Jerry Lee Lewis

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  • Year:
    1986
  • Inducted by:
    Hank Williams Jr.
  • Category:
    Performers
jerry_lee_lewis

Introduction

Raising hell with the devil’s music.

That’s what Jerry Lee Lewis does best. He pounded the piano with such abandon that it’s a wonder it didn’t come apart. He is a defiant, reckless, indefatigable wild man that can rock you into oblivion. 

Hall of Fame Essay

1986

Michael Hill

The mere titles of his tunes confirmed that Jerry Lee Lewis had the stuff of rock & roll legend. “Whole Lotta Shakin’  Goin’ On,” “Great Balls of Fire” and “Breathless” succinctly describe the man and his mu­sic. Audacious and arrogant, rollicking and rowdy, Jerry Lee Lewis took spontaneity to the brink of dan­ger. 

He was an unrepentant, wild example for the naysayers to use when they spoke out against what even Lewis himself called “the Devil’s music.”

The Program Cover from the 1986 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
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Quote_JerryLeeLewis
he could tear an audience apart.
Hank Williams Jr.

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Gallery