SIMILAR ARTISTS TO JERRY LEE LEWIS

Jerry Lee Lewis has created a unique style that has been much imitated
by various other artists.Jerry Lee has also been influenced by many
people who have similarities to him & make interesting listening for
many Jerry Lee fans.Also,some other rock 'n' rollers,bluesmen & country
singers may have things in common with Jerry Lee as regards influences.
On this page,I'll list & explain some other artists that the Jerry Lee
fan would like & what to look out for:

ARTISTS WHO INFLUENCED JERRY LEE:
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Due to the lack of songs Jerry Lee covered of the artists who supposedly influenced him,we conclude Lewis had no influences other than his contemporaries.The following artists are pre-Jerry Lee Lewis artists who may have had a very small influence on Lewis but were never influences:


MOON MULLICAN:
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One of the few people that Jerry Lee ever quoted as an influence that
played piano,Aubrey Wilson 'Moon' Mullican was a truly amazing player &
is my next favorite after Jerry Lee himself.He can play in virtually
every style - blues,country,gospel,rock 'n' roll,jazz,Western Swing,
Cajun & bluegrass among them.
Born in 1909 in Texas,Moon Mullican earned his nickname either
because he had a round face or because he played clubs late at night in
his early years.He started off playing piano & singing with various
Western Swing bands like Cliff Bruner's & eventually went solo,pounding
out Hillbilly boogie to rival the Delmore Brothers & had a hit with
'I'll sail my ship alone' in 1950.Other hits followed & he influenced
many other piano playing singers like Jerry Lee,Mickey Gilley & Merrill
E. Moore.He died in 1967 from a heart attack.
Jerry Lee covered 'I'll sail my ship alone' in 1958 & 1966,did Moon's
'I was sorta wonderin' in 1975 & cut 'I don't know why I just do' (an
older song also done by Frank Sinatra,Dean Martin,Fred Astaire & others)
that Jerry learned from Moon.Virtually any album of him is vital for
the Jerry Lee fan.Start with 'Moonshine jamboree',after which you'll
certainly want more.Then,look out for 'Moon's rock','I left my heart in
Texas','22 greatest hits','The old Texan' & 'All time greatest hits' &
you'll experience something that you'll never get from any other artist
bar Jerry Lee himself.
Highlights of his career include 'Pipeliner blues','Early morning
blues','Downstream','Triflin' woman blues','Wabash cannonball','Milk
cow blues' (which Jerry Lee did,too),'I left my heart in Texas' &
'Rocket to the moon'

MERRILL E. MOORE:
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A little between Moon Mullican & Jerry Lee Lewis was Merrill E. Moore.
He's another piano-playing singer that can do some great boogies.Jerry
Lee denies ever hearing of him but shares the 'House of blue lights',
'Sweet Georgia Brown','Corrine Corrina' & 'Down the road apiece'
with him,though none are Moore originals.Look out for 'Boogie my
blues away' on Bear Family that contains some great boogie blues
like 'Rock rockola', 'Big bug boogie' (his first hit),'Red light'
& 'Gotta give me whtacha got',as well as country ballads like 'She's
gone' & 'I think I love you to',& jazz & ragtime like '5 foot 2 eyes
of blue' (which Jerry Lee & his cousin Mickey Gilley dueted on in a
live show during the '80s) & 'King Porter Stomp'.
A lot of sources state Merrill Moore as Lewis' biggest
straight boogie influence & that he may well be.Moore's material
is much more boogie orientated than Moon Mullican's (Moon's music,
like Jerry Lee's,covered everything & he adpated his style for different types of music - Merrill
Moore's specialised in boogified versions of many types of music.
As a pianist,Merrill is perhaps the closest in style to Jerry Lee.
Vocally,he also has the lively clarity that characterised so many of
Jerry Lee's songs.

