Up Close and Personal with Jerry Lee Lewis
A journalist I used to work with (who I'll call Ed) told me of the time in the early 80s he was sent out to interview Jerry Lee Lewis. As a young man, he was nervous about meeting the Killer, particularly as the other journalists at his paper had refused to do the interview, citing his wildness.

So Ed turned up at the post-gig piss-up to interview Jerry Lee, who promptly put Ed in a vicious headlock and then calmly returned to his conversation. Ed wasn't quite sure how long he was in the headlock for; it felt like hours but was probably less than a minute. He only wriggled out of the headlock because Jerry Lee had to relight his cigar.

Finally freed, Ed asked the Killer about the relatively poor ticket sales for his tour. Jerry Lee responded "Anyone who doesn't come to see me play can use my dick as a walking pole".

Ed then asked about Jerry Lee's scandalous personal life. Jerry Lee fixed him a look of pure hatred and said "I've shot people for less than that". Considering that Jery Lee had in fact shot his own bass player some years before, Ed didn't doubt it.

Jerry Lee told a few absolutely filthy stories about Elvis, Johhny Cash and some groupies before the entrance of some young women meant that Jerry Lee lost all interest in Ed, leaving Ed to mention the matter of the headlock to Jerry Lee's manager. "He does that to everybody. It's just his way of saying hello" said the manager.

Ed stuck around and watched Jerry Lee, then in his late 40s, outdrink men half his age. He also found out that once you attended a Jerry Lee Lewis party, you didn't leave until Jerry Lee left. And Jerry Lee had no intention of leaving. So, he watched as men, no longer able to drink or stand, collapse on the floor while the Killer kept drinking, seemingly unaffected.

Ed finally bolted around 5.00am so he could get his article written. When asked about the night he said that when he was in the headlock he thought "What a unique rock 'n' roll story, to be in a headlock by a Rock and Roll legend" only to find out he was but one of hundreds to find themselves stuck in the sweaty armpit of the Killer.
(Hammer of Justice, Tue 4 Jul 2006, 17:02, Reply)