Arena

Episode Synopsis

This is the story of 'the Killer', the ultimate wild man of rock, from his phenomenal success at the age of 20 with Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On to the present. After more than 30 years, Lewis remains unapologetic and unique. A product of the Bible belt, Lewis's life has been a strange, tormented conflict between his excesses and his religious fears. His cousin, Jimmy Lee Swaggart, devoted many a sermon to the recovery of Jerry Lee's soul. Lewis has seen the deaths of two wives, two children and a brother, shot his bass player and been arrested for causing a disturbance outside Elvis Presley's mansion in Memphis. Arena tells his story with help from Sam Phillips, the man who first recorded Lewis and Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jimmy Lee Swaggart, Lewis's wife Myra, Paul Anka and Chuck Berry.