Fraters Libertas

I Guess Things Happen That Way

The passing of Johnny Cash today means that Jerry Lee Lewis is the only surviving member of Sam Phillips’ Million Dollar Quartet as well as The Class of ’55. This is akin to Ringo someday being the only surviving Beatle.

Now, I don’t mean to diminish the careers of Jerry Lee (or Ringo, for that matter), but let’s be honest. When placed beside the enormous talents of Johnny Cash and Elvis, Jerry Lee just doesn’t measure up. Put together a triple bill of JLL, Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins in their prime and the most revved up performance would have, without a doubt, come from Jerry Lee. But, take into account each one’s musical contributions over the course of their careers and I’d put Jerry Lee a distant third. His career was stunted by a few, shall we say, personal problems. He did his best to recover, but he never recaptured the magic that once made him the biggest threat to dethrone The King.

That being said, The Killer is still pounding those ivories at the young age of 67. You just can’t knock the man’s perseverance.