“Lewis, perhaps the last true, great icon of the birth of rock’n’roll, whose marriage of blues, gospel, country, honky-tonk and raw, pounding stage performances so threatened a young Elvis Presley that it made him cry, has died," Lewis' publicist Zach Farnum said.
“He was there at the beginning, with Elvis, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Carl Perkins, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, and the rest, and watched them fade away one by one till it was him alone to bear witness, and sing of the birth of rock’n’roll.”
Nicknamed 'The Killer', Lewis was one of the last survivors of influential musicians to the rock and roll genre including his friend, and greatest rival, Elvis Presley and Little Richard.
Lewis was famous for his flowing blonde hair, rowdy piano beats and the occassional lighting up of his piano on stage among other crazy stage antics.
Lewis was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s first class in 1986.
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