DID YOU KNOW?

Since Leo Jackson died on the 4th of May 2008, the fan club has frequently received requests from fans for unknown or rarely published information and/or stories about Jim Reeves and the people who were associated with him. The 'DID YOU KNOW?' section has been added to the website today and there will be regular updates and the newest entry will appear on top. Nowhere else will you be able to read those stories and facts.

Jim replied in a letter that he was proud to have the baby named for him, but states he never particularly liked the name. He also states he was in the hospital on August 9th for some needed surgery.

Jim Reeves toured Oklahoma regularly. He had performed there almost 10 months earlier, at the Bamboo Theatre in Enid, October 13th, and at the famous Cimarron Ballroom in Tulsa, October 14th, 1961 and again on June 23rd, 1962.

Did you know that Jim Reeves performed on two segments of The Grand Ole Opry on October 13, 1956?

Later, on the final segment from 11:30 til midnight, when the sponsor was Jamison, Jim was scheduled to sing, "According to My Heart", "Each Time You Leave", and "Bimbo", which was the closing number for The Opry that particular Saturday night. The other performers for Jamison were The Old Hickory Singers, Jimmy Newman, Benny Martin, Goldie Hill, Sam and Kirk McGhee, Lew Childre, Del Wood, and The Fruit Jar Drinkers.

(The above listed information has been taken from the original souvenir program. The Country Music Foundation released an album with live recordings: JIM REEVES - LIVE AT THE OPRY. Included is the gospel song "When God Dips His Love In My Heart", erroneously dated on October 12, 1956. From various documentation in my own collection I have reached the conclusion that Jim Reeves had switched songs after the copies of the program had been printed. One must never go blind on printed information, it may not contain all the facts. The Nashville Tennessean's radio log for WSM Radio that evening, lists Jim Reeves only at the 8.30 segment. The reason for this is that the logs usually only listed the artist who hosted each segment.)

Did you know that Mary Reeves kept a diary of the 1957 European tour? She wrote from the time the troupe left the US until the time she arrived home in Nashville.

Here is an excerpt, all in Mary's words and spelling, from Monday April 22, 1957: "Real pretty day- Jim & I went to snack bar & ate breakfast about 12:00. Everything else was closed because it was still a holiday for the Germans. Walked some in the sunshine. Went to O.C. (Officer's Club-FCA) & played pool & shuffleboard & ping pong. Stayed all afternoon. Had fun. Played theater in Langerkof. Went to bed early."

Courtesy: Frank C. Anderson

Did you know that Jim was not the first artist to record or release his song "Need me" in 1957? That privilege fell to Dot artist Jimmy Newman at a session in March of that year, when he recorded the song at the Owen Bradley studio, among 3 titles for consideration as a single release. Alas "Need me" was unissued. The A side of the single on Dot 15574 was the James Joiner song "A fallen star" which went to no.2 on the Billboard Country Charts.

However, Jimmy must have liked the song, for he re-recorded it in June/July of that year and this time it was released in August on Dot 15627. Jim Reeves did not record the song until 26th June 1957 for his pop orientated album "Jim Reeves" (LPM-1576) released in October.

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Did you know that Jim's 1960 Cadillac Eldorado Seville is still for sale? James Newberry, who used to have one of the largest Jim Reeves collections, bought the car out of the Jim Reeves Estate from the late Ed Gregory. The car was beautifully restored but is currently believed to be in storage and for sale. Perhaps one day it will turn up in the Swedish Jim Reeves museum? That museum has a few original parts of that car on display.

DID YOU KNOW THAT ...?

Did you know that Mary Reeves once revealed that Jim Reeves had recorded 5 songs in the Jim Beck studio in Dallas? It can be confirmed that these 5 songs, all written by Jim Reeves, were recorded in March or April 1951.

It is known that Jim entered a talent show on the Big D Jamboree in Dallas around the same time and was beaten by Jimmy Lee Fautheree.

DID YOU KNOW THAT ...?

Did you know that the 19-26 July 1967 issue of the Irish magazine 'New Spotlight' mentioned in an article that Jim Reeves had said he would have liked very much to have recorded popular Irish songs on an album?

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Did you know that Jim Reeves was among other country artists such as James O'Gwynne & Webb Pierce who sent a supportive tape recording to a deejay who was the organiser of 'Operation Leaky Arm' in May 1959? As that title suggests, it was all about promoting a blood-donor campaign due to be held for several days in the following month in Michigan's largest prison.

