JERRY REED
Garth Cartwright The Guardian, Thursday September 4 2008 Article historyThe country singer-songwriter Jerry Reed, who has died of emphysema aged 71, was best known to UK audiences as a sidekick to Elvis Presley (in the studio) and Burt Reynolds (in his 1970s Smokey and the Bandit films). His influence on American guitar playing is held by some to be comparable to that of Django Reinhardt, and several of his songs have become country rock standards. But Reed hid his virtuosity behind a "good ol' boy" persona that helped make him a popular character actor in film and TV comedies.
He was born Jerry Hubbard in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents separated when he was four months old, and he and his sister spent several years being shuttled between orphanages and foster homes until reunited with his now remarried mother in 1944. Jerry sang in church and demonstrated a talent for music, so his mother saved $7 to buy him a second-hand guitar.
By the time he left high school in 1954 he was already writing and performing country music. He went to work in Atlanta's cotton mills before he won his first recording contract with Capitol Records, aged 18. His surname was then changed to the more personable Reed for promotional purposes, although his publishing credits would always read JR Hubbard.
Reed's Capitol releases, both country and rockabilly, failed to find a wide audience, but in 1958 Gene Vincent scored a hit with Reed's composition Crazy Legs. He enjoyed his first taste of success but later reflected: "I was too young to be makin' records then. I didn't know what to do." He met and married the singer Priscilla Mitchell in 1959.
He was called up by the US army in 1959 and while in the services, heard his songs become hits for the country stars Brenda Lee and Ernest Tubb. On returning to civilian life in 1961, he settled in Nashville, Tennessee, where his virtuosity as a guitar picker won him work. Johnny Cash and Porter Wagoner had hits with Reed songs, while he achieved a few minor country successes himself.
Reed was signed to RCA in 1965 by Chet Atkins, the celebrated guitarist, producer and Nashville maverick, who emphasised that he should record his naturally playful self. Reed later credited all his success to Atkins.
Reed's 1967 debut album, The Unbelievable Guitar and Voice of Jerry Reed, suggested he had a lot to prove. Two songs from it established him as a major talent - the autobiographical Guitar Man (the nickname by which he would become known) and the swaggering US Male. In 1968 Presley turned both into international hits. Reed recalled getting a phone call inviting him to play guitar on the Elvis session. "I got there in about two minutes, which ain't bad, as I was 18 miles away at the time."
In 1971 he hit No 1 on the country chart and scored a top 10 pop hit with Amos Moses, an offbeat, swamp pop song about a one-armed alligator hunter. This, and his regular appearances on Glen Campbell's television show, established his persona as a good ol' boy. He turned the catchphrase he used on Campbell's show - "when you're hot, you're hot" - into a hit song, again scaling both country and pop charts (topping the former for five weeks).
This won him the 1972 Grammy for best male country vocal performance. His third country No 1 came in 1973 with Lord, Mr Ford, in which he wryly complained about rising oil prices. During the early 1970s Reed and Atkins recorded two guitar-duet albums.
In 1975 Reynolds offered Reed a role in his film WW and the Dixie Kings. He described Reed as "the most energetic man on the planet" and "the most natural actor I've ever worked with". Reed would go on to appear in Reynolds' 1976 film Gator, his hugely popular 1977 film Smokey and the Bandit and both its sequels.
In 1982 he teamed up with the celebrated soul producer Rick Hall and recorded at Hall's studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the album many consider his finest, The Man With the Golden Thumb. This produced the chart-topping hit She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft). Reed followed with The Bird, which peaked at No 2. His last chart hit, I'm a Slave, was released in 1983. While he continued to record, he was now more visible as an actor.
He accepted the invitation to open for the British group Dexys Midnight Runners in the US in 1984, yet left the tour early to appear on the country music comedy TV show Hee-Haw. In 1992 he reunited with Atkins to record the album Sneakin' Around.
In 1998 he appeared in The Waterboy, the popular comedy starring Adam Sandler. That year he formed the Old Dogs with his fellow country stars Waylon Jennings, Mel Tillis and Bobby Bare. They recorded one album, with all the tracks written by Shel Silverstein. Reed recorded his final album, The Gallant Few, earlier this year.
"You'll never find me standing on the centre line, at point zero, saying 'this is it! I've found it. It can't get any better than this'," said Reed. "As far as I'm concerned, it may take me all my life to get where I want to go. There'll be no retirement for this cowboy. I want to work hard and play hard all the days of my life." He is survived by Priscilla and two daughters.
· Jerry Hubbard (Jerry Reed), singer, songwriter and actor, born March 20 1937; died September 1 2008
About this articleClose Obituary: Jerry Reed
This article appeared in the Guardian on Thursday September 04 2008 on p36 of the Obituaries section. It was last updated at 00:47 on September 04 2008. Printable version Send to a friend Share Clip Contact us larger | smaller ShareClose Digg reddit Google Bookmarks Yahoo! My Web del.icio.us StumbleUpon Newsvine livejournal Facebook BlinkList EmailClose Recipient's email address Your name Add a note (optional)
