Unconquered: The Saga of Cousins Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Swaggart, and Mickey Gilley

by J. D. Davis

Overview

“Engaging . . . [a] biography of three men bound by blood, music, and a lifelong struggle to strike a balance between the sacred and secular.”—Publishers Weekly

Three cousins, inseparably bonded through music. Each became a star; their story would become a legend. J. D. Davis’s enthralling new biography of famous cousins Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Swaggart, and Mickey Gilley, born within a twelve-month span in small-town Louisiana during the Great Depression, draws from exhaustive research and personal connections with friends and family. Davis recreates the irresistible and life-changing power of music that surrounded the cousins as boys and shaped their engagingly distinct paths to fame. With three personal journeys set alongside important landmarks in pop-culture history, Davis presents a unique tale of American music centered on the trials, tribulations, and achievements of three men who remain truly Unconquered.

A ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Award Honorable Mention for Biography

“This is a good read, and not just for the hard-core fan. It will appeal to anyone interested in the dynamics of rock ’n’ roll, country music, and evangelical Christianity and what happens when the aesthetics and lifestyles of those three worlds collide. Highly recommended.”—Library Journal

“God, the devil, and everything in between. This book is a great representation of the duality plane on which we exist.'”—Leon Russell, legendary musician, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member

“Unconquered clearly depicts the fascinating story of three great musical artists who were cousins in real life but icons in the world of music. Each man conquered life’s roadblocks to achieve his ultimate goals.”—Tom Schedler, former Louisiana Secretary of State

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612540757
Publisher:	Brown Books Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/21/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	488
Sales rank:	382,735
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

J. D. Davis has been a fan of the music of Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Swaggart, and Mickey Gilley much of his life. He spent several years researching the lives of these men for this book. Davis was raised in Quitman, Texas, a quiet community in the piney woods of East Texas. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from UT and later received a master's degree from SMU. A successful businessman and entrepreneur, he achieved the rare distinction of partnership in his twenties at a major actuarial consulting firm, where he continues to manage a large practice. He has three daughters and lives near Dallas.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

1 Anticipation 1

2 Showtime 5

3 Family Ties 13

4 Moonshine 21

5 Births 26

6 Early Death 28

7 More Hardship 31

8 That Old-Time Religion 38

9 Conquered Unconquered 51

10 Music 61

11 Mothers and Sons 77

12 Eady Performances 90

13 First Wives and First Forays 96

14 Birth of Rock 'n' Roll 114

15 Crazy Arms 130

16 Making lt 134

17 Mickey Gets Inspired 141

18 Jimmy's Woes 146

19 Myra Gale 152

20 The Devil's Music 155

21 Trouble All Around 161

22 Traveling Preacher 167

23 Nesadel 171

24 The Evangelists 173

25 Breaking Through 179

26 Club Regular 182

27 Downtime 188

28 The Climb Back 195

29 Satisfaction 207

30 Rage and Partying 212

31 Things Are Looking Up 218

32 Using His Talent for God 228

33 All This Heartbreak 233

34 Mickey Returns to the Studio 238

35 Playing with Guns 248

36 Squeaky Clean 253

37 Deeper and Deeper 259

38 Urban Cowboy 272

39 Not One to Wallow 282

40 Struggle Amid Success 288

41 Building Pressure 299

42 Calm Before the Storm 319

43 The Aftermath 325

44 The Reckoning 334

45 Burnout 344

46 Defiance 355

47 The Step Too Far 364

48 Holding Court 373

49 Stygian Night 378

50 Last Man Standing 382

51 Going Home 390

52 Mickey's Spirit 398

53 Jimmy's Redemption 412

54 Survival 420

Appendix A Summarized Family Tree 429

Appendix B Maps 430

Appendix C Time Line of Events 433

Appendix D Author's Favorite Songs 441

Acknowledgments 445

Bibliography 447

Index 461

About the Author

What People are Saying About This

Neal McCoy

Being from the South and also in the music business, this book gave me a great insight into how these three guys grew up as cousins, as well as what made them choose the paths that eventually turned them all into the hugely successful business men that the entire world knows and loves. (Neal McCoy, country music artist)

Tom Schedler

Unconquered clearly depicts the fascinating story of three great musical artists who were cousins in real life but icons in the world of music. Each man conquered life's roadblocks to achieve his ultimate goals. (Tom Schedler, Louisiana Secretary of State)

Leon Russell

God, the devil, and everything in between. This book is a great representation of the duality plane on which we exist. (Leon Russell, legendary musician, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member)

Editorial Reviews

First-time author Davis delivers an engaging if longwinded biography of three men bound by blood, music, and a lifelong struggle to strike a balance between the sacred and secular. As cousins, rock ‘n' roll pianist Jerry Lee Lewis, televangelist and gospel singer Jimmy Swaggart, and country music star Mickey Gilley grew up during the Great Depression in the small town of Ferriday, Louisiana. While Jerry's piano skills were evident early on, Jimmy's talents weren't. He was a reluctant churchgoer, preferring to gamble and steal during his pre-pulpit years. Mickey meanwhile emerged as Ferriday's favorite son and the most likable of the cousins. Davis covers many familiar stories, including Jerry's marriage to his 13-year-old cousin once removed in 1957, Jimmy's infamous infidelities that almost brought down his ministry in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, and Mickey's years as co-owner of the nightclub that bore his surname and inspired 1980's hit movie Urban Cowboy, starring John Travolta. Davis acknowledges that Jerry and Jimmy were "reluctant to participate directly" in the book, though that doesn't stop the author from occasionally imagining himself in their shoes, and despite some contrived dialogue and excessive foreshadowing, this 3-in-1 bio is nevertheless an entertaining and epic story of perseverance and the power of family ties. Photos. (May)

Publishers Weekly