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Did you know that Jim Reeves performed a few times the 'PET MILK' sponsored portion of the WSM 'FRIDAY NIGHT FROLIC' radio program between October 1959 and March 1962? The program took place in WSM's studio C in Nashville. In 1964 the program moved to the Ryman Auditorium and changed its name to 'FRIDAY NIGHT OPRY'.

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Did you know that Jim Reeves participated in the 1956 'MARCH OF DIMES' campaign which was to arouse interests for the fight again infantile paralysis? A blue-and- white Pullman train called the 'RCA VICTOR STARLINER' and on board as many as 20 great RCA Victor recording artists, visited 12 major cities in 10 days. The artists would visit deejays and do interviews only. Besides Jim Reeves, famous artists such as Eddie Fisher, Vaughn Monroe, Eddie Arnold, Homer and Jethro participated part or all of the trip. During the journey, Jim Reeves met Herb Shucher who would become his personel manager a few weeks later. The train reached its final destination Philadelphia on January 21.

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Did you know that December 14, 1961 was proclaimed JIM REEVES DAY by the Mayor of Henderson, Texas in honour of hometown lad Jim Reeves? The highlight of the day was an appearence by Jim in the Henderson High School Auditorium.

DID YOU KNOW THAT ...?

Did you know that Jim Reeves and a friend visited a record shop in Longview, Texas in May 1955? There Jim took the latest Johnny Cash record out and both listened to 'Cry, Cry, Cry'. Jim told the friend: "Watch that boy, he'll be the next superstar in country music".

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Did you know that on September 6, 1958 Hank Snow introduced Jim Reeves at the Prince Albert Tobacco portion of the Grand Ole Opry: " And ...our very special guest.....back after a long absence.....JIM REEVES!" Jim then sang his latest RCA record " Blue Boy" , and his greatest hit until then, "Am I Losing You" on the broadcasted portion of the show.

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Did you know that on January 26, 1956, Jim recorded for RCA in Nashville, between 19:00 and 22:00 hrs. his last four selections for his debut album " SINGING DOWN THE LANE" .

Just a few blocks away in Bradley's Film & Recording Studio between 19:15 and 22:15 hrs. another fellow Texan, by the name of BUDDY HOLLY, made his debut session for DECCA Records, recording four titles.

DID YOU KNOW THAT ...?

According to Mary Reeves, Jim was working at a tyre establishment in Shreveport, Louisiana, when they first met at a dance in Marshall, Texas in 1947. He was also playing professionally baseball for the Alexandria Aces in the Evangaline league in Louisiana at the time.

DID YOU KNOW THAT ...?

Did you know that Jim Reeves played a show in Dessau Hall, near Pflugerville, Texas, probably in early 1953? The house band, who backed him at the show were three very young musicans, Justin Tubb, the son of Ernest Tubb, and his cousins Douglas Glen and Billy Tubb. They had worked hard to learn the songs Jim had put on ABBOTT records. Jim sang only Ernest Tubb songs in the first part of the show, because he expected they would not know his songs, but certainly Ernest Tubb's songs. When he learned they did know his songs, he sang only his songs in the second part of the show.

(With permission from the author, from Ronnie Pugh's book " Ernest Tubb: The Texas Troubadour" .)

Did you know that 4 Blue Boy members played together on STARDAY album SLP-138 NASHVILLE STEEL GUITARS? Dean Manuel on piano, Leo Jackson on guitar, James Kirkland on bass, and Mel Rogers on drums accompanied steel guitar players Pete Drake, Don Helms, Little Roy Wiggins, Jimmy Day, Dick Stubbs, Al Petty, and Herb Remington. The recording engineer was a former member of Jim's earlier band " The Wagonmasters" . The album was released in 1961 and re-released as STARDAY NLP-2017 in 1965. It's a great country music album, which should not be lacking in the collection of Jim Reeves' fans who appreciate the Blue Boys for their musical craftmanship.

Did you know that Blue Boy member Bunky Keels was married to a British girl? When the Blue Boys toured the British Isles in 1965, they and Mary Reeves visited this girl's family which is from Gillingham. They all went to an authentic British pub, Turk’s Head, at Winchester Road in Twickenham, Greater London. It was featured in the Beatles' movie " A Hard Days Night" and was owned by an aunt of Mrs Bunky Keels.

