old Union Avenue studio where Phillips had recorded B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Lewis, Johnny Cash and others, and also opened a studio in Nashville. It was at the latter studio that Lewis recorded his only major hit during this period, a rendition of Ray Charles' "What'd I Say" in 1961. In Europe other updated versions of "Sweet Little Sixteen" (September 1962 UK) and "Good Golly Miss Molly" (March 1963) entered the Hit Parade. On popular EPs, "Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes", "I've Been Twistin'", "Money" and "Hello Josephine" also became turntable hits, especially in nascent discothèques. Another recording of Lewis playing an instrumental boogie arrangement of the Glenn Miller Orchestra favorite "In the Mood", was issued on the Phillips International label under the pseudonym of "The Hawk," but disc jockeys quickly figured out the distinctive piano style, and this gambit failed.

Lewis's Sun recording contract ended in 1963 and he joined Smash Records, where he made a number of rock recordings that did not further his career.

His popularity recovered somewhat in Europe, especially in the UK and Germany, during the mid-1960s. A concert album, ''Live at the Star Club, Hamburg'' (1964), recorded with The Nashville Teens, is widely considered one of the greatest live rock and roll albums ever. Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes: "''Live at the Star Club'' is extraordinary, the purest, hardest rock & roll ever committed to record."

Family

Lewis has been married seven times. His first marriage, to Dorothy Barton, lasted for 20 months, from February 1952 to October 1953 although there is some question that Lewis may have married Barton earlier than 1952. In a 1978 ''People'' magazine interview Lewis stated "I was 14 when I first got married. My wife was too old for me; she was 17." His second marriage to Jane Mitchum was of dubious validity because it occurred 23 days before his divorce from Barton was final. They were married for four years, from September 1953 to October 1957. They had two children. He then married Myra Gale Brown in December 1957. She was his first cousin once removed, and thirteen at the time of the marriage. This marriage caused a scandal that nearly destroyed his career. He had to marry her twice due to not being fully divorced from Jane Mitchum when he married her. They had two children and divorced in December 1970 after 13 years of marriage. His fourth marriage was to Jaren Elizabeth Gunn Pate, and ended when she drowned in the swimming pool at their home. They were married for 12 years, from October 1971 to August 1983. His fifth wife was Shawn Stephens. This marriage ended with her death from a methadone overdose. They were married for three months, from June to August 1984. His seventh marriage was to Kerrie McCarver, with whom he had one child. This marriage lasted 20 years and ended in divorce in 2004.

Lewis has had at least four children. Two additional people have claimed to be his children, but they had no proof. In 1962, his son Steve Allen Lewis drowned in a swimming pool accident when he was three, and in 1973, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jr., was killed at the age of 19 when he overturned the Jeep he was driving. His current living children are a son, Jerry Lee Lewis III, and a daughter, Phoebe Allan Lewis.

Later career

In the 1960s, Lewis's attempts at a comeback as a rock and roll performer had stalled during four years with Smash Records until he began recording country ballads. He had already recorded a country-oriented LP for the label Country Songs for City Folks. In 1968, his single "Another Place, Another Time" became a Top 10 success and led to a string of Top Ten singles including the 1968 number-one country single "To Make Love Sweeter For You" that brought Lewis renewed stardom among country music fans, much like that which ex-rockabilly Conway Twitty began to cultivate during that same time. His shift to country reflected the fact that he had grown up listening to the Grand Ole Opry. Lewis's country hits during this period include "What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)", "She Still Comes Around (To Love What's Left of Me)", "She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye", "Once More With Feeling", "There Must Be More to Love Than This", "Touching Home", "Would You Take Another Chance on Me", "Me & Bobby McGee", "Think About It, Darlin'", "Sometimes a Memory Ain't Enough", and "Tell Tale Signs". Lewis's singles and albums were issued on Mercury records instead of Smash from 1970 on. Lewis's renewed popularity encouraged Sun International Inc. to issue previously unpublished recordings dating from 1963 including "Invitation to Your Party", "One Minute Past Eternity", "I Can't Seem To Say Goodbye" and "Waiting For A Train" on singles that also did well on the country music charts in 1969/70. Lewis's successes continued throughout the decade and he eventually began to re-emphasize his rock and roll past with hits like his 1972 revival of The Big Bopper's rock classic "Chantilly Lace" and "Drinkin' Wine Spo dee-o dee" as well as looking at middle age with the 1977 "Middle Age Crazy". In 1979, he signed with Elektra Records and had his last major country hit with 1981's "Thirty-Nine and Holding." He spent a very brief period with MCA Records in 1983 but left the label due to unspecified differences.