(see below for more detailed info on Moon Mullican & Merrill Moore)

CHUCK MILLER
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Chuck Miller was another country-boogie pianist like Moon Mullican
or Merrill Moore.His piano style was pure boogie,while his vocals
owed much to Al Jolson,Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby.
Miller shared 'Down the road apiece' & 'House of blue lights' with
Merrill Moore & Jerry Lee.Other highlights in Millers repetoire are
'Plaything','Hawkeye','Saturday night fish fry','Boogie blues',
'Chuck's boogie' & 'Miller boogie'.

PROFESSOR LONGHAIR,PIANO RED,JACK DUPREE,WILLIE LITTLEFIELD,AMOS MILBURN:
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All these black blues pianists & others too are well worth listening to.
These play furious boogies & shout tough vocals in the '40s just like
rock 'n' roll,proving both blues & rock 'n' roll are a name for the
same thing.
Jerry Lee cut Piano Red's 'Rockin' with Red' & also Red's version of
'Please don't talk about me when I'm gone'.Jerry Lee did 'Down the road
apiece' which is associated with Amos Milburn.He saw Jack Dupree at
Haney's Big house in Ferriday.

CECIL GANT
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Another black blues pianist.Many have quoted Gant as an influence on
Jerry Lee Lewis.Jerry Lee himself denies ever hearing of him.However,
Jerry may well have heard his music without recalling Gant's name.
As a pianist,Gant is indistinguishable from uptempo Lewis blues boogie
material when he does fast numbers;Cecil's vocal style is more in a
crooning mould & is quite like that of Frank Sinatra's at times.

HANK WILLIAMS:
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Hank Williams Senior was born in 1923 in Alabama & died just 29 years
old in 1953 under mysterious circumstances.His life was tough & he had
to cope with a cheating,ambitious wife,constant backpain & alcoholism.
He is undoubtedly the greatest country songwriter of all time & sung
these great hits with the intensity of the blues combined with a country
yodel.
Jerry Lee covered 'You win again','Your cheatin' heart','Cold cold
heart','I'm so lonesome I could cry','I saw the light','I could never
be ashamed of you' & many others.He also co-wrote 'Jambalaya' with
another favorite of Jerry Lee's - Moon Mullican.Jerry Lee did this one
too.

FATS DOMINO:
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Fats Domino was born in 1928 & first recorded in 1949 commencing a string
of big R&B & Pop hits with 'Fat man' in 1949/50.He was a New Orleans
boogie pianist & soon found himself entering the big world of rock 'n'
roll music with hits like 'Blue Monday','My blue heaven','Blueberry hill'
& 'I'm walkin'.
Jerry Lee recorded many of his hits throughout the years.Jerry Lee also
appeared on a 1986 tribute to Fats.Fats can be seen as a mirror image to
Jerry Lee (ie.Domino had a big liking for C&W,while Jerry Lee had a big
appreciation for blues,boogie & R&B).

RAY CHARLES
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Ray Charles Robinson was born in 1930,into a life of poverty & severe tragedies.As with Jerry Lee,a brother of Ray's was killed at a young age (in a drowning accident).If that wasn't enough,Ray was blinded by glaucoma at age 6 or 7.
However,Ray Charles (he used his first 2 names to distinquish him from the boxer,Ray Robinson) was a fighter & learned piano & lots of other instruments.In the '40s,he became a blues singer,in a West Coast style like that of Lowell Fulson or Charles Brown.He also became a member of Fulson's band for a time.
Soon,Charles decided to add gospel with his blues to create what would be soul music.Hits like "I got a woman",which was covered by Jerry Lee live in the '80s (and which is NOT "Mean woman blues",a Jerry Lee hit that is often called "I got a woman" & credited to Ray Charles even on official albums like "Greatest live show on Earth"!!) & "Halleluja I love her so" (covered by Jerry Lee for Mercury in 1963) demonstrated the R&B styles that predated soul music.
1959s "What'd I say" was the ultimate soul fusion.Ray's 1959 original & Jerry Lee's 1961 cover cemented the song as a hit for all time & demonstrated the fusion of blues,gospel & rock to produce a new music genre.
Jerry Lee in the '60s was arguably more influenced by Ray Charles than by anyone - he covered "Hit the road,Jack" & "Sticks & stones" as well.Jerry Lee's blues & R&B were far more soulful at Mercury than at Sun & Lewis even cut 3 soul albums for Mercury.
Charles,like Lewis,also proved to be a great country artist & his most famous song is arguably "I can't stop loving you" - a soulful version of the Don Gibson country composition.Jerry Lee also did this & was aware of both Gibson's & Charles' versions & mixed both on his 1969 boogie blues version.
Charles,like Lewis,was very versatile & also did pop,show songs,swing & jazz.However,some argue that his later recordings suffered from overproduction & lushness & it's true that his groundbreaking 1950s & early 1960s work with R&B & soul are his best music.In the '80s & '90s,like James Brown,he turned to funk & disco.

