The Lewis Ranch

[Henry]

Seems the Lewis Ranch soon vill be open for tours again.

From Facebook "The Lewis Ranch":
Keep an eye out here! We'll be posting news about The Lewis Ranch opening for tours!
Email Jerry Lee Lewis, III for inquiries JLL3@thelewisranch.com

[wolfgangguhl]

http://thelewisranch.com

[Ulli]

Seems so, that he isn't mainly living on the ranch anymore. He partly lives in his 'residence' (?) in Memphis...

[thrund]

from the Jerry Lee Lewis Ranch Press Release (25. April 2017):
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Jerry Lee Lewis To Open The Lewis Ranch For Tours On April 29, 2017

Nesbit, MS – The Lewis Ranch is pleased to announce that Jerry Lee Lewis will open The Lewis Ranch, located at 1595 Malone Rd. near Nesbit, Mississippi, for tours once again on April 29, 2017.
The Lewis Ranch has been Jerry Lee Lewis’ private getaway for decades, and is the place where he composes his music—and spends time with his family. Now he’s opening the doors once again to give fans a look at the life of a rock ‘n’ roll legend. Starting Saturday, April 29, 2017, The Lewis Ranch will be open for private, small group tours Monday – Saturday from 10:00am – 4:00pm. Tours are $30 per person and can be purchased from The Lewis Ranch website www.thelewisranch.com/tours.
Jerry Lee Lewis said,´I love all my fans. When they look back on me I want´em to remember me not for all my wives, although I´ve had a few, and certainly not for any mansions or high livin´money I made and spent. I want´em to remember me simply for my music.´
Jerry Lee Lewis´son, Jerry Lee Lewis III said,´Jerry Lee Lewis is Rock´n´Roll’s´first great wild man´and has a storied reputation. But the real story of the Father of Rock´n´Roll runs much deeper—a man who is both rowdy and religious, famous and humble, who came from simple roots and worked hard to make it in music. At The Lewis Ranch, we´ll take you behind Jerry Lee´s public image and give you an intimate look at his early life, his climb to success, and the way he lives today.´

About Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis was born on September 29th, 1935, in Ferriday, Louisiana. He began playing the piano at age 9, copying the styles of preachers and black musicians. He signed with Sun Records in 1956 and quickly became a star. He was inducted into the first class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Lewis spends much of his time-off at The Lewis Ranch in Nesbit, Mississippi, where he is happily married to his wife Judith.

About The Lewis Ranch
The Lewis Ranch, located at 1595 Malone Rd. near Nesbit, Mississippi, is a short drive south of Memphis and is surrounded by the scenic Mississippi countryside. Private, small-group tours are held Monday – Saturday from 10:00am – 4:00pm. Tours are $30 per person and can be purchased from The Lewis Ranch website www.thelewisranch.com/tours. Tours include access to Jerry Lee Lewis´home, his bedroom, the Rolls Royce, an up-close look at his gold records and memorabilia, and more.

Contact:
Jerry Lee Lewis III
901-488-1823
jll3@thelewisranch.com

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Thomas

[thrund]

Thomas

[Tony Papard]

Seems so, that he isn't mainly living on the ranch anymore. He partly lives in his 'residence' (?) in Memphis...

So the secret is finally out. I've known about it for ages, but only told a few selected fans. He is living in a Retirement complex in Southaven. This appears to be Jerry's current home.

They had to admit he wasn't living permanently at the Ranch when they started the tours, as it is the first question visitors would ask. Also they are showing visitors, for the first time, Jerry's bedroom where he used to watch Gunsmoke, etc.

I am quite depressed by his current situation. The lawsuit with Phoebe and Zeke, the accusations made against them, the fact he is doing short shows with the same songs and frequently off-key. I tried to listen to the latest show and had to turn it off after a few seconds.

He should be allowed to retire and perhaps record as imperfections in his voice can be rectified in the studio, but new songs please, not re-hashes of stuff he has recoded before.

[wolfgangguhl]

I think he sounded fairly good at recent shows. Not as good as he used to, but he is still far from making a fool of himself. Judith appears to take good care of him.

[wolfgangguhl]

I think the only reason he lives at the retirement complex is that they can open the ranch for tours and make some money.

I doubt he is very wealthy. Let's consider this:
- He has written very few songs himself and those are rarely covered by other artists, therefore he hardly gets any royalties for songwriting credits.
- Album sales are not great anymore, not much income is generated due to this (this applies to all artists!).
- A show is still able to make him quite a bit of money within a short time, but due to the restricted amount of shows he is performing he is not making as much as he used to even though his fee has considerably risen in recent years.

[Piet]

- And they are trying to sue Phoebe to get some money.

[Tony Papard]

I think the only reason he lives at the retirement complex is that they can open the ranch for tours and make some money.

I doubt he is very wealthy. Let's consider this:
- He has written very few songs himself and those are rarely covered by other artists, therefore he hardly gets any royalties for songwriting credits.
- Album sales are not great anymore, not much income is generated due to this (this applies to all artists!).
- A show is still able to make him quite a bit of money within a short time, but due to the restricted amount of shows he is performing he is not making as much as he used to even though his fee has considerably risen in recent years.

I'm sure all this is true. The idea, according to the blurb on the Tour website, that he sat on his back porch overlooking the lake 'composing' is quite ridiculous. Very few songs have been credited to him, and these were mostly long before he lived at the Ranch. Where his talent lies is in adapting songs to his own style. This certainly happened with 'End Of The Road' which Frankie Jean drove us miles to Black River to show us where Jerry wrote it, under a tree. Then on the way back she admitted she heard an old black guy on the radio singing it, recorded in the 1920s or 1930s. Jerry's version, though, is quite different I'm sure.

[wolfgangguhl]

Exactly. He adapted/re-wrote more than a thousand songs, but for most he cannot claim credit and therefore does not get any money for it.

[Rocky]

On top of that, all the record royalties he got from Mercury, Elektra, and MCA went directly to the IRS. He had to live on concert fees alone, and from mid 1958 to early 1968, his concert fees ran from a low of $200 a gig to $700 a gig. From that came fuel, cars, traveling expenses, motels, band member payments, food, dry cleaning, equipment upkeep, booze, drugs, home operation, taxes, family, car repairs, new cars, lawyer's fees, child payments, alimony payments, airplane payments and upkeep of planes, etc.

[Piet]

So we can fairly say that Judith got herself an empty balloon

[PianoLidAgain]

Real Property tax records are publicly available in the US.

Desoto County records search might work in Europe:
http://cs.datasysmgt.com/tax?state=MS&county=17

Entering "Lewis Jerry" returns the ranch on Malone Road. "Lewis Judith" returns two properties: the Southaven home on Foxdale Loop mentioned earlier by Tony Papard, and another house within walking distance of the ranch.

[Tony Papard]

Real Property tax records are publicly available in the US.

Desoto County records search might work in Europe:
http://cs.datasysmgt.com/tax?state=MS&county=17

Entering "Lewis Jerry" returns the ranch on Malone Road. "Lewis Judith" returns two properties: the Southaven home on Foxdale Loop mentioned earlier by Tony Papard, and another house within walking distance of the ranch.

Houses are dirt cheap in the area compared to, for example, London. The sale of the motorbike (and bottletops) no doubt helped purchase these.