Did you know that Royce Glenn Sutton, a famous Nashville songwriter and record producer, was a performer on KGRI during Jim Reeves' tenure at the station? This was mentioned in the book " How Nashville became Music City USA - 50 years of Music Row" , written by Michael Kosser and published in 2006. Certainly Mike Curb gives it a glowing review when he says: " Kosser's book is the most complete documentation that's yet been written on the incredible impact that Music Row has made on American pop & country music." Reeves is mentioned nominally 8 times, but it is the 9th time on page 128 that is the revelation:

" Another great songwriter from this group was Royce Glenn Sutton, who grew up in a sawmill town called Chireno, Texas, just outside Nacogdoches. Later he moved to Henderson, Texas, where one of the announcers at radio station KGRI, was Jim Reeves. He started writing songs as a child, about " horses & saddles & stuff" , and at the age of 16 he got a fifteen-minute radio show on Saturdays. And Jim was the announcer in the booth. He woud write up requests at home, from family, or somebody at school. His theme song was the old Bob Wills' song " I bet you my heart I love you" ."

The following pages to 137 deal with Glenn Sutton's career. He had 485 songs on BMI, including classics such as " Almost Persuaded" , " I Don't Wanna Play House", and " What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)" .

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Did you know that Werly Fairburn recorded the song " I GUESS I'M CRAZY" in 1955 and performed it at the Louisiana Hayride. Jim apparently liked it and recorded it a few months before he died, at RCA Studio B in Nashville on 18 May 1964 between 6:00 and 9:30 pm. Chet Atkins produced the session. Session details are: Jim Reeves on vocal, Jerry Kennedy on guitar, Wayne Moss on guitar, Bob Moore on bass, William Ackerman on drums, Hargus Robbins on piano, Bill Pursell on vibes and strings section, and the Anita Kerr Singers on vocals.

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Did you know that in 1959 Jim Reeves didn't spend New Year's Eve at home but was on tour with other Grand Ole Opry artists? Jim Reeves, Kitty Wells, Johnny and Jack, Hank Locklin, Cowboy Copas, and possibly some other Opry members on December 29th performed in the Sioux City Municipal auditorium. On December 30th they did a show in Lincoln, Nebraska and on December 31st one in Omaha, Nebraska and January 1st in Wichita, Kansas; and on January 2nd in Topeka, Kansas. On January 3rd, the troupe, consisting of Jim Reeves, Kitty Wells, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, and other Opry members, performed in the Kansas Memorial Building. It is very likely on each of the dates, there was a different set of Grand Ole Opry artists.

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Did you know that on Monday September 10th, 1962, Jim Reeves and The Blue Boys performed two shows at 7:00 and 9:30 pm, at the Andrew Lewis High School, Salem, Virginia, in aid of the Fort Lewis Rescue Squad?

Some of the songs performed were; 'He'll Have To Go', 'Four Walls', 'Wheels' - by Leo Jackson, 'Danny Boy', 'Stand At Your Window', and 'I'm Gonna Change Everything' .

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Did you know that the writer of 'Goldmine In The Sky' was so pleased with Jim's performance of the song that he wrote Jim a letter?

The western song, 'Goldmine In The Sky', was written by Nick and Charles Kinney, and published in 1937. Gene Autry recorded it, and starred in the movie by the same name in 1938.

Twenty years after the song was first published, Jim sang it on his ABN network radio show. At that time, the song was having a bit of a revival, having been recorded by Pat Boone and others. Since the song selection for Jim's show included older standards as well as then-currently popular songs, 'Goldmine In The Sky' fit in both categories.

Nick Kenny wrote to Jim," I was in the audience...the other morning, when you and the Anita Kerr singers gave that beautiful rendition of my song, 'Goldmine In The Sky.' I have never heard it done better and I am sorry you didn't record it just the way you did it the other morning."

Nick also could not pass up the opportunity to pitch a couple of his songs to Jim in the same letter.

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Did you know that Jim Reeves played in a semi-professional baseball tournament in the summer of 1942?

The Hughes Tool company had a semi-pro baseball team in Texas during World War II. Jim pitched for the Hughes Tool team. In mid-summer 1942, the Hughes Tool team went to the Texas State Tournament of semi-pro baseball. The tournament was held for more than two weeks in Waco, Texas, and was sanctioned by the National Semi-Pro Baseball Congress. Jim was scheduled to play for Hughes Tool.

