Books on Jerry Lee

[peterchecksfield]

Is it true, that there is no real photography book of Jerry Lee? I mean something like "Elvis at 21: New York to Memphis" by Alfred Wertheimer, the late Johnny Cash photographys by Andy Earl, ...

That's true unfortunately. Be nice to have a JLL photography book spanning a particular era, though not sure if it would be worthwhile from a commercial point of view.

Was there an engaged photographer on the '58 England-tour? Would surely be a great book with these photos

He wasn't engaged to a photographer though he was married to his cousin!

There were certainly many photos taken by the press during that tour, though most of these seem to be off stage rather than on.

[thekiller92]

I mean if maybe Sam Phillips booked a photographer for the tour (sry,engaged is a slightly wrong german translation for "engagieren" )

Phillips spent quite much money on Jerry Lee, but it doesn't seem like he spent it on photographys...

[Rocky]

Thank ya'll for the wonderful comments on my book "Ferriday Fireball". I like to think it's the ultimate day-by-day book on Jerry Lee. I worked on it for fifty years, and it has sold in 24 countries by mail order. I now have PayPal which makes ordering easier. The latest version (the fourth) only came out in limited production two months ago, but already 26 copies have gone out. Jerry's former manager from 1974-1982 has purchased one...Robert Porter. The new book is bigger and heavier than ever, and is in chapter format. I was lucky to be able to locate Ray Brown's booking schedule and thousands of new dates and many tv shows have been added, amongst other things. Obviously, since the book first came out nine years ago, the price has increased because of extra weight, added postage, and production cost. It sells for $60 U.S./Canadian or EURO 50. That does include postage. For anyone with the original first addition I'd advise getting the new one. However, if you have the 3rd edition I would not upgrade. People like Kay Martin, Graham Knight, and Pierre have several of the editions. The book is on display at both museums in Ferriday, Louisiana. Paul.

[peterchecksfield]

Phillips spent quite much money on Jerry Lee, but it doesn't seem like he spent it on photographys...

That's very true. There seems to have been very few formal photoshoots from the Sun era (& not many from later either, hence still using pics from a 1967 photoshoot for the cover of 'The Killer Rocks On' 5 years later!).

[Andrew McRae]

Phillips spent quite much money on Jerry Lee, but it doesn't seem like he spent it on photographys...

That's very true. There seems to have been very few formal photoshoots from the Sun era (& not many from later either, hence still using pics from a 1967 photoshoot for the cover of 'The Killer Rocks On' 5 years later!).

1967 on the front, maybe...1964 on the rear!

If you took your cue from the photography used by Mercury, you might think that JLL was only 31 years old when he released "I-40 Country" in 1974...

Having said that, there were some great photoshoots of JLL organised by Mercury in the mid-sixties but much of the best of the output seems to have been sent to France for use on EP and LP sleeves in that country alone and never seen since!

As a result of Sam Phillips' parsimony when it came to employing photographers, we are left with a total of some thirty-five different EP issues on the Sun and London labels which collectively use a grand total of eight different b/w photos (and one drawing) of JLL for the cover art. As few as five photos actually 'account' for 30 plus of these EP covers!

JLL is undoubtedly the most poorly represented of the great 50s rockers on contemporary silver bromide paper. Relatively minor figures such as Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran were the subject of excellent, creative photoshoots organised by their respective record companies that have left us with enduring images of them in their youthful pomp. Conversely, barely a single roll of film seems to have been expended on JLL in those early, glory years... having said that, there are one or two interesting 1958 pics from the Chicago Tribune archives currently listed on ebay...

[Roland Boy]

It's interesting that this thread has been bumped back up, as I have just recently looked back through 'Killer' by Chas White. I hadn't looked at it in years, but on scan reading it again I couldn't believe how bad it was. No wonder JLL said in a LMS interview that he'd never been involved with a book on his life. The writing is incredibly sloppy and there are mistakes everywhere. He couldn't even get Moon Mullican's name right! The best part of the book is the discography (thanks Peter!) which takes up about a third of the whole thing.

