James Travis Reeves (August
20, 1923–July 31, 1964) was an American
country and pop music
singer-songwriter popular in the 1950s and 1960s who also gained a
wide international following for his pioneering smooth Nashville sound. Known as
Gentleman Jim, his songs continued to chart for years following his
death at age 40 in a private airplane crash.
He is a member of the
Country
Music
and Texas Country Music
halls of fame.
Biography
Jim Reeves
was born in Galloway, Texas, a small
rural community near Carthage
.
Winning an
athletic scholarship to the University of Texas
, he enrolled to study speech and drama, but dropped
out after six weeks to work at the shipyards in Houston
. Soon
he returned to baseball, playing in the semi-professional leagues
before signing with the
St. Louis
Cardinals farm team in 1944 as a right-handed pitcher. He
stayed in the minor leagues for three years before severing his
sciatic nerve on the pitching mound and ending his athletic
career.
Reeves began to work as a DJ, and sang live between songs. In the
late 1940s, he was signed to a couple of small Texas-based record
labels, but with no success. Influenced by such Western swing
artists as
Jimmie
Rodgers and
Moon Mullican, as well
as popular crooners
Bing Crosby,
Eddy Arnold and
Frank Sinatra, it was not long before he got a
foothold in the music industry. He was a member of Moon Mullican's
band and made some early Mullican-style recordings like "Each Beat
of my Heart" and "My Heart's Like a Welcome Mat" from the late
1940s to the early 1950s.
He
eventually landed a job as an announcer on KWKH-AM in Shreveport, Louisiana
, home to the popular Louisiana Hayride. His musical
break came when singer
Sleepy LaBeef
was late for a performance on the
Hayride, according to
former
Hayride emcee Frank Page, and Reeves was asked to
fill in. (Other accounts—including Reeves himself, in an interview
on the RCA album
Yours Sincerely—name
Hank Williams as the absentee.)
Initial success in the 1950s
Reeves' first country hits included "I Love You" (a duet with
Ginny Wright), "
Mexican Joe", "
Bimbo" and other songs on both Fabor Records
and Abbott Records. He recorded only one album for Abbott, 1955's
Jim Reeves Sings (Abbott 5001). Eventually he tired of the
novelty bracket he had been forced into, and left for RCA Victor.
In 1955, Reeves was signed to a 10-year recording contract by
Stephen Sholes, who produced some of Reeves' first recordings at
RCA and signed
Elvis
Presley for the label that same year.
In his earliest RCA recordings, Reeves was still singing in the
loud style of his first recordings, considered standard for
country and Western performers
at that time. He softened his volume, using a lower pitch and
singing with lips nearly touching the microphone, but ran into some
resistance at RCA; until in 1957, with the support of his producer
Chet Atkins, he used this style on his
version of a demo song of lost love, written from a woman's
perspective (and intended for a female singer). "
Four Walls" not only took top position on
the country charts, but went to number eleven on the popular
charts. Reeves had not only opened the door to wider acceptance for
other country singers, but also helped usher in a new style of
country music, using violins and lusher background arrangements
soon called the Nashville sound.
Reeves became known as a crooner because of his warm, velvety
voice. His songs were remarkable for their simple elegance
highlighted by his rich light
baritone
voice. Songs such as "Adios Amigo," "Welcome To My World", and "Am
I Losing You?" demonstrated this approach. His Christmas songs have
been perennial favorites, including "
Silver
Bells," "
Blue Christmas" and "An
Old Christmas Card."
Early 1960s and international fame
Reeves scored his greatest hit with the
Joe
Allison composition "
He'll Have to
Go," a huge hit on both the pop and country music charts, which
earned him a
platinum record.
Released in late 1959, it reached number one on
Billboard's Hot C&W Sides chart on February 8,
1960, where it stayed for 14 consecutive weeks. Country music
historian Bill Malone noted that while it was in many ways a
conventional country song, its arrangement and the vocal chorus
"put this recording in the country pop vein." In addition, Malone
lauded Reeves' vocal styling - lowered to "its natural resonant
level" to project the "caressing style that became famous" - as why
"many people refer to him as the singer with the velvet
touch."
Reeves' international popularity during the 1960s, however, at
times surpassed his standing in the United States.
South Africa
In the early 1960s, Reeves was more popular than
Elvis Presley in
South
Africa and recorded several albums in
Afrikaans. In 1963, he toured and starred
in a South African film,
Kimberley Jim. The film was
released with a special prologue and epilogue in South African
cinemas after Reeves' passing, praising him as a true friend of the
country. The film was produced, directed and written by Emil Nofal.
Reeves was especially revered by the
Zulu
population in South Africa, and was affectionately known as either
"King Jim" and (because of his 6'1" frame) "Big Jim".