Jim's own Player's Pass from this tournament has survived and is in Frank C. Anderson's collection.

Jim Reeves used to do the song " Chew Tobacco Rag" on the live shows at the Reo Palm Isle in Gladewater, Texas. Unfortunately no tape recording of Jim singing that song survived. The song was first recorded by Billy Frank Briggs, who also wrote it, on the Liberty label in 1950.

On Sunday March 20, 1960 a group of musicians gathered for a recording session at RCA's Studio B. Some of them were initially told they were hired for a Jim Reeves session. Besides guitarist Scotty Moore, drummer D.J. Fontana and the vocal group Jordanaires, members of the famous Nashville A team studio musicians were present: pianist Floyd Cramer, guitarist Hank Garland, bass player Bob Moore, and drummer Buddy Harman. It turned out to be the first Elvis Presley recording session after Elvis left the Army. RCA kept the recording session secret for fear of disturbances by thousands of fans turning up at the studio to see their favorite artist.

Jim's motto was : " A stranger to me is just a friend I haven't met" . Jim admitted he had adapted it from Wil Rogers whom he had admired in his youth.

William Penn Adair " Will" Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was a Cherokee cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer and actor. One of Will Rogers's most famous lines, " I have never yet met a man that I didn't like," was part of a longer quotation and it originally referred to Leon Trotsky: “ I bet you if I had met him and had a chat with him, I would have found him a very interesting and human fellow, for I never yet met a man that I did not like. When you meet people, no matter what opinion you might have formed about them beforehand, why, after you meet them and see their angle and their personality, why, you can see a lot of good in all of them."

Trotsky was a Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist theorist. He was expelled from the Communist Party and was eventually assassinated in Mexico by a Soviet agent in August of 1940.

Did you know that in September 1959, Jim Reeves signed a new five year contract with RCA Victor? Negotiations for the contract were done by Jim's manager Herb Shucher and the then New York based RCA official Steve Sholes, with whom Jim had inked his original RCA Victor contract in Nashville in 1955.

Did you know that after attending a Jim Reeves show in Calgary, Canada, Canadian songwriter and artist Ray Griff presented Jim Reeves with a song he had written; " Where Do I Go From Here" ? Jim Reeves recorded the song an invited Ray to come and record in Nashville. Soon after Ray arrived in Nashville, Jim Reeves got killed in an air crash.

Did you know that when RCA released a Jim Reeves record, Jim bought a few hundred to a thousand copies of that record and mailed them, at his own expenses, to radio stations for promotion?

Did you know that Jim Reeves had blue eyes and brown hair, was 5 foot and 11 inches tall , and weighted 190 pounds in March 1961?

Did you know that Jim 's great-grandmother from his mother's side, Martha Adams was a native Indian from the Choctaw tribe? On one occasion at a concert Jim proudly mentioned he was a part Indian. Jim's great-grandfather Wyat Woodruff Adams - and his wife Martha lived in Sevier County, Tennessee. Their son Lorenzo moved to East Texas and got married. One of his 8 children was Jim's mother, Mary Beula Adams.

Jim had good reason to be proud to be part Indian. During the American Revolution, most Choctaws supported the Thirteen Colonies' bid for independence. The Choctaws and the United States agreed to nine treaties. Three treaties were designed to remove most Choctaws west of the Mississippi River. They were the first Native Americans to walk the Trail of Tears. With ratification in 1831 of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, those Choctaws who lived in the newly formed state of Mississippi were the first major non-European ethnic group to become U.S. citizens. During the American Civil War, the Choctaw in both Oklahoma and Mississippi mostly sided with the Confederate States of America.

Did you know that in a letter to Doris and Elmer Gath, of March 30th, 1960, Jim wrote: " We have had 53 inches of snow this winter. A record. I hope I'm not around when a new record is set. I hate snow and rain" . (courtesy by Doris Gath)

Did you know that on August 8, 1959 Jim had re-joined the Grand Ole Opry as a member after 16 months of absence? The Opry rules dictated that a member had to perform at the Saturday Night Grand Ole Opry 26 weeks per year. As a consequence, occasionally when Jim was on tour with the Blue Boys, he had to return to Nashville to perform at the Opry on Saturday night, and return to his band the next day and continue the tour. Because of the usually high travel expenses and lost income for not being able to do shows at the weekend, and the little money the Opry paid, many country music stars who were riding high in the charts and cashing in on the popularity at shows, decided to discard their Opry membership. During that period of 16 months, Jim Reeves performed at least twice at the Saturday Night Grand Ole Opry and at some Friday Night Frolic shows too.

