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| Jim Reeves |
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| I was in my early teens when I first heard Jim Reeves, back in the early Sixties. I fell in love with his velvet voice the moment I heard him sing. Such a soft gentle voice he had. When he was tragically killed, we lost a great singer, and a great gentleman, our Gentleman Jim. This web page is in his honour, as a fan, I felt compelled to do him a tribute. I know many have done tributes to him, but I wanted my own page, so here it is. Hope you like it, Take care, keep smiling and God Bless, Love & Peace, Sandie oxox (\o/) |
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| Born James Travis Reeves on August 20, 1923 in Galloway, Panola County, Texas, USA. Jim Reeves was to become a legend in the annals of Country Music. One of nine children, Jim was brought up on the family farm by his mother, his father having died when he was only ten months old. He fell in love with Country music at an early age, listening to his brother's 'Jimmy Rodgers' records on an old wind up gramaphone. He got his first guitar at the age of nine and appeared on his first radio show at the age of twelve. His first live work was with Moon Millican's band and he worked as a singing disk jockey for several years. In 1947, following his marriage to Mary White, he became a radio announcer on Station KGRI in Henderson, Texas. In 1952 he moved to Radio Station KWKH in Shreveport where he hosted the Louisiana Hayride. One day 'Hank Williams' failed to appear and the young Jim Reeves stood in. His performance proved so popular that he was signed to Hollywood based Abbott Records almost immediately. He received two Gold discs in 1953 for two novelty hit records. Mexican Joe and Bimbo. Jim signed to RCA Records in Nashville in 1955 and had his first hit with Yonder Comes A Sucker. Under the direction of Chet Atkins, who supervised the RCA Nashville operation, Jim's voice became the basis of the Nashville Sound which aimed to expand the popularity of Country music into other markets. When Jim came to record Four Walls, which was considered by Atkins to be a female song, he deliberately lowered the pitch of his voice and sang the ballad into the microphone from very close range, creating an extremely intimate vocal style. The song was an enormous success in the US in 1957. The new 'Gentleman Jim' style of a velvet voiced balladeer was set, and the crossover success continued. His recording of, He'll Have To Go made the US no. 2 spot and topped the Country charts for fourteen weeks. Other classics include Your'e The Only Good Thing (That's Happened To Me ), Welcome To My World, and I Love You Because. With his backing group, The Blue Boys, he toured world -wide. Of Irish descent, Jim would always include Danny Boy in his live shows, and also a Religious selection. Tours to England, Ireland, Europe and South Africa with recordings broadcast overseas on the Armed Forces Radio and appearances on TV network, such as the hosts Ed Sullivan and Dick Clarke and his appearance in the 1963 film 'Kimberly Jim' made him an international star. Jim Reeves hated to fly. After one particularly bad experiance he decided he may as well be in control of the situation himself and obtained a daylight pilot's licence. On July 31 1964 Jim was tragically killed when the plane he was piloting hit a heavy rainstorm and crashed as it approached Nashville's Beery Field airport on a flight from Arkansas; the accident also took the life of Dean Manuel, Jim's manager and member of The Blue Boys. Several hundred volunteers helped in the search for the wreckage, which was found in a heavy wooded area two days after the crash. After a joint memorial service in Nashville. Jim's body was buried near Carthage, Texas. Since 1964 posthumous releases of his recordings have made the charts as recently as the 70's and 80's. Jim's recordings are a testament to his artistry, and the devoted audience who still enjoy his music world-wide. Jim Reeves was elected to the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1967. Rest in Peace Gentleman Jim. |
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