50 Years Ago: Jerry Lee Lewis Shoots His Bass Player
There’s a reason Country Music Hall of Famer and rock n’ roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis carried the nickname “The Killer.” And no, it wasn’t about this particular incident, though it probably helped continue the nickname for some years after. “The Killer” came from an altercation when Jerry Lee Lewis was just a kid growing up in Ferriday, Louisiana. He got in a fight with a grown man, and Jerry Lee tried to choke the man with his necktie. It left an impression on all those that witnessed the incident.
These days, certain country performers have been ridiculed publicly, and attempted to be cancelled because they said a certain word, or because they removed a certain Satanic duo from opening for them for a couple of shows, and with pay. But back in the day, you had multiple performers face what could have been life in prison for almost killing people. George Jones and Johnny Paycheck shot at people, and so did Jerry Lee Lewis.
Depending on the account, it happened on either September 28th, or September 29th, 1977. The latter happened to be the 41st birthday of Jerry Lee Lewis, and we know for sure that was the day he was arrested, spending his birthday in the Collierville, TN City Jail.
The incident occurred at about 1:35 in the afternoon when Jerry Lee’s bass player at the time, Norman “Butch” Owens, came by the Lewis compound in Collierville (on the outskirts of Memphis) to deliver a copy of Jerry Lee’s latest album Country Class to him. Arriving with his wife, the 31-year-old bass player wasn’t expecting any trouble, and there was no indication of an argument or altercation of any kind. In fact, the scene was joyous around Jerry Lee’s 41st birthday. But perhaps, it was a little too joyous.
Just exactly how a bullet from Jerry Lee’s .357 ended up lodged in the chest of Butch Owens only inches from his heart is again a little fuzzy. Some accounts say Jerry Lee Lewis was showing the gun off, didn’t know it was loaded, and it went off accidentally. Some say that Lewis was in his bedroom aiming at a Coca-Cola bottle, shot at it, but missed by three feet, hitting Butch. Still others say that after shooting at the bottle, the bullet ricocheted, eventually ending up hitting Butch in the chest.
Either way, Butch was in the hospital, and The Killer would end up in jail. But due to the laws at the time, since Butch didn’t die, and since there was no malicious intent, the only thing they were able to charge “The Killer” with was discharging a firearm within the city limits—an otherwise minor infraction compared to attempted murder or assault with a deadly weapon. Norman “Butch” Owens would spend a month in the hospital recovering. The following year, Owens would also file a $400,000 lawsuit against Jerry Lee Lewis.
What’s for sure, Jerry Lee Lewis didn’t learn much from the incident. If anything, it sparked off a downward spiral that would result in multiple other incidents and arrests that made the back half of 1976 perhaps one of the most notorious of the music legend’s very troubled and controversy-filled life.
Less than a month later, Jerry Lee Lewis would be arrested for disorderly conduct for yelling obscenities at his neighbors, including what tuned out to be an off-duty police officer. In November, he rolled his Rolls Royce while driving drunk and ended up upside down in a ditch, charged for DUI. Less than 24 hours later, Lewis was arrested at 3:00 a.m. the gates of Graceland, trying to gain an audience with Elvis. “Tell him The Killer’s here to see him!” Lewis was quoted as saying. Elvis declined the meeting, and the cops were called.
Meanwhile, Norman “Butch” Owens went on to fully recover. He’d performed with other artists in his career, but became famous mostly for being the guy Jerry Lee Lewis shot. Owens eventually moved to Atlanta, and played bass for the rest of his life, though also worked for the Dekalb County Water and Sewer for 17 years before retiring. He died on December 19th, 2024.
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September 29, 2026 @ 12:49 pm
A born sociopath.
He found the niche profession where he could be himself and meet kindred spirits.
September 30, 2026 @ 5:07 pm
Merely proving the obvious:
That the “best” level of talent offered by most artists of today, does not even rise to the worst level of conduct provided by those of the past.
Smearing the dead on terms of such analysis not only opens the door, it also cuts both ways
September 29, 2026 @ 1:27 pm
At age 22, “Killer” married his 13 year old cousin.
September 29, 2026 @ 6:05 pm
Rollin’ and wheelin’
Typin’ and readin’, Trigg Jilm, Trigg Jilm
September 29, 2026 @ 7:22 pm
I saw Trigger cryin’ in his sleep…
September 29, 2026 @ 7:13 pm
12, if you believe Ronnie Hawkins.
September 29, 2026 @ 7:23 pm
Oh Hell, doc, she looked 13.
