EXCLUSIVE: Great balls of junk! Rock & roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis tries to sell off Mason jars and a bag of bottle caps - as well as his cream-colored Rolls Royce - for lofty prices at yard sale on his Mississippi ranch
- Hundreds of people descended on Jerry Lee Lewis's Mississippi estate on Friday as the legendary musician held a yard sale at his home
- Known as 'The Killer,' Jerry Lee, now 80, is best known for his 1957 hit 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On' followed by 'Great Balls of Fire'
- Everything was on sale from $1 Mason jars to the legend's cream-colored Rolls Royce Corniche
- Some visitors were disappointed by the overpriced items as well as the stuff that could be seen at any yard sale across the country
- Many visitors walked out with something nonetheless, and had a chance to visit The Lewis Ranch, which has been closed to the public since 2005
- Jerry Lee Lewis decided to de-clutter his life, but his son insisted the ranch won't be on the market any time soon
It could have been a 'Killer' of a yard sale but the hundreds of people who descended on Jerry Lee Lewis's Mississippi estate on Friday mostly walked away disappointed.
The genuine mementos belonging to the rock & roll great, known as 'The Killer' who belted out Great Balls of Fire as he pounded his piano, seemed greatly overpriced for the bargain hunters hoping for some rock and roll history on the cheap while the rest could have been bought at any yard sale anywhere in the country.
Still, most walked out with something - and at least they had the chance to visit the Lewis Ranch, which closed to the public in 2005 after Jerry Lee divorced his sixth wife Kerrie.
'The price is ridiculous,' admitted Holly Renee Seymour, who splurged $75 on what she described as a 'project piece' three-tier table. 'But it's not everyday you can say you bought something from a legend.'
Hundreds of people dug through belongings - including $1 Mason jars - of Rock and Roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis at his ranch in Nesbit, Mississippi on Friday
The genuine mementos belonging to the rock & roll great, known as 'The Killer' who belted out Great Balls of Fire as he pounded his piano, seemed greatly overpriced for the bargain hunters
Offers were welcome for an old black car seat. A bag of bottle caps - from pop bottles drunk by the music legend himself - were tagged at $100
Clothes worn by the Killer himself in public went from $250 to $500 all with certificates of authentication. Pictured above, Memphis singer songwriter Mark Edgar Stuart, looks over belongings at the estate sale
Items included clothes worn by Jerry Lee Lewis himself over the years. A show jacket from the Class of 55 (pictured in white) was the top item of clothing at $15,000
The expensive white show jacket is seen here, next to a pair of blue jeans
Seymour, 42, said she would get some old Sun Label records and perhaps some silver notes to turn the table into a joint Elvis/Jerry Lee tribute to take pride of place in her home in nearby Hernando, Mississippi.
For
her, the trip was special. As a college student she had sneaked into a
private party at the New Daisy Theater on Beale Street in Memphis to
watch Lewis play.
'That must have been 20 years ago, and now it's come to this,' she said.
Some photos of the musician, who is now 80 years old, were among the display
Records from Carl Perkins (left and right) were also showcased
A Roy Orbison record (right) had a price tag of $75
Jerry
Lee, 80, decided to de-clutter his life, and everything was on sale
from $1 Mason jars and $5 tea kettles to the legend's cream-colored
Rolls Royce Corniche.
'We'd
take offers of over $100,000 on the Rolls,' said son Jerry Lee Lewis
III, before pausing. 'Actually, we'd take $100,000,' he added.
'We have a 1941 Ford as well for $75,000. He doesn't really want to get rid of that, that's why the price is so high.'
The Great Balls of Fire singer was nowhere to be seen, although seventh wife Judith personally ran the cash register.
'We're doing well,' she said, as she tried to offload a Ziploc bag full of old Coke and Sprite bottle tops for $100.