ARTISTS WHO JERRY LEE INFLUENCED:
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CHARLIE RICH
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Charlie Rich was born in 1932 & grew up on a farm.His early musical
career owed much to his jazz roots,but when he got to Sun,he was
introduced to Jerry Lee Lewis' music by Sam Phillips.At first,Rich
didn't care for it,but soon he became entranced by it & came back
to record for Sun with a Lewis-type boogie style.
Of all the Sun artists,Charlie Rich was the only one who had the
potential to rival Jerry Lee - he was versatile,bluesy,wild when he
needed & a great country singer,as well.Unlike Lewis,Rich didn't
have any massive hits in the rock era & only had minor ones like
'Lonely weekends','Mohair Sam' & 'Big boss man' in the 1960s.
Rich wrote many excellent tracks for Jerry Lee ('Break up',
'I'll make it all up to you','It hurt me so',etc.) & was the
OMLY person to play piano on a Lewis hit.
Like Jerry Lee Lewis,Charlie Rich embarked on a soul & then a
country career after he left Sun & the latter produced many huge
hits like 'Most beautiful girl' & 'Behind closed doors' in the
1970s.By the '80s & 'early '90s,he went back to his jazz,boogie &
blues roots & recorded his last album in 1992.He died in July 1995
of a lung clot.

MICKEY GILLEY
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Jerry Lee's cousin & imitator.His early years saw him cover wellknown
Jerry Lee hits & his voice & piano playing sounded very similar to
the Killer's.In the '70s,he hit big with many country hits like 'Room
full of roses' & 'City lights',in the same style as Jerry Lee.

JASON D. WILLIAMS
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Another Jerry Lee imitator is Jason D. Williams (who is a very young
one,at that - born 1967).He likes to boast that he's Jerry Lee's son
but this is probably false.He sings & plays like Jerry Lee,but while
his piano playing is every bit as good,his singing on slower numbers
lacks the ability of Jerry Lee.Williams even dresses in the same clothes
as the young Jerry Lee!!Has the same stage act & has yet to hit big.

JIMMIE LEE SWAGGART
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Jimmy Swaggart was considered up until 1988 as a total opposite to his
cousin Jerry Lee (he wasn't as wild,was Religious,didn't play secular
music,etc.).In truth,both were very much alike - but Jerry Lee was far
more honest & recognised his faults;Jimmie Swaggart didn't until 1988.
Also,like Jerry Lee & Mickey Gilley,Jimmie is an excellent pianist &
singer.He shared the same musical influences as Jerry Lee (Moon Mullican,Merrill Moore,etc.) but his recording output is mostly gospel.

JIMMY RAY WARREN:
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Another Jerry Lee imitator,who,like Jason D. Williams,has yet to gain
fame.

FREDDIE FINGERS LEE:
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One of the best of the Jerry Lee imitators was this British born
pianist.As a singer,he's not in the Jerry Lee Lewis league,but boy
does he play some powerful piano.

HERE ARE MORE DETAILED LINKS ON IMPORTANT ARTISTS:

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Information on Merrill Moore.

Information on Moon Mullican

Charlie Rich & Roy Orbison

Continued