Still killing, not softly

Thank YOU, Robert Hilburn, so much for “It’s a Killer Comeback” [June 12]. Jerry Lee Lewis is not just another rock ‘n’ roller approaching “the end of the road”; he is arguably the seminal rock ‘n’ roller.

Listening to radio in the 1950s, it happened before our very ears. The Killer’s the real deal, as bad as it gets. He’s JLL, he’s hell when he’s well, and his music sure sounds well today.

Perhaps 30 years ago, reporter Jack Perkins was interviewing Jerry Lee and asked him when he would slow down and retire. Jerry said he’d keep on even if he had to find a little honky-tonk bar somewhere with two or three people in it. Perkins replied that surely he did not expect to be performing when he was 80; Jerry Lee said, “How do you know?”

Rock on, Killer.

Gene Garvey

Fredericksburg, Va.