The music legend's cream-colored Rolls Royce Corniche was put on sale for $100,000 at Friday's estate sale
Jerry Lee Lewis lll (left) talks with customers at the ranch of rock 'n roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis in Nesbit on Friday
Jerry Lee Lewis lll originally said he would 'take offers of over $100,000 on the Rolls', then said he would also take offers of $100,000
Jerry Lee Lewis also put his 1941 Ford (pictured) up for sale at the estate sale on Friday. He set it at a price of $75,000
Jerry Lee Lewis' son said the price for the Ford was set so high because 'he doesn't really want to get rid of that'
This view shows the car's Mississippi license plate and indicates that it's an antique vehicle
The interior of the iconic musician's 1941 Ford is revealed in this snap
Jerry Lee Lewis, 80, was not seen at the estate sale, but his son, Jerry Lee Lewis III at left helped customers
'Every one of these bottles was drunk personally by Jerry Lee Lewis,' she said, explaining the steep price.Judith wasn't sure how many bottle caps were in the bag, although she said her husband had counted them when he filled it. 'I use them to decorate,' she said. 'The green and the red and silver are all good around Christmas time.'She promised there are hundreds more caps in the house, but Jerry would only allow her to put the one bag on sale.Fans had come from far and wide for the sale. Terry Bender drove 11 hours through the night from St Augustine, Florida, and ended up with a beat-up barber's chair with Jerry Lee III said had been in his father's bathroom for 20 years.So what did Bender plan to do with the chair, which he managed to bargain down from $1,000 to $800? 'My mom has a beauty salon,' he explained.'But I don't know if it is going to go there! I play guitar and I just love the idea of sitting in Jerry Lee Lewis's chair strumming along.'A battered red armchair was on offer for $100. Boxes of toddler's clothing was on offer at $2 a piece. Clothes worn by the Killer himself in public went from $250 to $500 all with certificates of authentication. A show jacket from the Class of 55 was the top item of clothing at $15,000.The sale was held in a large shed 100 yards from the ranch that Jerry Lee calls home. The provenance of some items was not so certain. Smack in the middle sat an old black car seat.'I don't know where that one comes from,' admitted Jerry Lee III - who goes by the name Lee. 'It must be from one of his old cars, but we no longer have it, so we thought we'd see if we can sell the seat.'
Memorabilia including old photographs of Jerry Lee Lewis throughout the years were featured during the estate sale. They were not autographed
Estate sale visitor Holly Renee Seymour bought furniture and records to make into a project piece for her home
An autographed copy of the musician's autobiography, Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story, was one of the hundreds of items on sale on Friday
Betty Sternburgh, 60, who lives in Nesbit, just a few miles from The Lewis Ranch, walked away with a bargain, a salad bowl. 'It was priced at $50,' she told Daily Mail Online. 'But then a lady came up to me and said I could have it for five.'I wasn't going to argue,' added Sternburgh, who also bought a pair of colorful sandals for another $5.Sternburgh said she had met Jerry Lee once in a nearby Kroger supermarket when he was shopping with Kerrie, Jerry Lee III's mother.'He was saying he wanted to get some shrimp,' she said. 'But Kerrie told him, 'You don't eat shrimp. What do you know about shrimp? You've never eaten shrimp'.'I just remember thinking how odd it was. Who doesn't know about shrimp?'For most the estate sale was a chance to buy something that had once belonged to someone famous.
Rockabilly fan, Kyler Campbell (left) and Daniel Jenkins wait for an estate sale to begin
Campbell and Jenkins were certainly dressed in a retro style
Sandra Haben of Byhalia, Mississippi, bought a regular glass pitcher. Nothing about it said it was once Jerry Lee Lewis's. 'But I can always tell people where I got it,' she said.Kyler Campbell, 20, just wanted the chance to go on the grounds of The Lewis Ranch, so he viewed the day out as more of a pilgrimage.He is working as Elvis Presley's body double in Million Dollar Quartet, a TV series now filming in nearby Memphis about the famed 1956 collaboration between Presley, Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash.'I drive by his house all the time,' said Campbell. 'I just want to look around, I'd love to meet him.'For Campbell, Lewis, the only surviving member of the quartet, represents a lost time.'I love everything about the '50s,' he said. 'It was a better era, the cars were better, the women dressed better, and life was much simpler. I want to embrace that and bring it back.'That was a view held by many in the 200-strong crowd that had amassed by the time the gates to the ranch opened at 8 am sharp on Friday.