In 1989, a major motion picture based on his early life in rock & roll, ''Great Balls of Fire!'', brought him back into the public eye, especially when he decided to re-record all his songs for the movie soundtrack. The film was based on the book by Lewis's ex-wife, Myra Gale Lewis, and starred Dennis Quaid as Lewis, Winona Ryder as Myra, and Alec Baldwin as Jimmy Swaggart. The movie focuses on Lewis's early career and his relationship with Myra, and ends with the scandal of the late 1950s. A year later, in 1990, Lewis made minor news when a new song he co-wrote called "It Was the Whiskey Talking, Not Me" was included in the soundtrack to the hit movie ''Dick Tracy''. The song is also heard in the movie, playing on a radio.

The public downfall of his cousin, television evangelist Jimmy Swaggart, resulted in more adverse publicity to a troubled family. Swaggart is also a piano player, as is another cousin, country music star Mickey Gilley. All three listened to the same music in their youth, and frequented Haney's Big House, the Ferriday club that featured black blues acts. Lewis and Swaggart have had a complex relationship over the years.

Lewis's sister, Linda Gail Lewis has recorded with Lewis, toured with his stage show for a time and more recently recorded with Van Morrison.

"The Killer", a nickname he has had since childhood, is known for his forceful voice and piano production on stage. He was described by Roy Orbison as the best raw performer in the history of rock and roll music.

In 1986, Lewis was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That year, he returned to Sun Studio in Memphis to team up with Orbison, Cash, and Perkins along with longtime admirers like John Fogerty to create the album ''Class of '55'', a sort of followup to the "Million Dollar Quartet" session, though in the eyes of many critics and fans, lacking the spirit of the old days at Sun.

In 1998 he toured Europe with Chuck Berry and Little Richard. On February 12, 2005, he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by The Recording Academy (which also grants the Grammy Awards). On September 26, 2006, a new album titled ''Last Man Standing'' was released, featuring many of rock and roll's elite as guest stars. Receiving positive reviews, the album charted in four different Billboard charts, including a two week stay at number one on the Indie charts.

A DVD entitled ''Last Man Standing Live'', featuring concert footage with many guest artists, was released in March 2007, and the CD achieved Lewis's 10th official gold disk for selling over half-a-million copies in the US alone. ''Last Man Standing'' is Lewis's biggest selling album of all time. It features contributions from Mick Jagger, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards and Rod Stewart, among others.

On November 5, 2007, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio honored Jerry Lee Lewis with six days of conferences, interviews, a DVD premiere and film clips, dedicated to him entitled ''The Life And Music of Jerry Lee Lewis.'' On November 10, the week culminated with a tribute concert compered by Kris Kristofferson. Lewis was present to accept the American Music Masters Award and closed his own tribute show with a rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".

On February 10, 2008, he appeared with John Fogerty and Little Richard on the 50th Grammy Awards Show, performing "Great Balls of Fire" in a medley with "Good Golly Miss Molly".

Lewis now lives on a ranch in Nesbit, Mississippi with his family.

On June 4, 2008, Jerry Lee Lewis was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

On July 4, 2008, he appeared on ''A Capitol Fourth'' and performed the finale's final act with a medley of "Roll Over Beethoven", "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On" and "Great Balls of Fire".

In October 2008 as part of a very successful European tour, Jerry Lee Lewis returned to the UK, almost exactly 50 years after his ill-fated first tour. He appeared at two London shows: a special private show at the 100 Club on October 25 and at the London Forum on October 28 with Wanda Jackson and his sister, Linda Gail Lewis.

2009 marked the sixtieth year since Lewis's first public performance when he performed "“Drinking Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" at a car dealership on November 19, 1949 in Ferriday Louisiana.

