Jerry Lee Lewis doesn’t get Country Music Hall snub
NASHVILLE, TENN. » Jerry Lee Lewis is one of the early pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll music, but he doesn’t understand why his contributions to country music haven’t been recognized by the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Now 81, Lewis said that when he first came to Nashville from Louisiana, he was advised to pick up a guitar instead of playing the piano.
“I was trying to get a record out and get my start in the business and they really didn’t any part of rock n’ roll,” Lewis said in an interview Thursday in Nashville, where he was being honored by artists such as George Strait, Kris Kristofferson, Chris Stapleton and Lee Ann Womack during the live concert series Skyville Live.
His outrageous talent, energy and ego were showcased on his early hits like “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.” He had top country singles in the 1960s such as “What Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me),” “She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye,” and “To Make Love Sweeter for You.”
Recently a petition was started online to call attention to his exclusion from the Country Music Hall of Fame. Lewis was among the first inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
“I don’t know why I am not in it,” Lewis said. “I mean, they got it stirred up and talking about it. I don’t know why they don’t put me in it. I don’t understand that.”
Within Nashville’s music community, there seems to be plenty of support.
“You know, I was at the age that I didn’t really know him as a rock ‘n’ roller until I got in the bar and started playing his rock stuff,” said Toby Keith. “But I knew all of his country songs. He’s an incredible country singer.”
As to whether Keith thinks Lewis belongs with country’s historical icons, Keith is positive: “I do. No question. I’d vote for him tomorrow.”
Womack said Lewis’ contributions to music, no matter the genre, should make him eligible.