Jerry Lee Lewis's son denied rumors that the red-brick, six-bedroom ranch set on 30 acres of land would also soon be on the market
The Killer remained behind closed doors of his ranch house in Nesbit, Mississippi during the sale
A man at the front of the line appears to peek through the gates
Hundreds of people lined up outside of the ranch on Friday in hopes of snatching up a bit of rock 'n roll history at the estate sale
The sale included furniture, clothing and everyday items belonging to Jerry Lee Lewis, as well as memorabilia
Estate sale visitors dig through personal possessions - including Jerry Lee Lewis's records and head shots
CW Hasty, 49, from Kansas City, proudly showed off the elaborate tattoo on his calf, which depicts icons of the era including Cash, Patsy Cline and the sign from Ernest Tubb's record shop in Nashville.'It cost me, probably three grand,' said Hasty. But just as he was explaining his ink, another man on line broke the news that Tubb's store had closed in March.'Oh, that's such a shame,' said Hasty, who plays stand-up bass in the band Johnny Riley and the Delta Beats.
A customer leaves with the refrigerator of Jerry Lee Lewis as hundreds of people rummage through belongings at the ranch of the rock 'n roll legend
Autographs from Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash (left) and Elvis Presley (right) were included in the sale
Many records were on sale for fans wanting a musical souvenir from the Killer
Jerry Lee III said the two-day sale was just to get rid of items that his father no longer needed.'After 80 years of life and 50 years of touring all over the world, he has just acquired so much stuff,' he said. 'Its time to let some of it go.'He denied rumors that the red-brick, six-bedroom ranch set on 30 acres of land would also soon be on the market.
A rock and roll fan in line had a tattoo of Johnny Cash on his calf, this photo reveals
Police wait outside the ranch of Jerry Lee Lewis early Friday morning
Jerry Lee Lewis'seventh wife Judith, sitting at the table with sunglasses, personally ran the cash register
Jerry Lee Lewis has lived a tumultuous life filled with tragedy. He was first married at 16, and his second wedding took place three weeks before his first divorce came through.But the biggest scandal came in 1958 when he secretly tied the knot for the third time with his 13-year-old cousin, Myra.When news of that marriage broke, Lewis was essentially blacklisted and his skyrocketing rock and roll career, which had seen top ten hits including Great Balls of Fire, Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On and Breathless, screeched to a halt.Jerry Lee's fourth and fifth wives both died mysteriously while divorce proceedings were pending and it was only Kerrie, who brought stability to his life with their 20-year marriage that ended in 2004. He married Judith in 2012.
Piles of pictures of Jerry Lee Lewis were included in the items from the estate sale of Jerry Lee Lewis. His son Lee said he had wanted everyone to be able to afford a little something to take home, so the items offered had a wide range of value
A number of Jerry Lee Lewis records are seen together
Regular household goods, including a variety of travel mugs, were included in the items for sale
The sale was held in a large shed 100 yards from the ranch that Jerry Lee calls home
Two of his six children also died accidentally. Son Steve was just three years old when drowned in a swimming pool and Jerry Lee Jr was killed when his Jeep overturned when he was 19.Now the Killer spends most of his time at the Nesbit ranch. Jerry Lee III said he is still playing although shoulder problems have cramped his style.
Jerry Lee III said the two-day sale was just to get rid of items that his father no longer needed
He said his father wanted to go down to the sale but Mississippi's June heat and humidity may keep him from it.And the way things were flying off the shelves early-Friday could preclude a visit.'Everyone who has an estate sale hopes everything goes quickly so we don't have to do it again tomorrow,' Jerry Lee III said.
Jerry Lee Lewis (pictured left in 1962 and right in 1957) saw top ten hits including Great Balls of Fire, Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On and Breathless over his career. Now he spends most of his time at the Nesbit ranch, and his son said he is still playing although shoulder problems have cramped his style