Jerry Lee Lewis weds for 7th time in Mississippi
JACKSON, Miss. >> Rock ‘n’ roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis has married for a seventh time in Mississippi, and the new bride is his cousin’s ex-wife.
The Adams County circuit clerk’s office said the marriage license shows Lewis was married March 9 to Judith Ann Coghlan Brown in Natchez, Miss. The 76-year-old Lewis, also known as "The Killer," is famous for top hits like "Great Balls of Fire" and "Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On."
The bride, who is in her early 60s, was previously married to one of Lewis’ cousins and was close to his daughter, Phoebe Lewis, said the bride’s sister, Carolyn Coghlan Gremillion of Madison. She said Brown started working for Lewis several years ago as his caretaker.
Gremillion said the wedding was small. The only guests were Gremillion and her husband, and Lewis’ sister and her husband.
"She’s real happy," Gremillion told The Associated Press on Friday. "They have a really very loving relationship. I guess she’s probably really taken better care of him than anybody."
Gremillion said Lewis had a wild reputation when he was younger, but: "He’s a very different man now. You know how people change as they grow older. He’s a very spiritual man."
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Calls to the Lewis home in Nesbit reached a voice mailbox that was full. Lewis’ daughter lives with him.
Judith Brown was previously married to Lewis’ cousin Rusty. They divorced in 2010.
Rusty’s older sister, Myra Gale Brown, married Lewis in 1957 when she was 13 and was his third wife. That marriage caused shockwaves for Lewis’ career.
Lewis’ last marriage ended in 2004 when he divorced Kerrie McCarver after 20 years together.
In 2010, Lewis announced a book deal with It Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.
Alberto Rojas, director of publicity for It Books, said Friday that the book deal is still on and that the memoir will be released in 2013.
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Associated Press writers Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson and Stacey Plaisance in New Orleans contributed to this story.