Youre the only one I know as evil as he is, Good said. Editors picks Lewis accepted the offer. He grew distant. That night Jerry Lee went to a club, drank champagne, and admired a brand new .38 derringer the club owner had given him. . Her Instagram account has been dormant since early 2016. But rumor had it that Elvis grew a bit resentful when he saw Jerry Lee began to have more hits. [14], Brown hired writer Murray Silver to co-write a book that was meant to be her autobiography, but after a publisher's editing it became Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis. Some people of long memory in Memphis still call it a case of abandonment, the one thing they cannot forgive. Myra Gale Brown, also known today as Myra Lewis William, is an American author. The singer lived out rock's audacity in extreme fashion, making him one of the defining performers of his era. Small world. Wrote Rick Bragg: If Jerry Lee was so smart, Elvis reportedly responded, how come Elvis was playing the big room, and Jerry Lee was playing the lounge?. Myra Gale Brown was with Jerry Lee Lewis on his 1958 tour of England, hoping to expand his fan base, when a British reporter asked who she was. @rush Poor working class, Louisiana. That was a fairly romantic conception, but it raised another, equally troubling question: Did Lewis fans and chroniclers really care much about whether he married a 13-year-old, whether he brutalized his wives, or, in fact, whether he played a part in Shawn Stephens death? Lewis, who was 22 at the time, had lied about her age in order for the wedding to happen, and hadnt yet been divorced from his second wife at the time of his and Myras wedding. The British tabloids went ballistic, and after a few dates, the tour was cancelled. In her 1982 book about her marriage to Lewis, Great Balls of Fire, she wrote about her husband tormenting her, saying to her, God punished you. In 1958, when Elvis Presley was drafted into the military . Before Kurt and Courtney, Sid and Nancy, or John and Yoko, there was Jerry Lee Lewis and his thirteen-year-old bride, Myra Gale Brown. In America, he told them, it was quite all right to marry at age 15, even at 10, provided you could find a husband. Some artists can only be the person they dreamed of being in those moments when they are onstage or before a camera or singing a song or writing a page. In 1957 Lewis recorded two titanic rock & roll hits, Whole Lot of Shakin Going On and Great Balls of Fire. At the session for the latter, Lewis told Sam Phillips who owned and operated Memphis Sun Records, where Lewis was recording that the music he was playing, worldly music rock & roll, meant he was broken off from God. A musician whod worked with the country singer Mickey Gilley asked Jerry Lee if he would consider driving to Nashvillle to record a song. V roce 1949 se rodina pesthovala do Memphisu v Tennessee, kdy J.W. You scared of me? he once asked her sister. Despite Elvis success, Brown felt that the world just wasnt ready for rock and roll. Some of those occasions he saw the audience start to pick up again. Most people might not want to be reminded of a time when, as she put it, his career took a nosedive right into the concrete, but displayed in the den, alongside the gold records, family memorabilia, keyboards, and bibles were several photos of The Killer with his adolescent wife. For her part, Williams said that she wasnt a fan of her first book and its movie adaptation because they were someone elses idea about how that part of her life story should be told, the Post said. In my little mind, I couldnt believe that they could not see that I was a grown woman. Hes no longer part of my life. If Myra doesnt go, he told them, Im not going.. She is an American author and is famed with her botched marriage with Jerry Lewis. "I don't think I ever resented it for me, though, I always resented it for what they did to Jerry," Williams said of the marriage, per Medium. He tried marrying Myra a second time to make things right in the publics eye, and he wrote an open letter in Billboard. Lewis had told everyone that Brown was his wife but failed to mention her actual age, instead, telling them she was 15. Lewis had been struggling with his health, and Judith had agreed to care for him at the request of Rusty. The trouble was, it couldnt be heard: It wasnt available in the U.S. until a 1994 release by Rhino. However Buddy Holly's legacy has been marred due to legal disputes among his heirs. Browns daughter,' she said, looking back on the day it was revealed she was 13 and Jerry Lee Lewis spouse. She also described herself as the adult in the relationship with Lewis. Meanwhile, Williams wrote in an Instagram post in 2015 that she had keep in contact with Lewis over the years due to their shared daughter, Phoebe. However, upon landing in the country with his child-bride, it became clear that the Brits were not on board with Jerry Lee Lewis. Anyway - Myra is obviously a woman with a story and I am just sad that it was not told better. The 100 Best Albums of 2022. If anybody had told me anything, I could have prevented this thing. