From marrying his 13-year-old cousin to getting arrested for drunkenly waving a loaded pistol outside of Elvis Presley's Graceland, pioneering rocker (and eventual country star) Jerry Lee Lewis did plenty of highly controversial things over the course of his life and career...but one incident stands out as particularly shocking.
Lewis was in the midst of his own 41st birthday celebrations on Sept. 29, 1976, when the party got a bit out of hand and he "accidentally" shot his bass player, Norman Owens, twice in the chest, according to The Guardian.
As to what exactly happened, accounts vary: Some say he was using his .357 Magnum to shoot holes in his office door for fun, according to The Current, while others claim he was doing a bit of indoor target practice with a soda bottle.
"I'm going to shoot that Coca-Cola bottle over there or my name ain't Jerry Lee Lewis," he said, according to The New York Times.
Thankfully, Owens survived, but he did go on to sue Lewis. Lewis was arrested and charged later with shooting a firearm within city limits.
How Jerry Lee Lewis got the nickname 'Killer'
As with many of the details associated with his legacy, the story of how Lewis got his famed nickname of "Killer" differs depending on who's telling it.
According to one account, his mother gave him the moniker after Lewis started playing the piano at the age of seven and started busking around the South with his father, telling her son to "Kill 'em dead," per the BBC.
Others say he got the name after trying to choke an adult man with his own necktie when he was just a schoolboy in his hometown of Ferriday, Louisiana, as American Songwriter reported.
However he ended up being called "Killer," one thing's for sure: The nickname stuck with Lewis for the rest of his life.
Related: Pink Floyd Once Stayed With This '70s Shock Rocker and Things Got 'Weird'
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