The Llano Country Opry will host a Tribute To Jerry Lee Lewis By Rockabilly Hall of Famer Linda Gail Lewis and her band on Saturday, January 14, at the Lantex Theater in Llano, Texas. The show begins at 2:30 p.m., and tickets are on sale at <www. heartoftexascountry.com> or by calling (325) 247-5354.
Linda Gail Lewis is the younger sister of one Country and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Jerry Lee Lewis. After decades of lingering in his shadow, she finally achieved a measure of fame in 2000 with a critically acclaimed album of duets performed with Irish rocker Van Morrison. Her style, which has embraced hard-core honky-tonk music, 1950s rock 'n' roll, and touches of Memphis soul, has made her a favorite in Europe.
Like her brother Jerry Lee, Linda Gail Lewis soaked up the sounds of hillbilly music and rhythm and blues in the rural areas of Ferriday and Black River, Louisiana. Although the Lewis family was poor, they always had enough to eat because of father Elmo Lewis's skill at farming. When Jerry Lee began to score hits with 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On' and 'Great Balls of Fire' in 1957, he singlehandedly lifted the family from dire poverty to a life of relative ease.
'Jerry shared everything he had with us,' Linda Gail remarked in an interview. 'He'd call my mama up and say, 'Mama, I want you and daddy and Frankie Jean and Linda Gail to have everything that I have.' And we did!.… I don't know how many people would say that. He meant it too.' Linda Gail's chief inspiration was Jerry Lee, but later, as the era of rock 'n' roll came into play, she also tuned into the sounds of Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, and Lavern Baker. Like her famed elder brother, she was married many times, and her first marriages were at ages 14 and 15.
Lewis's official recording debut came when she performed as Jerry Lee's duet partner for Sun Records in 1963, when they recorded George Jones's 'Seasons Of My Heart.'
As a teenager Lewis joined her brother on the road, playing in numerous tank towns and dives.
Lewis's first solo release, the ABC-Paramount single 'Small Red Diary,' sank into obscurity, as did a lone single for Columbia, a remake of LaVern Baker's 'Jim Dandy.' Meanwhile, Lewis made several duet appearances on her brother's B-sides and albums for Smash records. It was only after Jerry Lee mounted his late-1960s comeback via country music that Lewis was finally able to make the charts. Recording with her brother, she scored her lone top 10 country hit with a version of Carl and Pearl Butler's 'Don't Let Me Cross Over.' A rousing duet remake of Chuck Berry's 'Roll Over Beethoven,' a staple of her act, followed it onto the lower chart regions. The Lewis duo's 1969 Smash LP Together featured their rowdy duet style on a variety of country standards and rockers. This led to Lewis's debut solo album for the label, The Two Sides Of Linda Gail Lewis.
In addition to composing material for her brother's top-selling Smash and Mercury discs, Lewis also garnered an ASCAP award for her song 'Smile, Somebody Loves You,' her only solo top 40 country hit. She was growing artistically, but her label did not seem to notice. 'Nobody was really serious about my career,' declared Lewis. The best pure country singles of her career, 1970s 'Before The Snow Flies,' which featured a rare appearance by brother Jerry Lee on rhythm guitar, and 1973's 'I Wanna Be a Sensuous Woman,' which she debuted on ABC-TV's In Concert, received no meaningful push from the label.
After a hiatus of nearly 10 years, Lewis returned to music in the late 1980s, touring briefly with Jerry Lee before belatedly going solo at age 39. Realizing that her brother's piano was an important facet of her public identity, Lewis taught herself to pound the keys in his style. Lewis finally caught a career break when the New Rose label in France released International Affair, her first solo album in 23 years. Well regarded by critics for its raw, openly country sound, the album did not get much distribution in the United States, but put the European rock community on notice that she was available for shows. Returning to Memphis in 1996, she recorded a strong mix of country songs tinged with rock 'n' roll for Icehouse, titled Love Makes the Difference, although few outside the south had access to the disc.
Lewis made her biggest splash outside the recording studio when she entertainingly chronicled her years on the road in a 1998 autobiography titled The Devil, Me, and Jerry Lee. The book showcases Lewis's genuine voice and attitude, which is by turns catty, philosophic, salacious, and funny. Lewis reveals sordid details of her eight marriages and dealings with her estranged children, few of whom describe her in a positive light. However, her memories of Jerry Lee provide the high points.
After moving to the Austin area, Linda Gail continues to work the road performing the hits of that she enjoyed as well as her brother’s most requested songs.
Other entertainers on the show will include Kaye Tolson, Bode Barker, Benny Fred Kothmann, Bucille Snotgrass, Charley Walton and Tom Tolson. Tracy Pitcox will MC the show.