Unconquered

Three cousins, inseparably bonded through music. Each became a star; their story would become a legend. J. D. Davis's enthralling new biography of famous cousins Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Swaggart, and Mickey Gilley, born within a twelve-month span in small-town Louisiana during the Great Depression, draws from exhaustive research and personal connections with friends and family. Davis recreates the irresistible and life-changing power of music that surrounded the cousins as boys and shaped their engagingly distinct paths to fame. With three personal journeys set alongside important landmarks in pop-culture history, Davis presents a unique tale of American music centered on the trials, tribulations, and achievements of three men who remain truly Unconquered.

J. D. Davis has been a fan of the music of Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Swaggart, and Mickey Gilley much of his life. He spent several years researching the lives of these men for this book. Davis was raised in Quitman, Texas, a quiet community in the piney woods of East Texas. He earned a bachelor's degree (with highest honors) in economics from the University of Texas and later received a master's degree from SMU. A successful actuary and businessman, he achieved the rare distinction of partnership in his twenties at the firm of Milliman, where he continues to manage a large consulting practice. He has three daughters and lives near Dallas.