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time Browns daughter. Every day, you wondered what was going to happen next. Newspapers called for a boycott of his concerts. Myra is currently in news after Jerry Lewis, her husband, died on 28 Oct 2022 at the age of 87. Jerry Lee Lewis was 22 when he married his third cousin 13-year-old Myra Gale Brown. Hulton Arcive / Getty Images Jerry Lee Lewis og Myra Gale Brown kort efter deres bryllup i 1957. After 30 years of rock n roll movies, is it too much to ask Hollywood to make a biography that reaches for insight rather than nostalgia; a film with enough imagination and heart to add to a performers artistic legacy rather than belittle it? It was the most notorious rock & roll romance of all time, the Big Bang of pop music scandal. What kind of redneck hell was he raised in that it was apparently fine, in his mind, to marry a thirteen year old child? Lewis's latest marriage is to Judith Brown. I was serious-minded, I was like, We gotta take care of this and do this, and he was like, Wheres the piano? Thats what he is, thats what hes about. Moreover, by the time Lewis tried to reestablish his rock & roll credentials in America, the Beatles were expanding all the possibilities of the music Jerry Lee and Carl Perkins and Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley and Little Richard had pioneered, creating new styles and unprecedented dimensions in which rock artists and their audiences might shake up the world. Lewis's daughter Phoebe had hired Brown to take care of her aging father when he was ill around ten years ago. Priscilla lived with his grandmother for, what, seven or eight years? Jerry Lee Lewis would remain a mix of good news and bad until he was too old to trouble anybody much, but that was a long time and a lot of trouble later. Williams also covered their marriage in the 1982 book Great Balls of Fire, which was adapted into a 1989 film starring Dennis Quaid as Lewis and Winona Ryder as Williams. If you think you know [my] story of being the 13 year old bride of my second cousin, youre in for a surprise, she teased. Jerry Lee Lewis marriage to his 13-year-old cousin in 1957 nearly ended his career. When we went back home, the whole country was Shame on you, bad boy. The other thing we had back then was a hypocritical society. It was really the first scandal of rock n roll, Williams told Georgias Gwinnett Daily Post in 2016. He went immediately from being a guy who made $10,000 a night to a guy who didnt make $100 a night.". To perform that music, he forsook many hopes, and a few beliefs, living and speaking as a man who had lost his soul. Brown, Lewis' cousin, the pair developed a romantic relationship when the singer came to live with her family. Jerry Lee held a defiant press conference at the London airport, boasting about his houses and cars and accusing the British of being just plain jealous, and the Lewises returned home to Memphis. At home, their son was happy, eating candy chickens and jellybeans. @cat well that's gross, but at this point, it's not all that surprising. Jack Good, who had produced the TV show Shindig!, wanted to make a rock opera of Shakespeares Othello, and he had only one person in mind to play Iago: Jerry Lee Lewis. Myra Lewis - Biography. During that time, Brown gave birth to two children - Steven Allen Lewis, who drowned at age three, and Phoebe Lewis, who would go on to become her father's manager for a time. She later pursued a career in music and worked on the movie Benji: Off the Leash! You should be. [20] Now known as Myra Lewis Williams, she resides in Duluth, Georgia with her husband; they own a real estate company. She is the co-author of the book Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis. According to Jerry Lee Lewis: Lost and Found, by author Joe Bonomo, he later said, I was a 21-year-old kid, and I didnt know whether I was comin or goin. Brown played electric bass, and Lewis played piano and sang. Lewis later said the pistol had simply slipped from the dashboard to the floorboard. But it didnt delve deep enough into exploring Lewis indomitable character. It was thought to be an exciting time for Lewis: Elvis Presley had just been drafted into the military, meaning he had less competition in the rock 'n' roll scene. Youre fine. But I never felt fine. You see, Myra did not survive that marriage. And Jerry gave it to themwell, I did, I opened my mouth. Myra Gale Brown later turned Myra Lewis Williams was born on 11th July, 1944. (She filed for divorce in 1970, citing allegations of abuse and adultery.). Back at home, he told Myra, If you ever leave me, Ill throw acid in your face, and then kissed her. At one point in . The book includes lots of details about Jerry's early career that a music historian might appreciate. Didnt He, girl? Hes no longer part of my life. Follow Cuepoint: Twitter | Facebook, Mediums Premier Music Publication: An ear for the new, a heart for the classics. (Lewis denied any involvement in Shawns death.). Myra was only 13 when she married Jerry Lewis. Lewis havde vret gift to gange fr. