They Bet the Farm on His Talent
From the moment he was born, Elmo and Marnie Lewis knew they had a talented son. The believed in him so much that they were willing to bet their farm on it. At the time, their little boy Jerry Lee was only nine years old and had already taught himself how to play piano and started belting out songs.
Jerry Lee Lewis. Photo by Dezo Hoffman / Shutterstock
He loved to imitate some of the musicians that played around his town in Ferriday, Louisiana, back in the 1940s. Since his family wasn’t rich, his parents decided to remortgage their farm. That way, they could get their son his own piano. It was a pretty good bet; he certainly made his parents proud.