47 Facts About Jim Reeves

1.

James Travis Reeves was an American country and popular music singer and songwriter.

2.

Jim Reeves is a member of both the Country Music and Texas Country Music Halls of Fame.

3.

Jim Reeves was born at home in Galloway, Texas, a small rural community near Carthage.

4.

Jim Reeves was the youngest of eight children born to Thomas Middleton Reeves and Mary Beulah Adams Reeves.

5.

Jim Reeves was known as Travis during his childhood years.

6.

Jim Reeves played for the minor leagues for three years before severing his sciatic nerve while pitching, which ended his athletic career.

7.

Jim Reeves began to work as a radio announcer and sang live between songs.

8.

Jim Reeves was a country music singer who had success early on in his career, first with the song "Mexican Joe" in 1953 for Abbott Records.

9.

Jim Reeves became the headliner with Hunt as the backup performer.

10.

Jim Reeves' star was on the rise because he had already been signed to a 10-year recording contract with RCA Victor by Steve Sholes.

11.

Jim Reeves made his first appearance on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee in 1955.

12.

Jim Reeves was such a hit with the fans that he was invited to act as fill-in host from May thru July 1958 on the popular program, Ozark Jubilee.

13.

From his earliest recordings with RCA Victor, Jim Reeves relied on the loud, East Texas style, which was considered standard for country and western performers of that time, but he developed a new style of singing over the course of his career.

14.

Amid protests from RCA, but with the endorsement of his producer Chet Atkins, Jim Reeves used this new style in a 1957 recording, a demonstration song of lost love that had originally been intended for a female voice.

15.

Jim Reeves was instrumental in creating a new style of country music that used violins and lusher background arrangements that soon became known as the Nashville Sound.

16.

Jim Reeves became known as a crooner because of his light yet rich baritone voice.

17.

Between 1957 and 1958, Jim Reeves was the host of a radio show on the ABC network; this was when he began shifting from cowboy outfits to sports jackets.

18.

Jim Reeves was given the nickname Gentleman Jim, an apt description of his character both on stage and off.

19.

Jim Reeves scored his greatest success with the Joe Allison composition "He'll Have to Go", a success on both the popular and country music charts, which earned him a platinum record.

20.

The film was released with a special prologue and epilogue in South African cinemas after Jim Reeves' death, praising him as a true friend of the country.

21.

Jim Reeves later said that he enjoyed the film-making experience and would consider devoting more of his career to this medium.

22.

Jim Reeves toured Britain and Ireland during 1963, between his tours of South Africa and Europe.

23.

Jim Reeves had 11 songs in the Irish charts from 1962 to 1967.

24.

Jim Reeves recorded two Irish ballads, "Danny Boy" and "Maureen".

25.

Jim Reeves was one of the most popular recording artists in Ireland, in the first 10 after the Beatles, Elvis Presley, and Cliff Richard.

26.

Jim Reeves was permitted to perform in Ireland by the Irish Federation of Musicians on the condition that he share the bill with Irish show bands, becoming popular by 1963.

27.

Jim Reeves did perform for British radio and TV programmes.

28.

Jim Reeves played at the sports arena Njardhallen, Oslo, on April 16,1964, with Bobby Bare, Chet Atkins, the Blue Boys, and the Anita Kerr Singers.

29.

Jim Reeves reportedly performed "You're the Only Good Thing " in this section.

30.

Jim Reeves's albums spent 696 weeks in the Norwegian top-20 chart, making him one of the most popular music artists in the history of Norway.

31.

Jim Reeves taped "I Can't Stop Loving You", in what was to be his final RCA recording.

32.

Jim Reeves made one later recording at the little studio in his home.

33.

In late July 1964, a few days before his death, Jim Reeves recorded "I'm a Hit Again", using just an acoustic guitar as accompaniment.

34.

That recording was never officially released by RCA Victor, but appeared during 2003 as part of a collection of previously unissued Jim Reeves songs released on the VoiceMasters label.

35.

Jordan writes extensively about forensic evidence, which suggests that instead of making a right turn to avoid the storm, Jim Reeves turned left in an attempt to follow Franklin Road to the airport.

36.

The crash site was in a wooded area north-northeast of Brentwood, roughly at the junction of Baxter Lane and Franklin Pike Circle, just east of Interstate 65, and southwest of Nashville International Airport where Jim Reeves planned to land.

37.

In 1998 Reeves was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in Carthage, Texas, where the Jim Reeves Memorial is located.

38.

Jim Reeves' records continued to sell well, both earlier and new albums issued after his death.

39.

Jim Reeves combined unreleased tracks with previous releases to produce a regular series of "new" albums after her husband's death.

40.

Jim Reeves operated the Jim Reeves Museum in Nashville from the mid-1970s until 1996.

41.

That same year, singer Del Jim Reeves recorded an album paying tribute to him.

42.

Since 2003, US-based VoiceMasters has issued more than 80 previously unreleased Jim Reeves recordings, including new songs, as well as newly overdubbed material.

43.

Tributes to Jim Reeves were composed in the British Isles after his death.

44.

The song "A Tribute to Jim Reeves" was written by Eddie Masterson, and recorded by Larry Cunningham and the Mighty Avons; during January 1965, it scored on the UK charts and top 10 in Ireland.

45.

The Dixielanders Show Band recorded "Tribute to Jim Reeves" written by Steve Lynch and recorded during September 1964; it scored on the Northern Ireland charts during September 1964.

46.

Jim Reeves remains a popular artist in Ireland, and many Irish singers have recorded tribute albums.

47.

British comedian Vic Jim Reeves adopted his stage name from Jim Reeves and Vic Damone, two of his favorite singers.