Rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis dies at 87

Jerry Lee Lewis, the rock ‘n’ roll pioneer behind records like ‘Great Balls of Fire’ and ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’, and a three-time Grammy winner, died Friday. He was 87.

The last survivor of a generation that included Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley and Little Richard, Lewis died at his home in Memphis, Tennessee.

Lewis never achieved the same success as Elvis—though he would’ve replaced Presley as rock’s prime hitmaker—mainly due to the scandals surrounding his personal life. He married his then-13-year-old cousin. He was already married at the time to his previous wife.

Learning the news, he was blacklisted from the radio.

In the 1960s, Lewis reinvented himself as a country performer.