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Travis Scott is sought by New York Police after alleged assault and criminal mischief, Travis Barkers finger injury delays Blink-182 tour: One of those freak accidents, The timeless creativity of De La Soul, now (finally) available for the streaming generation, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, Yet more rain expected to hit California in March. Second, she was his cousin, and the daughter of his bassist J.W. ), Lewis, though, wasnt planning on leaving rock & roll. As would soon become known, Myra Gale Lewis was in fact 13 years old. He survived. Lewis was reborn and transmogrified as a country artist, but he also still played breakneck rock & roll and was among the last people living from that musics original generation to do so. Priscilla Presley Disputes Invalid Amendment to Lisa Maries Trust erry Lee Lewis was rock & rolls original prodigal son. The negative press continued as Lewis and Brown returned to the United States, with people focusing on both Browns age and the fact that they had married before Lewis' last divorce was finalised. I accepted it. Myra and Jerry's daughter, Phoebe Lewis, 59, was born in 1963, about four years after Steven was born. He didn't understand that at the very least, marrying someone when you're already married is illegal? Behind the Graceland Gates at Lisa Marie's Memorial: We Watched Her Go Through Her Struggles, Two days after the tour started, Lewis called it off. The revelation resulted in the abrupt cancellation of Lewis tour; he was blacklisted by radio and his earnings dropped overnight. After they divorced, Brown worked as a receptionist to support her daughter as a single parent. After the press found out in 1958 that Lewis, then 22, married his young cousin, the rock-and-roll star experienced a tremendous backlash that stalled his career for years. Despite the end of their marriage, the pair remained close as they co-parented Phoebe. Myra knew what he was doing, and she told him she would leave him. Lewis didnt quite fit in that new world, but he could still be a startlingly authoritative rock & roll performer; and he proved it on a live album recorded at the Star-Club, the venue in Hamburg, Germany, where the Beatles had played legendary shows in 1962. Dont miss a beat! Other times, it must have been like playing into a void. It was to Judith Brown, who was the ex-wife of his cousin Rusty Brown, Myras younger brother. It was my familys business, it was mine and Jerrys business. Select from premium Myra Brown of the highest quality. She is a writer, known for Great Balls of Fire! Two of those unions ended in untimely deaths for the brides, and his fourth and final marriage came in 2012. That was what I was like, and Jerry was busy having fun, he was the true entertainer. Lewis went on to marry four more times. He kept recording music much of it unheard and he drove across America, playing for those who would have him, living hard and living mean. "Because that was the truth! The void was something he knew about. The Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On and Great Balls of Fire hitmaker had eloped with Myra Gale Brown in December 1957, the result of a romance that developed when he moved into the Memphis home of Myras father, JW Brown, who was Lewis cousin and bass player, according to Lewis obituary in The Times. He came into country music with respect for its verities, but he didnt worry about respecting anybody elses likening. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . 1954). It turned out that she was a first-cousin once-removed and - shockingly - just 13 years old. My 1988 book and the resulting movie, Great Balls of Fire, were just the beginning. "They were looking for a place to stick the knife into rock & roll. A neighbor found Steven facedown in the Lewises swimming pool. Jerry Lee Lewis knew how to inhabit that role. Despite this, the pair remained married for four years, and had two sons together. Shes hittin herself in the face., Another night, when shed flushed his pills down the toilet for fear hed kill himself, he went into a rage and bashed her to the floor. 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