The Wild Tale of Jerry Lee Lewis and the Flaming Piano: Truth, Myth, or Marketing Magic?
Rock ‘n’ roll is built on rebellion, spectacle, and stories that grow larger with every retelling—and perhaps no story burns quite as brightly as the legend of Jerry Lee Lewis setting his piano on fire mid-performance.
The Alleged Inferno: Brooklyn, 1958
It’s the stuff of rock mythology: Jerry Lee Lewis, annoyed that Chuck Berry was closing the show instead of him, decided to end his set with more than just a bang. The scene, as it’s often told, takes place at the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn during an Alan Freed concert lineup that included some of the genre’s greatest names—Buddy Holly, The Chantels, Chuck Berry, and, of course, Lewis himself.
After performing a few hits—including “A Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”—Lewis supposedly doused his piano with gasoline from a Coke bottle, struck a match, and set the keys ablaze as he pounded out “Great Balls of Fire.”
And then, the mic-drop moment: As he strutted off stage past Chuck Berry, he allegedly muttered, “Follow that.”
Fact or Fiction? Depends Who You Ask.
Like most rock legends, the story has been both fiercely defended and completely denied—sometimes by Jerry Lee Lewis himself.
In Rick Bragg’s authorized biography, Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story, the piano-burning tale is told in vivid detail. Lewis is described lighting the fire and then playing straight through the flames, seemingly daring anyone to top him.
Yet Lewis was known to lean into the chaos of his own mythos—and to walk it back when it suited him. In a 2014 GQ article, when asked about the piano fire, Lewis, then in his late 70s, confirmed it happened… but added that he often denied it “because that’s what people want to hear.”
That admission only deepens the mystery. Was he keeping the legend alive, or finally telling the truth?
The Bass Player Says No Fire Happened
Chris Heath, who wrote the GQ piece, tried to settle it once and for all by contacting someone who would know for sure: J.W. Brown, Lewis’ bassist at the time (and father of Lewis’ teenage bride, Myra). Brown flat-out denied the story, saying:
“No, he ain’t never set no piano on fire. He tore a lot of them up.”
Coming from someone who stood beside Lewis on stage night after night, that denial carries weight—though some would say it makes the story even juicier.
Pop Culture Cemented the Legend
Whether it happened or not, the 1989 biopic Great Balls of Fire! immortalized the moment with Dennis Quaid playing a wild-eyed Jerry Lee Lewis torching a piano in front of a stunned crowd. For many fans, that is the definitive image—even if it was dreamed up in Hollywood.
So… Did He Really Do It?
Here’s what we can say for certain:
There is no photographic or video evidence of the piano-burning incident.
Jerry Lee Lewis both confirmed and denied it in various interviews.
A trusted eyewitness (J.W. Brown) says it never happened.
The story made Lewis a bigger legend—and helped fuel his outlaw rock ‘n’ roll persona.
Maybe that’s the real fire behind the myth. Whether it literally happened or not, it burned itself into music history—and in rock ‘n’ roll, sometimes the legend is more powerful than the truth.