In August 2009, in advance of his new album, a single entitled "Mean Old Man" was released for download. It was written by Kris Kristofferson. An EP featuring this song and four more was also released on amazon.com on November 11.

On October 29, 2009, Lewis opened the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Discography

Hits and awards

Between 1957 and 2006, the date of his latest release "Last Man Standing", 47 singles plus 22 albums (The Session counted as 2 albums) made the Top Twenty Pop, Jukebox, Rock, Indie and/or Country charts in USA or UK. Fourteen reached the number 1 position. He's had ten official gold disks, the latest being for the 2006 album 'Last Man Standing', plus unofficial ones issued by his record company Mercury for albums which sold over a quarter of a million copies. His 2006 duets CD ''Last Man Standing'' has sold over half a million worldwide, his biggest selling album ever. Jerry Lee Lewis is also among the Top 50 all-time Billboard Country artists. It is also rumored that the soundtrack album to the movie, ''Great Balls Of Fire'', has now sold over a million copies. The original Sun cut of "Great Balls of Fire" was elected to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, and Jerry's Sun recording of "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On" received this honor in 1999. Only recordings which are at least 25 years old and have left a lasting impression can receive this honor. Along with Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison, Jerry received a Grammy in the spoken word category for the very rare album of interviews released with some early copies of ''The Class of 55'' album in 1986. On February 12, 2005, Jerry received the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award the day before the Recording Academy's main Grammy Awards ceremony, which he also attended, picture below. On October 10, 2007, Jerry received the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame's American Music Masters Award.

Compositions by Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis has written or co-written many songs during his career:

End of the Road, 1956 – this is indeed an original song and not the same as Irving Berlin's song (that inspired it) as the lyrics and melody are totally different apart from the refrain "the way is dark and the night is long" (which Lewis turns around) and "Waiting at the end of the road".

Jerry's Boogie (a.k.a. 'Black Bottom Stomp'), 1956 – was previously recorded as Black Bottom Stomp by Jelly Roll Morton but Jerry Lee's rendition is his own and changes a lot of the old song.

Lewis Boogie, 1956

Pumpin' Piano Rock, 1957

All Night Long, 1957

High School Confidential, 1958

Live & Let Live, 1958 – sometimes credited to Jerry Lee, but this actually was recorded by Bill Monroe, Moon Mullican, Gene Sullivan & Wiley Walker, and Jimmie Davis before.

Memory Of You, 1958

Hello, Hello Baby, 1958

Baby, Baby, Bye Bye, 1960

Lewis Workout, 1960

Whole Lotta Twistin' Goin' On, 1962 – new lyrics

He Took It Like A Man, 1963

Baby, Hold Me Close, 1965

My Baby Don't Love No One But Me, 1965

Rockin' Jerry Lee, 1966

What A Heck Of A Mess, 1966

Lincoln Limousine, 1966

Alvin, 1970

Pilot Baby, 1980s

Crown Victoria Custom '51, 1995

New Orleans Boogie (Jerry Lee's Boogie), 1952

Blues Like Midnight, 1980s–2000s – a 12 bar blues often done by Jerry Lee in concert. It is sometimes entirely based around Jimmie Rodgers verses but not recorded by Rodgers in this form. On other versions, Lewis adds in original verses as well.

Quotation

''NME'' – June 1963

''NME'' – November 1978

Footnotes

References

External links and sources

The Official Jerry Lee Lewis Website

''Rockin' My Life Away'' by Jimmy Guterman, a full online biography

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Jerry Lee Lewis page for his hits, biography.

Selected videos

Whole Lotta Shakin' Going on

Category:1935 births Category:Living people Category:American country singers Category:American male singers Category:American rock musicians Category:American rock pianists Category:American rock singers Category:American pop singers Category:American pop pianists Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Rockabilly musicians Category:American composers Category:Sun Records artists Category:Sire Records artists Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees‎ Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:American Pentecostals Category:People from Ferriday, Louisiana Category:People from Concordia Parish, Louisiana Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Rockabilly Hall of Fame inductees Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Charly Records artists Category:Smash Records artists

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