Jerry Lee Lewis remains alive, despite a report from TMZ that the rock ‘n roll pioneer had died. The story set off a wave of mourning before it was retracted by the site Wednesday.
“He’s alive. TMZ reported erroneously off of a bullshit anonymous tip,” Lewis’ rep told Variety.
Lewis has been known to be ailing with the flu this month; he was unable to attend the induction ceremony for the Country Music Hall of Fame Oct. 16, where his wife accepted the honor in his place, so saying he is “alive and well” might be overstating one of those two things. But TMZ acknowledged they’d gotten a bum tip on his supposed passing.
“Earlier today we were told by someone claiming to be Lewis’ rep that he had passed,” TMZ said in revising its article. “That turned out not to be the case. TMZ regrets the error.”
A photo was posted after the Hall of Fame induction ceremony of Kris Kristofferson visiting the flu-stricken Lewis at home to personally present him with his medallion.
A photo was posted after the Hall of Fame induction ceremony of Kris Kristofferson visiting the flu-stricken Lewis at home to personally present him with his medallion.
The false report on Lewis marks the second time in recent weeks that a major music figure has erroneously been reported dead, after People magazine published a story and tweeted that Joni Mitchell had died. In that case, it was more easily spotted by readers as an error, as the story and headline contained “TKs,” marking it as a pre-write with spots that were supposed to be filled in before the publishing of any obituary.
Although he’s been off the concert scene, Lewis was feeling well enough to make it from Memphis to Nashville in May when the Country Hall of Fame recipients were announced, posing for photos and taking part in a news conference.
Lewis helped more-or-less create the sound of mainstream rock music in the 1950s, charting such pioneering hits as “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and “Great Balls Of Fire.” His career was massively derailed in the latter part of the decade, though, when it was revealed that he had married his 13-year-old cousin once-removed, Myra Gale Brown. Although the ‘60s were a fallow period for Lewis, largely due to the ensuing scandal, he eventually re-emerged as a country star, regularly charting with hits like “Would You Take Another Chance On Me.” He’s since been granted numerous Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the Academy’s Hall Of Fame, and, despite the aforementioned personal scandals, is generally held up today as one of the founding fathers of rock ‘n’ roll.
Lee’s publicist, Zach Farnum, said that TMZ had been misled today by “an anonymous tip,” confirming of Lee that “he’s alive” in Memphis in a statement.