British Isles
Reeves
toured Britain
and Ireland
in 1963
between his tours of South Africa and Europe. Reeves and The
Blue Boys were in Ireland from May 30 to June 19, 1963; with a tour
of US military bases from June 10 to June 15, when they returned to
Ireland. They performed in most counties in Ireland, though Reeves
occasionally cut performances short because he was unhappy with the
piano. In a June 6, 1963 interview with
Spotlight
magazine, Reeves expressed his concerns about the tour schedule and
the condition of the pianos, but said he was pleased with the
audiences.
He planned to record an album of popular Irish songs, and had three
number one songs in Ireland in 1963 and 1964: "Welcome to My
World," "I Love You Because," and "I Won't Forget You." Reeves had
11 songs in the Irish charts from 1962 to 1967. He recorded two
Irish ballads, "
Danny Boy" and
"Maureen."
He was permitted to perform in Ireland by the Irish Federation of
Musicians on the condition that he share the bill with
Irish show bands, becoming popular by 1963.
The
British Federation of Musicians would not permit him to perform
there because no agreement existed for British show bands to travel
to America in exchange for the Blue Boys playing in Great Britain. Reeves, however, appeared on British radio and TV programs.
Norway
Reeves
visited Njårdhallen, Oslo
on April 16,
1964 with Bobby Bare, Chet Atkins, the Blue Boys and The Anita Kerr Singers. They held two
concerts; the second was televised and recorded by the Norwegian
network (NRK - Norsk Rikskringkasting). The
complete concert, however, was not recorded, including some of
Reeve's last songs. There are reports he performed "You're the Only
Good Thing (That's Happened To Me)" in this section. The program
was re-run many times over the years.
His first
hit in Norway, "He'll Have
to Go," reached number one in the Top Ten and stayed on the chart
for 29 weeks. "I Love You Because" was his biggest hit in
Norway, reaching number one in 1964 and staying on the list for 39
weeks. His albums spent 696 weeks in the Norwegian Top 20 chart,
making him among most popular artists in the history of
Norway.
Fatal aircraft accident
On July
31, 1964, Reeves and his business partner and manager Dean Manuel
(also the pianist in Reeves' backing group) left Batesville,
Arkansas
en route to Nashville in a single-engine Beechcraft Debonair
aircraft, with Reeves at the controls. The two had secured a
deal on some property (Reeves had also unsuccessfully tried to buy
property from the LaGrone family in Deadwood, Texas
, north of his birthplace of Galloway).
While
flying over Brentwood, Tennessee
, they encountered a violent thunderstorm. A
subsequent investigation showed that the small plane had become
caught in the storm and Reeves suffered
spatial disorientation. It was later
believed he was flying the plane upside down and assumed he was
increasing altitude to clear the storm. The plane faded from radar
screens at around 5:00 p.m. and radio contact was lost. When the
wreckage was found some 42 hours later, it was discovered the
plane's engine and nose were buried in the ground due to the impact
of the crash.
The crash site was in a wooded area
north-northeast of Brentwood roughly at the junction of Baxter Lane
and Franklin Pike Circle, just east of US Interstate 65, and
southwest of Nashville International
Airport
where Reeves planned to land.
Coincidentally, both Reeves and Randy Hughes, the pilot of
Patsy Cline's ill-fated plane, were trained by
the same instructor.
On the morning of August 2, 1964, the bodies of Reeves and Manuel
were found in the wreckage and at 1:00 p.m. (local time) radio
stations across the United States formally announced Reeves' death.
Thousands turned out to pay their last respects at his funeral on
August 4. The coffin, draped in flowers from fans, was driven
through the streets of Nashville and then to Reeves' final resting
place near Carthage, Texas.
Legacy
Reeves
was elected posthumously to the Country Music
Hall of Fame in 1967, which honored him saying, "The velvet
style of 'Gentleman Jim Reeves' was an international
influence. His rich voice bought millions of new fans to
country music from every corner of the world. Although the crash of
his private airplane took his life, posterity will keep his name
alive because they will remember him as one of country music's most
important performers."
In 1998,
he was inducted into the Texas Country
Music Hall of Fame in Carthage, Texas, where the Jim Reeves Memorial
is located. The inscription on the memorial reads, "If I, a
lowly singer, dry one tear, or soothe one humble human heart in
pain, then my homely verse to God is dear, and not one stanza has
been sung in vain."
Posthumous releases
Reeves' records continued to sell well, both earlier new albums,
after his death. His widow, Mary, combined unreleased tracks with
previous releases (placing updated instrumentals alongside Reeves'
original vocals) to produce a regular series of "new" albums after
her husband's death. She also operated The Jim Reeves Museum in
Nashville from the early
1980s until
1996.
