Hellfire-by Nick Torches

Hellfire by Nick Tosches; Greil Marcus (Foreword by)

ISBN: 9780802135667

Publication Date: 1998-04-22

The life of Jerry Lee Lewis is one of the most dramatic and tormented in rock 'n' roll history. Hellfire is a wild, riveting, and beautifully written biography that received universal acclaim on its original publication and remains one of the most remarkable biographies ever written. Born in Louisiana to a family legacy of great courage and greater wildness, Jerry Lee was torn throughout his life between a demanding Pentecostal God and the Devil of alcohol, drugs, and the boogie-woogie piano. At fourteen he began performing publicly, and at twenty-two he recorded "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", which propelled him to stardom. But almost immediately, news of his marriage to his thirteen-year-old cousin nearly destroyed his career. Over the next twenty years, Jerry Lee would rise again as a country star, and lose it all to his addictions to alcohol, drugs, and his own fame. Hellfire is an audacious, artful look directly into the soul of a rock 'n' roll legend.

On October 28^th of last year, 2022, Jerry Lee Lewis passed at the age of 87. I had seen the news and thought to myself about some of the songs for which he had been known. My mind went straight to “Great Balls of Fire.” I knew that Jerry Lee had become famous for it (in 1957), but I had first been exposed to it when the song was performed by Anthony Edwards’ character “Goose” in Top Gun which came out in 1986.  

I also faintly remembered the song “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” which you would hear on regular rotation on the “oldies” radio station in town. Both hit songs are cool, but when you’re younger and you hear hit songs from decades previous, they aren’t that cool.

As the news of Jerry Lee’s passing was breaking across the world, I was (probably???) doom-scrolling the social media site Twitter. As people discussed “The Killer,” a nickname for which he had been known, I saw a comment about a book that caught my attention. In the post-the person had claimed that a book about the life of Jerry Lee Lewis had been one of the best rock ‘n’ roll biographies they had ever read.

The best rock ‘n’ roll book? About Jerry Lee Lewis? An old timer, who my grandparents probably dug? No way. Not likely.

Those were all thoughts/comments that entered my mind as I read this preposterous post.

I’ll return to those thoughts in a minute.

                Social Media, for all its positives and negatives-has, as a positive, been a helpful tool in finding books of interest, and it delivered a gem again, with Hellfire by Nick Tosches. This is the book that the poster had declared “one of the best rock and roll” books he/she had ever read. And reader let me share with you-the poster could be RIGHT. This is the life story of Jerry Lee Lewis, “The Killer.” The story begins in the deep Louisiana with young Jerry Lee and follows him through the ups and downs of his blessed and somewhat cursed life. There are many details in the book about how Jerry Lee had a gift, which he used to achieve worldwide fame. As is familiar with rock stories, with more fame and money, also came many more problems.

I couldn’t put the book down. If reading about music and musicians is something you enjoy-you will not regret this book.

Andrew