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Jim Reeves was a leading figure in the "Nashville Sound" style of country and western music. His popularity extended beyond the United States to Britain, India, Scandinavia, and South Africa. Born in 1923 in Panola County, Texas, Jim initially pursued a professional baseball career after college but was forced to stop due to a leg injury sustained while pitching for the Houston Buffaloes. He also briefly worked as a full-time radio announcer. Beginning his recording career in 1945, he also wrote many of his own songs.
The height of his career came in late 1959 to early 1960 with the hit single "He'll Have To Go," which reached number 2 on the U.S. charts and number 12 in the UK, ultimately selling three million copies. Following this success, he toured extensively in the U.S., Scandinavia, and South Africa, where he starred in the film Kimberley Jim (1963), released in the U.S. in 1965, and recorded songs in Afrikaans. Known for his smooth voice and gentlemanly demeanor, Jim was beloved by fans worldwide.
Tragically, on July 31, 1964, Jim Reeves died in a plane crash during bad weather when his Beechcraft Debonair went down near Brentwood. Federal and state officials recovered his body, along with those of his business manager and pianist Dean Manuel, from the wreckage on August 2, 1964. After his death, his widow, Mary Reeves, gradually released many of his unreleased recordings, achieving great success. So enduring was his appeal that younger record executives had to be reminded that Jim had been gone for over three decades. Remarkably, one of his albums earned Gold status in Denmark in 1999.
It remains a source of frustration for Jim's fans and family that his extensive musical catalog does not receive the same airplay in the U.S. as other artists like Patsy Cline. Nevertheless, Jim Reeves’s legacy endures as one of the greatest voices in recorded music, country or otherwise.