In 1966, Reeves' record "
Distant
Drums" went to number one in the British singles chart and
remained there for five weeks, beating competition from
The Beatles' "
Yellow Submarine" and "
Eleanor Rigby" (a double-sided "A"
release), and the
Small Faces' hit, "All
Or Nothing". "Distant Drums" also held off songs from living
artists on the UK charts. "Drums" remained on the UK charts for 45
weeks and topped the US country music chart. The song was recorded
for its composer,
Cindy Walker, under
the impression it was for her personal use and had been deemed
"unsuitable" for general release by Chet Atkins and RCA Records. It
was named Song of the Year in the UK; in 1966 and Reeves became the
first American artist to receive the accolade.
Reeves' compilation albums containing well-known standards continue
to sell well.
The Definitive Collection reached #21 in the
UK album charts in July 2003, and
Memories are Made of
This hit #35 in July 2004.
Bear
Family Records produced a 16-CD boxed set of Reeves' studio
recordings and several smaller sets, mainly radio broadcasts and
demos. In 2007, the label released a set entitled
Nashville
Stars on Tour, containing audio and video material of the RCA
European tour in April 1964 in which Reeves features
prominently.
Since 2003, the US-based VoiceMasters has issued over 80 previously
unreleased Reeves recordings, including new songs as well as newly
overdubbed material. Among them was "I'm A Hit Again," the last
song he recorded in his basement studio just a few days before his
death. VoiceMasters overdubbed this track in the same studio in
Reeves' former home (now owned by a Nashville record producer).
Reeves' fans repeatedly urged BMG or Bear Family to re-release some
of the songs overdubbed in the years after his death which have
never appeared on CD.
A compilation CD
The Very Best of Jim Reeves reached #8 on
initial release in the UK album chart in May 2009, to later reach
its peak of #7 in late June, his first top 10 album in the UK since
1992.
India and Sri Lanka
Reeves
had a large fan following in both India
and Sri Lanka
since the 1960s, and is likely the all-time most
popular English language singer in Sri Lanka. His
Christmas carols are especially popular, and
music stores continue to carry his CDs or audio cassettes. Two of
his songs, "There's a Heartache Following Me" and "Welcome to My
World," were favorites of Indian guru
Meher
Baba, leading Baba follower
Pete
Townshend of
The Who to record his own
version of "Heartache" on his first major solo album
Who Came First in 1972.
Robert Svoboda, in his trilogy on
aghora and the
Aghori
Vimalananda, mentions that Vimalananda, considered Reeves a
gandharva, i.e. in Indian tradition, a
heavenly musician, who had taken birth on Earth. He had Svoboda
play Reeves' "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" at his cremation.
Tributes
Tributes were penned to Reeves in Britain and Ireland after his
death. "A Tribute to Jim Reeves" was written by Eddie Masterson and
recorded by Larry Cunningham and The Mighty Avons and in January
1965 it was on the UK Charts and Top Ten in Ireland.
In the UK, "We'll Remember You" was written by Geoff Goddard but
not released until 2008 on the "Now & Then: From Joe Meek To
New Zealand" double album by Houston Wells.
Reeves remains a popular artist in Ireland and many Irish singers
have recorded tribute albums.
A play by author Dermot Devitt, Put Your
Sweet Lips, was based on Reeves' appearance in Ireland at the
Pavesi Ballroom in Donegal
town on June 7, 1963 and reminiscences of people
there.
Blind
R&B and
blues
artist Robert Bradley of
Robert Bradley's Blackwater
Surprise) paid tribute to Reeves in the album description of
his release, "Out of the Wilderness." Bradley is quoted as saying,
"This record brings me back to the time when I started out wanting
to be a singer-songwriter, where the music did not need the
New York Philharmonic to make
it real...I wanted to do a record and just be Robert and sing
straight like Jim Reeves on ‘Put Your Sweet Lips a Little Closer to
the Phone.'"
English
comedian Vic
Reeves took his stage name from Reeves and
Vic Damone, two of his favorite singers.
Discography
Notes
- Malone, Bill, Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian
Collection ((booklet included with Classic Country
Music: A Smithsonian Collection 4-disc set). Smithsonian
Institution, 1990), p.51.
References
- Vinopal, David. - Jim Reeves. - AllMusic
- Jim Reeves Discography. - LP Discography -
Covers & Lyrics. - (US charted singles and albums)
- Bergan, Jon Vidar (2006). "Store Rock- Og Pop- Leksikon". -
Big Rock and Pop Encyclopedia. - Kunnskapsforlaget, Oslo.
- (UK charted singles)
- Gilde, Tore (1994). "Den Store Norske Hitboka". - The Big
Norwegian Hit Book. - Exlex Forlag A/S, Oslo. - (Norway
charted singles and albums)
- Rumble, John (1998). "Jim Reeves". - The Encyclopedia of
Country Music. - Paul Kingsbury, Editor. - New York: Oxford
University Press. - pp.435–6. - ISBN 9780195176087
- Stanton, Scott (2003). "Jim Reeves". - The Tombstone
Tourist: Musicians. - New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN
0743463307
- Houston Wells (Official Myspace)
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