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Jerry Lee Lewis Bassist J. W. Brown's 1955 Fender

Currency:USD Category:Memorabilia Start Price:12.00 USD Estimated At:45,000.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
Jerry Lee Lewis Bassist J. W. Brown's 1955 Fender
<B>Jerry Lee Lewis Bassist J. W. Brown's 1955 Fender Bass</B></I>. In 1957, a young studio musician named Jerry Lee Lewis went into Sam Phillips' Memphis studio with his uncle J.W. Brown on bass, Jimmy Van Eaton on drums, and Roland Janes on guitar, and cut a rock version of a song called "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On". The rest, as they say, is history. Here is the 1955 Fender bass guitar played by Brown behind Lewis on stage, in recordings and in the film, <I>High School Confidential</B></I> (1958). J. W. Brown is famous for another reason as he was the father of Myra Gale Brown, the 13 year old cousin that Jerry Lee married in the late 1950s. Though his inner circle recommended keeping the marriage quiet, Lewis insisted on taking his child bride with him on a trip to England. The British press found out about the marriage and pounded him, causing Lewis' early return to the U.S., where word had spread like wildfire. His career fell apart even quicker than it had risen and it took years for Lewis to get back to the level of stardom he once had. This lot includes a number of photos of J. W. Brown holding, playing and signing this rare old Fender bass. Also included are photos from a Smithsonian-sponsored exhibition featuring this bass and a letter from the Smithsonian Curator of Cultural History mentioning it.