Jim Reeves

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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (January 2008) Jim Reeves Background information Birth name James Travis Reeves Also known as Gentleman Jim Born August 20, 1923(1923-08-20) Galloway, Texas, United States Died July 31, 1964 (aged 40) Williamson County, Tennessee, United States Genres Country, countrypolitan Occupations Singer–songwriter Years active 1949–1964 Labels RCA Records, Fabor, Macy, Abbott Associated acts Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer, Dottie West 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. [edit] 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 ...