DLNews Entertainment:

Rock 'n' roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis is dead. The pianist, known, among other things, for the classic "Great Balls of Fire," died at 87, as his agent announced on Friday. He died of natural causes on Friday morning.

Lewis was the last survivor of a generation of seminal artists like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard. His representative Zach Farnum said in a statement that he died at home in Memphis, Tennessee.

Jerry Lee Lewis was known for his scandals: among other things, he was married to his cousin, who was only 13 years old.

Few of the rock rebels who emerged in the 1950s embodied the allure and danger of the new genre as unforgettable as the Louisiana-born pianist who dubbed himself "The Killer."

It was best to leave tender ballads to the old people. Lewis was all about pleasure and satisfaction, with his lascivious tenor voice, demanding quips, cocky grin, and crazy blonde hair.

“There was rockabilly. There was Elvis. But there was no pure rock 'n' roll before Jerry Lee Lewis kicked in the door," Lewis once said of himself.

In his personal life, he raged in a way that could mean the end of his career today - and almost did at the time.

In 1957, while Lewis was on tour in England, the press learned that he married 13-year-old Myra Gale Brown. He was 22 years old. And SHE was his cousin on top of that!

His tour was canceled, he was blacklisted by the radio, and his earnings plummeted to virtually zero overnight.

"I probably would have lived my life a little differently, but I've never hidden anything from people," Lewis told The Wall Street Journal in 2014 when asked about his marriage. "I just got on with my life as usual."