The ultimate JLL book has yet to be written, but at this late stage in the game I suspect it never will be.

[peterchecksfield]

It's interesting that this thread has been bumped back up, as I have just recently looked back through 'Killer' by Chas White. I hadn't looked at it in years, but on scan reading it again I couldn't believe how bad it was. No wonder JLL said in a LMS interview that he'd never been involved with a book on his life. The writing is incredibly sloppy and there are mistakes everywhere. He couldn't even get Moon Mullican's name right! The best part of the book is the discography (thanks Peter!) which takes up about a third of the whole thing.

Thanks!

I wrote a long list of corrections for Fire-Ball Mail circa 1993 (which I don't have anymore, does anyone have a scan of this?).

The ultimate JLL book has yet to be written, but at this late stage in the game I suspect it never will be.

On the contrary, I believe as Jerry gets older & more "legendary" the chances of new books being written grow greater.

Although it's unlikely to be the ultimate JLL biography, I'm looking forward to J.W. Brown's forthcoming book.

[Tony Papard]

Thank ya'll for the wonderful comments on my book "Ferriday Fireball". I like to think it's the ultimate day-by-day book on Jerry Lee. I worked on it for fifty years, and it has sold in 24 countries by mail order. I now have PayPal which makes ordering easier. The latest version (the fourth) only came out in limited production two months ago, but already 26 copies have gone out. Jerry's former manager from 1974-1982 has purchased one...Robert Porter. The new book is bigger and heavier than ever, and is in chapter format. I was lucky to be able to locate Ray Brown's booking schedule and thousands of new dates and many tv shows have been added, amongst other things. Obviously, since the book first came out nine years ago, the price has increased because of extra weight, added postage, and production cost. It sells for $60 U.S./Canadian or EURO 50. That does include postage. For anyone with the original first addition I'd advise getting the new one. However, if you have the 3rd edition I would not upgrade. People like Kay Martin, Graham Knight, and Pierre have several of the editions. The book is on display at both museums in Ferriday, Louisiana. Paul.

I would recommend 'Ferriday Fireball' as a reference book. I bought two earlier additions, but will wait a while and perhaps buy a later edition. Jerry's career just goes on and on, and Paul records it all in considerable detail.

I can't see why Kay is so nasty about Paul and his book on the other Forum, saying Frankie Jean would more likely burn it than display it. Why on Earth would she even think of doing that? The book just tells things as they are. OK some negative comments about some of the later stages of Jerry's career, but we all make these - except the few fans like Kay who seem to think the sun shines out of Jerry's ass and everything he does is perfect. She can't bear anything even slightly negative.

Books by family members or ex-family members like Linda Gail and Myra (Jimmy also wrote one - To Cross A River) also have bits that are less than flattering to Jerry Lee. Paul's is the only one that lists all his hits and their chart positions. (Peter's discography in the Killer book also does this, but is of course much less up-to-date. Paul's includes chart positions for Last Man Standing.)

[Joe]

It would be impossible to write a book about anyone without sifting through unflattering or imperfect details of is/her life. Even though my book focuses on Lewis' music/career, it was necessary to leaven that with a look at his personal and public indiscretions, which are as much a part (and result) of his career as his songs. Lewis' personality is large and ego-driven, and it's crucial for any curious, objective writer to look at where that's taken Lewis in his career and his private life, it seems to me.

[Rocky]

Personally, I don't care what Frankie Jean does with the book...it's her problem, not mine. Never liked her anyway. I have a file cabinet full of letters from Jerry's fans world-wide who love the book. That's all that matters to me. I didn't put it out to make money...made very little on it in reality. I put it out as a refernace for JLL fans. Tony is right...Kay could say no wrong concerning Jerry Lee. They're are others like her. That's never gonna change. Most trusted names for accuracy concerning Jerry would be guys like Peter Checksfield, Tony, Graham Knight, Pierre Pennone, and several others whom I can't think of right now. I didn't write Jerry's history...he did. I just chronologically put it in day-by-day order. Paul.

