For a brief time, in 1958, he was a contender to replace Presley as rock's number one, after Elvis was drafted into the army.

 

But while Lewis toured in England, the press discovered he was married to 13-year-old (possibly even 12-year-old) Myra Gale Brown. She was his cousin, and he was still married to his previous wife.

His tour was cancelled, he was blacklisted from the radio, and his earnings dropped overnight to virtually nothing.

"I probably would have rearranged my life a little bit different, but I never did hide anything from people," Lewis told the Wall Street Journal in 2014 when asked about the marriage. "I just went on with my life as usual."

'Mental cruelty'

Over the following decades, Lewis, who was married seven times, struggled with drug and alcohol abuse, legal disputes and physical illness.

Brown divorced him in the early 1970s, and would later allege physical and mental cruelty that nearly drove her to suicide.

"If I was still married to Jerry, I'd probably be dead by now," she told People magazine in 1989.

Lewis reinvented himself as a country performer in the 1960s, and the music industry eventually forgave him.

He won three Grammys, and recorded with some of the industry's greatest stars, including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Sheryl Crow and Tim McGraw.

Lewis had six children. One son, Steve Allen Lewis, drowned in a swimming pool in 1962 aged three, and another, Jerry Lee Jr, died in a traffic accident at 19 in 1973.

Among tributes paid to the musician was one from Elton John who remembered him as a "trailblazing inspiration".

The veteran musician, who has previously cited Lewis as an influence for his love of the piano, shared a photo of them together on his Instagram.

He wrote: "Without Jerry Lee Lewis, I wouldn't have become who I am today.

"He was groundbreaking and exciting, and he pulverised the piano.

"A brilliant singer too. Thank you for your trailblazing inspiration and all the rock n' roll memories."

The Country Music Association tweeted: "It is with great sadness we've learned about the passing of Jerry Lee Lewis, who was just inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame this month."