I can’t say I ever “interviewed” Jerry Lee Lewis, but I asked him questions and he answered over the years at several events.
The first question was at one of his birthday parties in the 1980s, probably at his Memphis home. I had never met him or said a word to him before that night. I walked up to him with notebook in hand and said, “Jerry Lee, I’m Michael Donahue with The Commercial Appeal.”
He responded, “That’s YOUR problem.”
That was that. The rest of the evening was sort of downhill.
That was Lewis’ cantankerous side. Which made me a little gun-shy going face-to-face with the Killer over the next few decades.
I photographed and videotaped him, most notably was when he was the guest of honor at his 75th birthday celebration. Kris Kourdouvelis and Sharon Gray hosted the lavish event at The Warehouse off South Main.
Everything was centered around Lewis, naturally. There was a choreographed dance number to “Great Balls of Fire,” and people gave warm speeches about him. All the while the Killer, wearing black-and-white loafers, kicked back in a comfortable chair with a cigar in his mouth. I don’t remember him ever taking the stage.
When he finally left to go to his dressing room, I followed him with my video camera. I didn’t know which Jerry Lee would speak that night, but I asked him something like, “How do you feel having all these great accolades said about you and all these festivities in you honor?”
He responded: “I feel like I want to go HOME.” That was one of the cantankerous responses.
Someone backstage that night said to me, “You’re not going to use that quote are you?”
“I sure am.” It was the kicker to my video about the event.
Other sort-of-close encounters with Lewis included maybe two or three visits to cover events at his home in Nesbit, Mississippi. I sat down and played his piano during one of those visits, just to say that I did. Someone snapped some photos.
Guests were roaming about his place during another event. There were cardboard boxes full of Lewis’ shoes in his garage or maybe a storage area. The boxes were dated, so there were shoes from different time periods. There were two-toned shoes, like maybe red and black. Red was definitely a Jerry Lee Lewis clothing color of choice.
I also got to see Lewis perform on many occasions. One late night at the old Hot Air Balloon (or whatever night spot was in that space at the time) in Overton Square, Lewis suddenly showed up. And he played the hell out of the spinet piano. But the vibe — at least from the management — wasn’t so cheerful when he was through playing. It’s possible that he damaged the piano in some way, maybe slamming the top down a little too hard.
But he was amazing to watch. Even in his later years, when he was slowly led to the piano bench, Lewis exploded once he sat down in front of that keyboard. He was on fire. He played the piano like he was in his teens or 20s. Everyone expected him to jump on the bench and start rat-a-tat slamming the keyboard cover up and down during those one-man musical extravaganzas.
The last time I photographed Lewis was at the opening of the Hyatt Centric Beale Street Hotel on April 29th, 2021. The event included notables, including Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top. But the big star that night was, as always, Jerry Lee Lewis. He was in a wheelchair and attended with his wife, Judith.
During his later years, Lewis was friendly but distant when we crossed paths. In one photo I took that night, Lewis is giving his trademark defiant look at the camera while surrounded by his fans, including Jerry Lawler and Kevin Kane.
But one of my favorite Lewis stories was the time I saw him in the audience at the Orpheum. It was one of those “Should I or should I not speak to him?” moments. Lewis and fellow wild man piano player Jason D. Williams were leaving. They were about out of the auditorium door when I greeted them. Lewis turned and looked at me and said, “Hey, Killer.” He even smiled.
I was on cloud nine. Jerry Lee Lewis could do no wrong.
