Jerry Lee Lewis was a rock 'n' roll star. But his career went south when he married his cousin.

Today the world remembers Jerry Lee Lewis as one of the greatest rock 'n' roll artists of all time.

The singer passed away, aged 87, just days after false reports of his death had been made.

"Judith, his seventh wife, was by his side when he passed away at his home in DeSoto County, Mississippi, south of Memphis," the statement read, per BBC.

"He told her, in his final days, that he welcomed the hereafter, and that he was not afraid."

While fellow musicians from across the world, such as Elton John and Ringo Starr, share their condolences, others are remembering the incredible life Lewis lived.

The 'Great Balls Of Fire' singer started performing in the early 1950s, in his late teens. By the time he was 21, he had begun recording with the likes of Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash.

But Lewis had a storied private life, and his career took a nosedive in the late 1950s, when he married Myra Gale Brown.

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Lewis has been married seven times; twice before eloping with Brown. 

The singer married his first wife, Dorothy Barton, when he was just 16. She was the daughter of a preacher, and their union lasted just 20 months, ending in October 1953.

He re-married soon after, also in 1953. However, the validity of the marriage was questionable, as he wed Jane Mitchum 23 days before his divorce from Barton was finalised. Despite this, the pair remained married for four years, and had two sons together.

Brown was Lewis' first cousin once-removed. The daughter of J.W. Brown, Lewis' cousin, the pair developed a romantic relationship when the singer came to live with her family.

Although there was some controversy surrounding their involvement because Lewis and Mitchum's divorce was not yet finalised, it was mostly scrutinised given Brown's young age. 

She was just 13 when they eloped.

Myra Brown in the 1960s. Image: Getty.

Brown joined Lewis on his tour of England following their 1957 nuptials. 

It was thought to be an exciting time for Lewis: Elvis Presley had just been drafted into the military, meaning he had less competition in the rock 'n' roll scene.

A journalist who witnessed their arrival at Heathrow Airport asked who Brown was, after spotting the young teen among Lewis' entourage.

She revealed she was Lewis' wife, which led to considerable tabloid commentary.

"I could so easily have said, 'I’m J.W. Brown’s daughter'," Brown later said when reflecting on the day.

"Because that was the truth! If anybody had told me anything, I could have prevented this... But they didn’t, and I didn’t, and the rest is history, I guess."

After just a few shows, Lewis' tour was cancelled, with the British press calling him a 'cradle robber' and a 'baby snatcher'. 

Fellow singer, Kris Kristofferson, who was also in the UK at the time, remembered the way Lewis was treated.

"I was in England when they ran him out of the country," Kristofferson said.

"And it really seemed unfair to me, because he had no idea he was doing anything wrong. He went immediately from being a guy who made $10,000 a night to a guy who didn’t make $100 a night."

The negative press continued as Lewis and Brown returned to the United States, with people focusing on both Brown’s age and the fact that they had married before Lewis' last divorce was finalised. It led to a drop in ticket sales for Lewis, damaging his income.

The couple tried to repair Lewis' image by remarrying in a ceremony shortly after his divorce was finalised, and even moving in with Brown's parents once more. 

However, it’s thought that his rock 'n' roll career was forever marred by his marriage to Brown.

After the controversy in the UK, Lewis could no longer find success performing rock 'n' roll music, and found he had to pivot into country music instead.

"It was really the first scandal of rock 'n' roll," Brown said in an interview with Georgia’s Gwinnett Daily Post in 2016. 

"What was happening back then, rock 'n' roll was coming on very, very strong. The preachers hated it. The radio stations that didn’t play it hated it. They called it the devil’s music. It was crude and rude and ridiculous what it was doing to the teenagers. Little did they know what it was going to turn into," she reflected.

“"he press made me out to be a seductive Lolita, which was as far from the truth as it gets. Remember, gossip is not gospel," Lewis wrote on Instagram in 2015.

“What I wanted was a baby in my arms, a home, a husband, a kitchen to cook in, a yard to raise roses," Brown said. Image: Getty.

At 13, Brown didn’t see anything wrong with her marriage to Lewis. 

Around the same time, Elvis Presley was involved with Priscilla Beaulieu, who was 14 when she met him. They would later marry.

"My generation was taught to hide under our desk when the bomb came, so you always had in the back of your mind that any minute, any day, life could come to an end," Brown once said in an interview.

"What I wanted was a baby in my arms, a home, a husband, a kitchen to cook in, a yard to raise roses. My little brother was born because I begged my parents for a baby at ten years old."

Lewis and Brown were married for 13 years.

During that time, Brown gave birth to two children - Steven Allen Lewis, who drowned at age three, and Phoebe Lewis, who would go on to become her father's manager for a time.

In 1970, Brown filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery and abuse after hiring a private investigator to tail her husband. 

Despite the end of their marriage, the pair remained close as they co-parented Phoebe. And when Phoebe went on to manage Lewis, Brown would see him when she visited her daughter.

However, things became strained between the pair when Lewis began a relationship with his final wife, Judith Brown.

Judith was married to Brown's brother, Rusty, who was just a small child when Brown and Lewis tied the knot. Lewis had been struggling with his health, and Judith had agreed to care for him at the request of Rusty.

"Since his marriage a few years ago to my ex-sister-in-law, who wasn't an ex yet when they got together (yes, you read that correctly), Phoebe quit working for him and I haven’t seen him since," Brown said in another Instagram post.

"He’s no longer part of my life. I find living is nice and calm this way."

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Brown, now 78, found some success as a writer, publishing the book Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis, in 1982. 

The book was adapted into the 1989 film Great Balls of Fire!, starring Dennis Quaid and Winona Ryder.

She also released a memoir, The Spark That Survived, in 2016.

She has not commented on the death of her ex-husband.

Feature Image: Getty.