Jerry Lee Lewis Trivia

1. The Killer's first single was released in 1956, which failed to get anywhere on the charts. What song was it?

From Quiz The Music of Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: Crazy Arms

"Crazy Arms" was a hit for Ray Price that was probably too mellow for the Killer. "Jailhouse Rock" and "Lewis Boogie" were album tracks that were never released as singles, whereas "Baby Baby Bye Bye" was released in 1960 once Jerry's reputation had been ruined because of his marriage to his 13-year old cousin Myra. As a result, this song didn't fare well either.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: Louisiana

Jerry Lee was born in Ferriday, LA on September 29, 1935. Ferriday was a predominately black community rich with the sounds of blues and gospel music. It was from this exposure that Lewis formed his musical tastes.

From Quiz Great Balls of Fire! It's Jerry Lee Lewis!

Answer: September 1935

Jerry Lee Lewis was born on September 29, 1935 in Ferriday, Louisiana.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: Sam Phillips

Although Phillips was out of town when Lewis arrived at Sun Records, he was encouraged to learn rock and roll music by Phillip's engineer, Jack Clement. That's exactly what Lewis did, he learned some rock and roll and came back to meet and record with Sam Phillips. Who else did Sam Phillips produce? Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, B.B. King and Rufus Thomas were just a few of his finds.

From Quiz Great Balls of Fire! It's Jerry Lee Lewis!

Answer: Sun Records

Jerry learned to play the piano when he was just 8 years old. When he got older, Jerry attended the God's Institute Bible School located in Waxahatchie, Texas but was expelled when he played a hymn, ("My God is Real"), with a blues rhythm. In 1956, Jerry joined the Sun Records crew with Sam Phillips, the same record label that made Elvis famous.

From Quiz The Music of Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: Break Up

Another pianist from Sun Records, Charlie wrote hits for both Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis, with "Break Up" reaching number 19 in the country charts. Jerry Lee Lewis also had a hit with "Lonely Weekends" later on in his career, which was also written by Rich. Jerry Lee took it to number 10 in the country charts in 1972. Charlie Rich wrote "Rebound", but the Killer didn't actually cover that song, and one of Rich's best singles, "Behind Closed Doors", wasn't actually penned by him.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: Mickey Gilley

Mickey Gilley grew up in the same home with Jerry Lee Lewis and even took piano lessons with him. Another cousin, Jimmy Lee Swaggart, went on to a minor career in gospel music. Gilley is best known for his Pasadena, TX nightclub aptly named Gilley's.

From Quiz Great Balls of Fire! It's Jerry Lee Lewis!

Answer: Jaren Pate

Jerry married his first wife, the daughter of his preacher, Dorothy Barton, on February 21, 1952, when he was 17 years old. They divorced on October 8, 1953. Before his divorce was final, Jerry married Janet Mitchum on September 15, 1953 and before they were divorced in 1957, he married his cousin, Myra Gale Brown, which caused major controversy. His marriage to Myra failed and they were divorced on December 9, 1970. Jerry married his fourth wife, Jaren Pate, in 1971 and was divorced by 1973. His fifth marriage, to Shawn Stephens, didn't last more than a year. Jerry got married for the sixth time on April 24, 1984 to Kerrie Mann and filed for divorce from her in 2003.

From Quiz The Music of Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: Sweet Little Sixteen

Jerry Lee covered all these Chuck Berry compositions but only had hits with "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Roll Over Beethoven". Jerry Lee Lewis teamed up with sister Linda Gail Lewis in 1970 to record "Roll Over Beethoven", taking it to number 8 in the country charts. "Sweet Little Sixteen" only reached number 95 in the Billboard 100 but got to number 35 in Britain.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: Ralph Mooney

Ralph Mooney was a steel guitar player, most famous for playing with Waylon Jennings during the 1970's through the 1990's. Mooney wrote the song "Crazy Arms" for Ray Price and it became a country hit. Lewis recorded the song in November of 1956.

From Quiz The Music of Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

Although "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" was one of the wildest rock and roll songs around at the time, it still reached number one in the country charts, along with "Great Balls Of Fire". "What Made Milwaukee Famous" reached the Country number one spot in 1968 after "Another Place Another Time" reached number two the same year. "One Has My Name" reached number one in 1969.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: Myra Gale Brown

Myra Gale was the daughter of Jerry Lee's uncle, J.W. Brown. J.W. was the bass guitar player in Lewis' band. Although Myra was only 13, their marriage license claimed she ws 20. The marriage to his cousin nearly cost him his career. Record stations banned him, his albums quit selling and no one would come to see him. Eventually his tenacity overcame and he found his way back into favor with country radio.

