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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