[peterchecksfield]

Paul's book is a great reference work marred by some very silly mistakes, at least in the first edition (Jerry has brown eyes not blue, & he certainly didn't have blonde hair at the 2001 birthday show!). Hopefully these things have been corrected as well as just dates & locations.

I hope Kay Martin never writes a book on Jerry. It would be even more biased & inaccurate than Linda's book.

[martin bates]

I mean if maybe Sam Phillips booked a photographer for the tour (sry,engaged is a slightly wrong german translation for "engagieren" )

You used the word correctly,but it's a bit old fashioned.It could have been better to say 'was a photograher engaged' ....rather than an 'engaged photographer'; Peter could still have made his joke about a different meaning for the word
Your overall point is a good one as everyone seems to agree.

I saw a great show last night where Linda Gail had engaged the services of 'Some Like It Hot'. She herself is an engaging person and has probably been engaged several times.

Martin.

[martin bates]

I hope Kay Martin never writes a book on Jerry. It would be even more biased & inaccurate than Linda's book.

I'd like to read a book by Kay; she must have some great stories to tell & I think she has a very good writing style ..so what if she always sees the best in Jerry ? It'd be nice change from books that only seek to sensationalise & destroy. Besides that's her opinion; why should her view be less valid than anyone else's ? True, I like Guralnicks Elvis books better than a whitewash...but not that other guy who just does a hatchet job on his subject. Any book by Kay would be a personal memoire from a unique perspective.

Martin.

[peterchecksfield]

I hope Kay Martin never writes a book on Jerry. It would be even more biased & inaccurate than Linda's book.

I'd like to read a book by Kay; she must have some great stories to tell & I think she has a very good writing style ..so what if she always sees the best in Jerry ? It'd be nice change from books that only seek to sensationalise & destroy. Besides that's her opinion; why should her view be less valid than anyone else's ? True, I like Guralnicks Elvis books better than a whitewash...but not that other guy who just does a hatchet job on his subject. Any book by Kay would be a personal memoire from a unique perspective.

Martin.

She doesn't just see the best in Jerry, she also sees the worst in people she doesn't like. I recall once on her message board that she ranted about Kerrie, & that she (alledgedly) cheated on Jerry a couple of times, so I pointed out that Jerry more than likely cheated on Myra & Jaren hundreds of times! Kay then wrote to me privately suggesting that I don't write things like that on the message board...

Besides that, she's also diabolical with dates: for a long time she insisted that Gene Vincent did a show near her in 1978; it took quite some convincing from me + confirmation from Pierre that he actually died 7 years earlier (shades of Linda Gail "remembering" Jerry getting his first piano!).

[martin bates]

I hope Kay Martin never writes a book on Jerry. It would be even more biased & inaccurate than Linda's book.

I'd like to read a book by Kay; she must have some great stories to tell & I think she has a very good writing style ..so what if she always sees the best in Jerry ? It'd be nice change from books that only seek to sensationalise & destroy. Besides that's her opinion; why should her view be less valid than anyone else's ? True, I like Guralnicks Elvis books better than a whitewash...but not that other guy who just does a hatchet job on his subject. Any book by Kay would be a personal memoire from a unique perspective.

Martin.

She doesn't just see the best in Jerry, she also sees the worst in people she doesn't like. I recall once on her message board that she ranted about Kerrie, & that she (alledgedly) cheated on Jerry a couple of times, so I pointed out that Jerry more than likely cheated on Myra & Jaren hundreds of times! Kay then wrote to me privately suggesting that I don't write things like that on the message board...

Besides that, she's also diabolical with dates: for a long time she insisted that Gene Vincent did a show near her in 1978; it took quite some convincing from me + confirmation from Pierre that he actually died 7 years earlier (shades of Linda Gail "remembering" Jerry getting his first piano!).

that's great at least she was convinced in the end, then. Someone would have to check that sort if thing for her of course (what about the guy who hepled with the Chas White book ?)......I take it Gene Vincent did play there & the whole thing wasn't just made up ?....anyway there's no urgent concern- I don't thinks she's rushing into print just yet.

Martin.