From Quiz The Music of Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: 12

Jerry Lee Lewis had 12 number ones in the country music charts, from "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On" to "Think About It Darlin'" in 1972. 10 of these number ones were between 1968 and 1972.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: Dennis Quaid

Winona Ryder played Myra Gale Brown, the teenage bride of Lewis in this Jim McBride classic. Quaid did a good job of playing Lewis, but don't be too impressed with his impression. That was actually Jerry Lee Lewis himself singing his own songs for the movie.

From Quiz Great Balls of Fire! It's Jerry Lee Lewis!

Answer: 1986

Jerry was inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame on January 23, 1986.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: 0

Although Lewis had number one hits on the black and country charts, he never reached number one on the pop charts. The closest he came was the 1958 "Great Balls of Fire" which reached number 2.

From Quiz Great Balls of Fire! It's Jerry Lee Lewis!

Answer: Killer

Jerry's autobiography, "Killer", was released in the U.S. on January 15, 1994 by the publishers, Random House UK Distribution. Jerry also had took part in writing the book, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On: The Life and Times of Jerry Lee Lewis" with Charles White (Hyperion Press 1994).

From Quiz The Music of Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee

The Killer took this song to number 41 in the Billboard 100 and to number 20 in the Country charts in 1973. The song was also a gold record for Jerry Lee Lewis, his last ever single to achieve this feat.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: Elvis Presley

November 22, 1976 was a bad night for Lewis. First he gets arrested for drunk driving. After being released, he ends up at Graceland and is found drunk, flashing a pistol and screaming for Elvis. Police are called and he is arrested again.

From Quiz Great Balls of Fire! It's Jerry Lee Lewis!

Answer: 1962

In 1962, Jerry's 3 year old son, Steve Allen, drowned while playing in a swimming pool. Jerry Lewis Jr. died in a car accident when he was 19 years old. In 1982, Jerry's ex-wife, Jaren, also drowned in a pool, which is speculated to be under mysterious circumstances. In 1983, Jerry's fifth wife, Shawn, was found dead as an apparent drug overdose. Jerry has three surviving children, Lori, Phoebe and Jerry Lewis III.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: Spoken Word

Lewis won the Spoken Word Grammy in 1986 for his album "Interviews from the Class of'55-Recording Sessions".

From Quiz Great Balls of Fire! It's Jerry Lee Lewis!

Answer: 6631 Hollywood Blvd

Jerry received his star on the Walk of Fame on June 13, 1989. Lee Majors' star is located at 6931 Hollywood Blvd. Mickey Mouse's, (yes, Mickey Mouse), star is located at 6925 Hollywood Blvd and Richard Pryor's star is located at 6438 Hollywood Blvd.

From Quiz Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Jerry Lee Lewis

Answer: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

Springsteen and his band backed Jerry Lee on the hits "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" and "Great Balls of Fire".

From Quiz Great Balls of Fire! It's Jerry Lee Lewis!

Answer: Nick Tosches

The book, "Hellfire: The Jerry Lee Lewis Story" was written by Nick Tosches and originally released by Delacorte Press in May 1982. Murray Silver took part in writing, "Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis" with Jerry's ex-wife, Myra. This book was originally released in October 1982 by William Morrow & Company. Robert Cain wrote, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On: Jerry Lee Lewis", which was originally released in the U.S. on . The book, "The Devil, Me, and Jerry Lee", was written by Jerry's sister, Linda Gail Lewis, and was released in the U.S. in October 1998 by Longstreet Press. "Rockin' My Life Away: Listening to Jerry Lee Lewis" was written by Jerry Guterman and was released in October 1991 by Rutledge Hill Press.

This is category 13197

= Top 5% Rated Quiz, Top 10% Rated Quiz, Top 20% Rated Quiz, A Well Rated Quiz
= added recently, = Editor's Pick = FunTrivia Editor = Gold Member
Teachers / educators: FunTrivia welcomes the use of our website and quizzes in the classroom as a teaching aid or for preparing and testing students. See our education section. Our quizzes are printable and may be used as question sheets by k-12 teachers, parents, and home schoolers.

 ·  All questions, answers, and quiz content on this website is copyright FunTrivia, Inc and may not be reproduced without permission. Any images from TV shows and movies are copyright their studios, and are being used under "fair use" for commentary and education.