Jim Reeves

Jim Reeves, nicknamed “Gentleman Jim” was one of the singers I loved as a kid...  Like many country singers he hailed form Texas, and was born there in 1923. His life was short.  He died in a plane crash in 1964 at the age of 40.

He was renowned for his gentle charming manner and his sweet mellifluous voice.   He considered a career in baseball but then got a job as a radio announcer in a Louisiana radio station.  He got work on the Louisiana Hayride, a rival to the Grand Old Opry.

In the 50s’ he began to have hits with singles Like “I love you because” and “Bimbo”...  He adopted a soft gentle low singing style, which went well with the lush background arrangements of the new Nashville Sound.  Later that sound began to lose favour with some artists.  There was a reaction to it, form the Outlaw movement... because they felt that it was too soft, too overly commercial, and too close to pop… or crooning.

But it suited Jim’s voice and personality.   In the late 50s and early 60s’ he became very popular abroad, including countries like South Africa, and also Britain and Ireland. One of his most popular songs in Ireland was the famous “He’ll have to go…”

He had other hits with Distant Drums and “I can’t stop loving you.” 

In 1964, he was piloting a small private plane form Arkansas to Nashville, when he hit bad weather close to Nashville’s airport. There was a storm with heavy rain and it seems as if he became disorientated and lost control of the plane.  The plane crashed. And he was killed.

After his death, Mary, his widow released various recordings of his… and future generations were able to hear his sweet voice and songs….