Lewis Ranch Experience lets fans see the life they “didn’t get to live.”

Photo: Todd Allen and Angel Herendeen, new owners of the Lewis Ranch Experience, the home of the late music legend Jerry Lee Lewis, on Malone Road in Nesbit. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)

Sep 29, 2024- There’s been a bit of celebration in recent days about the life of a music legend who chose to make DeSoto County his home. 

Jerry Lee Lewis, aka The Killer, whose rock and roll and country music sounds thrilled millions of fans during his life, made the Lewis Ranch on Malone Road in Nesbit his residence up to his death in October 2022.  

Since then, entertainer Todd Allen Herendeen and his wife Angel have purchased the Lewis Ranch, and working with the Lewis family through the summer are transforming the home into the Lewis Ranch Experience.

After a ribbon cutting event on Sept. 21 and a Birthday Bash Saturday to celebrate Jerry Lee’s Sept. 29 birthdate, the ranch is now open for those with even a casual musical interest to discover about the life of the music legend.  

“Jerry’s the one who’s gonna bring them here,” Todd Herendeen said about the home, a museum and tribute to Jerry Lee. “ His music and his fame will bring him to see how he lived. Fans will get to experience what they didn’t get to live.”

Lewis signed with Sun Records in 1956 and was among the megastars of the time to record with the Memphis-based studio, joining the likes of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins. 

Graceland honors Presley and Herendeen feels the Lewis Ranch becomes a proper honor for Lewis.  

“Jerry’s kind of the missing piece of the whole Memphis music scene,” he said. “You know, you got Sun Studio, you got Graceland, there’s Johnny Cash museums, but now Jerry Lee has his own and so I think it fills out that Memphis music scene.”

Herendeen said he did a show with Lewis in 1999. A fan of Jerry Lee, Todd said he became even more of a fan after that show and got to know him better after that. The Herendeens had been through the home, built in 1967 and purchased in 1973 by Lewis. 

After Jerry Lee’s death, Herendeen said he and Angel came through and visited the residence in April, and Herendeen said it broke his heart to see the condition of the property.  

“The grass was knee high, trees were dying and limbs were falling in,” Herendeen said. “I thought the great Jerry Lee Lewis doesn’t have a museum. His home is getting in ruins. I want to do something.” Herendeen set out to buy Lewis’ Cadillac and restore it, but ended up buying the home as well, and then convince the family that what they planned to do with it would actually happen.  

“I convinced them that we were real and that we were going to see it through,” Todd said. “I think they finally realized that we’re going to do it.”  

What visitors will find at the Lewis Ranch will include the many awards Jerry Lee received during his life, lifetime achievement awards and Grammys the public had never been able to see before.  

“They weren’t really allowed to see the (piano-shaped swimming) pool before because there was no railing around it,” Herendeen said. “We have the car back on property and the piano sidewalk up to the pool.” 

There also is Lewis’ gold grand piano, which is on loan from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. All of the bedrooms, which were closed to the public before, are now open for viewing.  

Herendeen believes the legacy and attraction of Jerry Lee’s music is timeless and the Lewis Ranch should attract music fans of all generations.  

“Graceland draws a fairly young crowd, and we have found out that a younger group of people love Sun Studio so they tend to know who Jerry Lee Lewis was, but they’re somewhat fascinated with it,” Herendeen said. “This just ties it together.”

Todd added the rockabilly style of music that Jerry Lee offered draws in a younger crowd and those fans will want to come see where the “Killer” lived.  

The home is now open for tours and visitors can log into The Lewis Ranch Experience website for online tickets. Call 662-806-4702 for more information on tickets. Walk up visitors to the ranch, located at 1595 Malone Road in Nesbit, are also welcome to buy tickets on site. Once at the ranch, visitors will see a short video before they walk up to the home for the tour. From there visitors will be able to return to the welcome center to purchase souvenirs and such before they leave.