Jim Reeves

James Travis "Jim" Reeves (August 20 1923 - July 31 1964) was an American country singer.

Born in Galloway, Texas, he became known as a crooner because of his warm velvety voice. Although he started off as a secular singer, he had a 'conversion' experience to Christianity and he switched to gospel music. His secular songs were remarkable for their simple elegance highlighted by his rich baritone. Songs such as "He'll have to go", "Adios Amigo", and "Am I Losing You" exemplify this. His later Christian songs were more complex. The prime example of this is the album We Thank Thee (1962). Jim Reeves' Christmas songs have been perennial favorites, including songs such as "Silver Bells", "Blue Christmas", and "An Old Christmas Card".

In 1959/1960, Reeves scored his greatest hit with the Joe Allison composition "He'll Have to Go" which earned him a platinum record. In the early 1960s, Reeves was more popular than Elvis Presley in South Africa. He even recorded a couple of albums in Afrikaans. In 1963 he starred in a South African movie, Kimberley Jim, which was the biggest South African production up to that date. He had a No.1 hit on the United Kingdom pop charts in 1966 with "Distant Drums", a song written for him by Cindy Walker. Jim Reeves was one of the few Western singers, including music acts such as Boney M and ABBA, who became widely known in the non-European world, including Africa, India and Southeast Asia. To this day, he is affectionately referred to as 'Gentleman Jim' in these parts.

Jim Reeves, who was also known as Gentleman Jim, died when the small aircraft he was piloting crashed during a thunder storm near Nashville, Tennessee.

He was elected posthumously to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1967 and in 1998 he was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in Carthage, Texas, where the Jim Reeves Memorial (http://www.carthagetexas.com/tcmhof/memorial.htm) is located.

Some of the songs he made famous were:

• "Mexican Joe"
• "Bimbo"
• "Yonder Comes a Sucker"
• "Four Walls"
• "A Fool Such as I"
• "I Love You Because"
• "I Won't Forget You"
• "Adios Amigo"
• "Blue Boy"
• "The Blizzard"
• "Billy Bayou"
• "Home"
• "If Heartache is the Fashion"
• "Partners"
• "Am I Losing You"
• "I Missed Me"
• "He'll Have to Go"
• "I'm Gonna Change Everything"
• "Angels Don't Lie"
• "I'd Fight The World"
• "The Writing's On The Wall"
• "Moonlight and Roses"
• "Is This Me"
• "Blue Side of Lonesome"
• "I Know One"
• "Welcome to My World"
• "Guilty"
• "I Guess I'm Crazy"
• "This is It"
• "Distant Drums"
• "Is It Really Over"
• "When You Are Gone"
• "I Won't Come In While He's There"
• "An Old Christmas Card"

Discography Albums

• 1956 Jim Reeves Sings (Abbott Records)
• 1956 Singing Down the Lane
• 1956 Bimbo
• 1957 Jim Reeves
• 1958 Girls I Have Known
• 1958 God Be With You
• 1959 Songs To Warm The Heart
• 1960 The Intimate Jim Reeves
• 1960 According To My Heart
• 1961 Tall Tales and Short Tempers
• 1961 Talkin' To Your Heart
• 1962 A Touch Of Velvet
• 1962 He'll Have To Go
• 1962 We Thank Thee
• 1962 The Country Side Of
• 1963 Gentleman Jim
• 1963 The International Jim Reeves
• 1963 Good 'N' Country
• 1963 Twelve Songs Of Christmas
• 1964 Kimberley Jim
• 1964 Moonlight and Roses
• 1964 The Best Of Jim Reeves
• 1964 Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?
• 1965 The Jim Reeves Way
• 1965 Up Through The Years
• 1965 The Best Of Jim Reeves Vol. II
• 1966 Distant Drums
• 1966 Yours Sincerely, Jim Reeves
• 1967 Blue Side Of Lonesome
• 1968 A Touch of Sadness
• 1968 Jim Reeves On Stage
• 1969 Jim Reeves and Some Friends
• 1969 Golden Records
• 1969 The Best Of Jim Reeves Vol. III
• 1971 Jim Reeves Writes You a Record
• 1976 A Legendary Performer

External links

• Nederlandstalige Jim Reeves site. (http://www.jim-reeves.net) Veel Informatie over Jim Reeves.
• Country music hall of fame (http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/inductees/jim_reeves.html)
• The Jim Reeves Way (http://www.jim-reeves.com) a page dedicated to the memory of Jim Reevesde:Jim Reeves

nl:Jim Reeves sv:Jim Reeves