Hi, everyone. Today is Jerry Lee Lewis’ 82nd birthday. He is quite literally the last man standing from Sun Records: the only person still alive who recorded for the legendary Memphis label. Both this week’s book review and the bonus track are in Jerry Lee’s honor.
Unconquered: The Saga of Cousins Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Swaggart, and Mickey Gilley by J.D. Davis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was an interesting, and often challenging, look at three cousins from a small Louisiana town who each found success in their own ways.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Swaggart, and Mickey Gilley all had rough and impoverished childhoods … and each of them used their talents as pianists to come through in different ways.
In this book, we see their strict Pentacostal upbringings, rebellions, differing personalities and challenges … and their widely varying downfalls (because each of them had one).
The book was written in an engaging authorial voice; it’s clear that J.D. Davis admires all three men for different reasons. He also did his homework; there are first-person interviews, a long bibliography, and discussions that would not be out of place in a musicology classroom.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend it to other fans of early rock and roll.
Enjoy Jerry Lee’s first Sun Record, “Crazy Arms.”
Sharon E. Cathcart 