Hellfire; The Jerry Lee Lewis Story
Christian Patoski (author photograph) and Berl Bre New York: Delacorte Press, 1982. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Format is approximately 5.5 inches by 8.25 inches. xii, 276 pages. Illustrations. Index. DJ has some wear, tears, soiling and chips. Nicholas P. Tosches (October 23, 1949 – October 20, 2019) was an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet. His 1982 biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, Hellfire, was praised by Rolling Stone magazine as "the best rock and roll biography ever written." A fan of early rock and roll and "oddball" records, he wrote for several rock music magazines, including Creem and Rolling Stone. He was also reviews editor for Country Music magazine. Tosches' first book, Country: The Biggest Music in America, was first published in 1977. It was followed in 1982 by Hellfire and in 1984 by Unsung Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll: The Birth of Rock in the Wild Years Before Elvis. He subsequently wrote biographies of the singer and entertainer Dean Martin, the Sicilian financier Michele Sindona, the heavyweight boxer Sonny Liston, the country singer Emmett Miller, the soul/rock band Hall & Oates and the racketeer Arnold Rothstein. Tosches worked as a contributing editor of Vanity Fair magazine. His work was also published in Esquire and Open City. He published five novels, Cut Numbers (1988), Trinities (1994), In the Hand of Dante (2002), Me and the Devil (2012), and Under Tiberius (2015); and a collection of poetry, Chaldea and I Dig Girls (1999). He also worked on Never Trust a Loving God, a book he did in collaboration with his friend the French painter Thierry Alonso Gravleur. A compendium, The Nick Tosches Reader, collects writings from over the course of his career. 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 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. The one, the only, the original....Killer. Jerry Lee Lewis...born in Fariday Louisiana, the heart of the Mississippi Delta; from an early age banging out a raw and untamed sound born of gospel, Country and Western, blues and boogie-woogie. He rocked to stardom as a sharp eyed wild haired boy...belting out his hite like "Whole Lot of Shaking Going On" and Great Balls of Fire. One of the greatest rock'n'roll showman of all times, his performances were explosive...growling into the mike; pounding the piano with his feet, head and hands; flames leaping from his fingertips. This is a compelling tale of scandal, tragedy, dissipation of a truly unique American and a literary tour de force in the tradition of Tom Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson. Condition: Good / Good.
Keywords: Jerry Lee Lewis, Myra Gale Lewis, Rock and Roll, Musician, Pianist, Performer, Songwriter, Johnny Cash, Country Music, Jack Clement, Mickey Gilley, Sam Phillips, Elvis Presley, Sun Records, Jimmy Swaggart, Great Balls of Fire, Whole Lot of Shaking Go
ISBN: 0440035465
[Book #85818]
Price: $750.00