ROCK ’n’ roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis has been discharged from a hospital to a rehabilitation center in Memphis, Tennessee, two weeks after suffering a stroke, his publicist said Monday, quoting his doctor as saying Lewis is expected to fully recover.

However, the health setback has forced Lewis, 83, to cancel some upcoming appearances, spokesman Zack Farnum said. Farnum quoted the performer’s neurologist, Dr. Rohini Bhole, as saying the prognosis for Lewis was promising.

It was in Memphis that Lewis got his big start in the recording business at Sun Records in the 1950s, with the likes of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash.

Lewis, nicknamed “The Killer,” was among the very first class of musicians inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and his raucous piano style on such hits as “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” was essential in shaping the early sound of rock.

But his career has also been overshadowed by scandals, including a marriage, in his early 20s, to his 13-year-old cousin, his accidental shooting of his bass player in 1976 and costly battles with the Internal Revenue Service. (SD-Agencies)