Jimmy Swaggart, TV Evangelist and Cousin to Jerry Lee Lewis Who Became Enmeshed in Scandal, Dies at 90

Jimmy Swaggart, a scandal-plagued Pentecostal televangelist who was known for his fire-and-brimstone sermonizing, and who waged a fiery campaign against rock ‘n’ roll even though he was the cousin of rock pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis and country star Mickey Gilley, has died at age 90.

The death was confirmed on Swaggart’s social media accounts Tuesday morning. No details were given, but Swaggart had been reported as near-death by his ministry 16 days ago, after he suffered a major coronary event on Father’s Day.

Although Gilley and Lewis were more likely to popularly referred to as the successful musicians in the family. Swaggart had a longstanding recording career of his own, albeit strictly in the traditional gospel field, as he eschewed more contemporary forms of popular music as the devil’s gateway.

Swaggart had his own pathways to the dark side, as evidenced in headlines in the 1980s and ’90s. He was first accused of soliciting prostitution in 1988, which led to his defrocking by the Assembly of God denomination. He gave a widely rebroadcast “I have sinned” speech, with famous shots of tears streaking down his face.

Having been cut loose by the AOG, he took his ministry non-denominational. But in 1991, he was pulled over in California with a woman in his car who said she was a prostitute Swaggart had picked up. But he did not confess this time, instead stepping aside as minister for a short time before returning to the pulpit.

Jimmy Swaggart Ministries claimed that he had sold 15 million copies of his albums, although there is no verification of that. His website offers more than 75 CDs for sale — including two volumes of “The Boys From Ferriday,” albums he recorded jointly with Jerry Lee Lewis.

Cousins Lewis and Gilley both died in 2022.

More to come…