Jim Reeves Biography, Photos and Posters

Jim Reeves

Biography

Born: August 20, 1923
City and Country of Origin: Galloway, Texas
Music Training:
Awards: 1967 inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame;
Top Recordings: "Four Walls," "Billy Bayou," "He'll Have to Go," Adios Amigo," "Welcome To My World," and "Am I Losing You," "I Guess I'm Crazy," "Is It Really Over?," "This Is It," "Blue Side of Lonesome," "Distant Drums," "I Won't Come In While He's There,"
Jim Reeves Biography: American country singer/songwriter Jim Reeves became known as a crooner because of his rich warm velvety voice. Jim started out as a minor-league baseball player in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, but an injury ended his aspirations prematurely.

Jim's musical career started while he was working as an announcer on KWKH Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. One of the singers due to perform on the Louisiana Hayride, there is some dipute as to exactly who it was, failed to show up and Jim was asked to fill in. Jim's music career wasa underway and hit records like "I Love You" (a duet with Ginny Wright), "Mexican Joe," "Bimbo" soon followed recorded on both Fabor Records and Abbott Records. Jim soon tired of the novelty niche he had been forced into and left for RCA Victor.

In those days it was customary for country singers to sing in a loud twangy style. On his early recording Reeves was no different, but by 1955 he sought to change his to a deeper softer delivery. This led to some internal strife with management, but by 1957 with the support of his producer Chet Atkins Reeves recorded "Four Walls," a single intended for a female singer. The song not only hit the top of the country charts, but soared into the top 10 on the pop charts. Reeves had not only opened the door for other country singers, but with the use of violins and lusher background arrangements had created what would become known as "The Nashville Sound."

In 1959–60 Reeves scored his greatest hit with the Joe Allison composition "He'll Have to Go," which earned him a platinum record. Jim is one of the few Western artists to achieve international stardom in the non-European world. His music is revered in far away lands like India and Africa.

On July 31 1964 Reeves and Manuel left Batesville, Arkansas en route to Nashville, Tennessee having just secured a deal on some property. While flying over Brentwood, Tennessee they encountered a violent thunderstorm which proved more than a match for the tiny, single-engined Beechcraft 'Debonair' aircraft. The plane faded from the radar screens at around 5:02 pm on July 31 and all radio contact with the craft was lost.

Reeves' records continued with good sales for both the old albums and a series of new ones. His widow, Mary, combined unreleased tracks with rerecorded 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, Tennessee from the early 1980s until 1996. Jim scored a major success when, in 1966, his record "Distant Drums" went to number one in the British singles chart and remained in pole position for a remarkable six weeks - beating off stiff competition from such acts as The Beatles with "Yellow Submarine" and "Eleanor Rigby" (a double-sided "A" release) and the Small Faces' "All Or Nothing". In addition, "Distant Drums" also held off many other songs from living artists who were in the UK charts at that time. In all, "Distant Drums" remained in the UK charts for a staggering forty-five weeks as well as topping the US country music charts.
Died: July 31, 1964

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