Much of the world is mourning the death of comic legend Jerry Lewis, but Google could be causing a lot of grief for Jerry Lee Lewis fans.
It seems many people are confusing the two showbiz legends ― and Google search results aren’t helping any.
As of Tuesday afternoon, a search for “Jerry Lee Lewis death” incorrectly indicated that the man known for singing “Whole Lot Of Shaking Going On” died Sunday in Las Vegas.
And even simply searching for “Jerry Lee Lewis” brought up biographical information that erroneously listed the 81-year-old rock legend’s death as Aug. 20, 2017.
Wrong!
Jerry Lee Lewis is alive and well, according to his son, Jerry Lee Lewis III, who posted this photo of the man known as “the Killer” getting ready to watch Monday’s solar eclipse.
Confusion between the two was rampant following Jerry Lewis’ death at the age of 91.
CNN’s obituary for the comedian initially had the singer’s name in the headline. The article has since been corrected, but not before screenshots immortalized the error.
Others made the same mistake, including musician Charlie Daniels, who posted a now-deleted tribute tweet before posting this one acknowledging his error.
Jerry Lee Lewis will prove that he’s alive and kicking Thursday night. He’ll be performing at a tribute concert in Nashville that will feature appearances by Toby Keith, Chris Stapleton, Lee Ann Womack and George Strait, according to People.
The concert will be live streamed at Skyville Live starting at 9 p.m. ET.
Meanwhile, the singer’s son has been gently correcting grieving fans while offering condolences to the comedian’s family.
The younger Lewis admits the confusion has been a headache for him because “I’ve got to correct it,” but said his dad is slightly amused.
“I wouldn’t say he’s laughing about it, out of respect to Jerry Lewis’ family, but he’s OK with it,” he told HuffPost.
Both entertainers were popular in the ’50s and their paths crossed a few times.
“I know Dad did the telethon at least once,” Lewis said. “There’s really been no confusion in the past. People knew one was a comedian and one was a singer. Well, until this weekend anyway.”
At least one fan tried to see the confusion in a positive way.
This story has been updated to include comment from Jerry Lee Lewis III.
CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article incorrectly referred to Jerry Lewis as “Jerry Lee” on one reference.
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