Jerry Lee Lewis "Killer Country"

First published by Death To False Country March 13, 2015

"The Killer," Jerry Lee Lewis, always had a contentious relationship with country music. He was instrumental in shaking its very foundations—and moving it forward—as one of Sun Records' earliest successes (along with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins), then fell from grace after a public scandal resulting from his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin.

Lewis finally made his comeback—after more than a decade—by turning his attention to making a straight-up country album, Another Place, Another Time, in 1968 and finally reclaimed his earlier success. But it was far from smooth sailing from there. His marriage fell apart (leading to several other short-lived unions), he was audited by the I.R.S., and he was plagued by problems with drugs and alcohol. By the end of the 70's, the Killer was all but given up for dead.

Never one to be knocked down and stay down, though, Lewis mounted another comeback. He reunited with producer Eddie Kilroy—who orchestrated his 1968 comeback—and went to laying down tracks for Killer Country. The recipe worked, resulting in Lewis' first Top 10 hit in three years, "Thirty-Nine and Holding". The real highlights of the album, though, were Lewis' marching version of his former label mate, Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" and his melancholy interpretation of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". 

The album was the Killer in top—though somewhat frazzled—form, his life experiences  paralleling the songs and feeding his performances in a way similar to George Jones. Unfortunately, the success didn't last and Lewis again dropped from the charts, never again having a Top 10 hit. Though his country albums from the 60's might trump Killer Country in terms of innovation and excitement, they can't top it in terms of sheer emotional expression. This album is the sound of a man finally admitting to himself—and the world—that he is only a man; vulnerable and regretful, but spiritually triumphant.