September 29, 2026 @ 4:57 pm
I have always loved Jerry Lee’s music while lamenting that it’s tied to such a rotten human being.
Not the only one, alas.
September 29, 2026 @ 5:02 pm
I just saw Tracy Lawrence on Friday evening at the historic, near 100-year-old Palace Theater in Albany, NY. I’d never heard of him appearing in this area before, so when it popped up on the Internet I snagged two seats in the 8th row.
Tracy was not in Jerry Lee’s league as far as nefariousness, but he used to be well-known to the police. Right when around when he got his first record deal around 1991, he was the victim of a crime, shot and almost killed in Nashville by what he said was a complete stranger in a random street crime, but one had to take the claim that he was clueless as to the identity of the shooter with a giant-size bag of salt. But then he had several domestic violence incidents and a discharge of a firearm incident where he was the one with the gun, and some misdemeanor guilty pleas.
Something that made Tracy Lawrence intereting was that in the 2000s, he started releasing songs that were clearly self-referential, though in a sly way such that people who were unaware of his personal problems would not notice. In 2001, after had had been suspended for a couple of years by his first label, Atlantic Records, he came back with “Lessons Learned,” (nominally about getting caught stealing candy as a child, and punished by his father) and “Unforgiven.” And then, in 2006, after he had been dropped by his las major label, he came back on his own private label with the CD “Ror the Love,” which contained the brilliantly “autobiographical” (though he didn’t write it) “You Find Out Who Your Friends Are,” which a few friends named Kenny, Tim (and George, in the video) helped him take to #1.
I think Tracy’s voice has lost most of what it was that made him a star, but it didn’t matter. He’s still an enthusiastic performer and the not-quite-capacity crowd loved him. In addition to all his own hits, He does a Keith Whitley song and one each from Charley Pride, Charlie Daniels and Joe Diffie in a segment that he says is about friends of his that he says we lost during the pandemic.
I was glad I drove the three hours up the Throughway from NYC to catch Tracy’s show and even got to hang out for a while with a couple of his band members after the show at McGerary’s tavern.
September 29, 2026 @ 7:45 pm
Rumors at the time claimed that Tracy was shot in a drug deal gone bad. And two ex-wives accused him of DV. Unlike JLL, TL managed to act sane in public.
September 30, 2026 @ 4:06 am
Was that the same incident where he was initially reported to have been defending a female companion against three assailants who were intending to rape her and rob them both? If I remember correctly, he was shot and severely injured then.
September 30, 2026 @ 7:00 am
Something like that. I remember it happened in a Shoneys parking lot.
September 30, 2026 @ 1:48 am
…team bonding the .357 way, i guess.
September 30, 2026 @ 6:56 am
Most of the Jerry Lee “incidents” like this involved lots of drinking. He was pleasant enough sober, but get him drinking and he was a terror. Same story with Jones and Paycheck. Truly a low moment for Lewis. I suppose it goes into the historical record like the Paycheck, Jones and Shaver gun stories. All these fellas were off the rails nuts. Crazy hillbillies with hit records, big bank accounts, lots of booze and loaded firearms. Not a great combination.
September 30, 2026 @ 9:10 am
When a hick gets money, situations like that will occur.
September 30, 2026 @ 10:10 am
Come on folks, no jokes about Middle Age Crazy?????
September 30, 2026 @ 1:16 pm
Good song… and I’m not joking.
September 30, 2026 @ 12:00 pm
Thanks for the story, Trigger.
September 30, 2026 @ 8:27 pm
There are very few artists with such a blend of raw talent, ego, cool and criminality that didn’t end up dead or in prison at a much younger age than Jerry Lee Lewis.
Yes, he married his 13-year-old second cousin at 22. His own sister was married at 12 – and only one of his surviving siblings wasn’t married to a semi-distant relative, if memory serves. Life was much, much different in 1940s and 50s Ferriday, Louisiana than it was even in the outside world of those times.
Booze, speed, bad judgment and narcissism alternately made and destroyed his career several times. Rolling Stone made a pretty compelling argument in the 1970s that he killed his wife and convinced state and local officials to cover it up, before basically retracting that statement when Jerry Lee made what would be his last comeback with the “Last Man Standing” record.
For me, there’s a very powerful mix of adoration and admiration of the music and contempt for the man who played it. And I’ll be completely honest, lately, the contempt wins most of the time. There are plenty of great artists out there who didn’t leave as much destruction and tragedy in their wake.
And yet, the minute I hear “Whole Lotta Shakin’” or “Another Place, Another Time” …