Did you know that Jim celebrated his 39th Birthday in South Africa in Johannesburg on August 20th, 1962, at the start of a South African tour. Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer, the Blue Boys and Dick O'Shaughnessy were participants of the show. Jim gave himself a birthday present, he talked by telephone to his wife wife Mary and secretary Joyce.

Did you know that, according to Wikipedia, " Goodnight, Irene" is a 20th century American folk standard, written in 3/4 time, and was first recorded by American blues musician Huddie 'Lead Belly' Ledbetter in 1932?

The lyrics tell of the singer's troubled past with his love, Irene, and express his sadness and frustration. Several verses make explicit reference to suicidal fantasies, most famously in the line " sometimes I take a great notion to jump in the river and drown," which was the inspiration for the 1964 Ken Kesey novel Sometimes a Great Notion. In 2002, Lead Belly's 1936 Library of Congress recording received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.

On January 9, 1958 Jim Reeves recorded the song for his album 'GIRLS I HAVE KNOWN' .

Did you know that within 24 hours after returning from a successful tour of South Africa, Jim Reeves and the Blue Boys left for a tour which ended with a 2 week engagement at the Mint Club, Las Vegas, at the end of September 1962?

DID YOU KNOW THAT JIM REEVES AND GINNY WRIGHT ALMOST RECORDED A SECOND DUET?

Did you know that Jim Reeves and Ginny Wright almost recorded a second duet after their hit “ I LOVE YOU" ? They were to record “ I’M IN HEAVEN" , and even practised it at Jim’s house, but when Ginny arrived at the recording studio, Tom Bearden instead of Jim, was her recording partner. Fabor Robinson and Jim Reeves had some disagreements earlier that day and Fabor decided to replace Jim Reeves with Tom. It is Ginny Wright's opinion that the record had a much smaller success than it would have had, if Jim had sang on it.

At the start of his singing career , Jim was member of a trio, he was known as Sonny Day, the two other members were Fred Ledbetter, aka. Cole Knight, and Al Courtney. They performed locally and occasionally on radio.

Did you know that on December 3, it was 50 years ago that Jim Reeves, and some other country acts entertained at a banquet in the Vanderbilt University in Nashville. It was the first time that Grand Ole Opry artists appeared on the campus.

DID YOU KNOW THAT JIM RECORDED A CHRISTMAS SONG WHICH IS KNOWN BY TWO TITLES?

Did you know that Jim Reeves recorded a Christmas song which is known by two titles? 'Mary's Boy Child' is a 1956 Christmas song, written by Jester Hairston. It was first recorded by Harry Belafonte in 1956, for his album An Evening with Belafonte. The song was also recorded by Mahalia Jackson in 1956 but titled as 'Mary's Little Boy Child'. Jester Hairston is given credits for text and music for both titles by the US Copyright office.

On the 'Twelve Songs of Christmas' album, the song is listed as 'Mary's Little Boy Child' on the US version, and 'Mary's Boy Child' on the UK release.

Jim Reeves recorded 11 Christmas songs in two sessions on 19 and 25 October 1962. They first appeared on a South African Jim Reeves album; RCA 31.672 'MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM JIM REEVES', due to Jim's huge popularity there after a very successful tour in that country. Click here to read about more about the South African release.

Jim recorded the song 'Silver Bells' on 5 July 1963, to make it a twelve song album for Christmas 1963 release in the USA.

DID YOU KNOW THAT ON 15 OCTOBER 1955 JIM REEVES PERFORMED ON THE "OZARK JUBILEE" TV SHOW?

On 15th of October 1955, Jim Reeves sang "Yonder Come A Sucker" on what likely was his very first appearance on the "Ozark Jubilee" television show. The show was hosted by Webb Pierce, who replaced Red Foley. This was the first of quite a few appearances in that show, which was renamed "Country Music Jubilee" in July 1957, and "Jubilee USA" in August 1958. In June 1958 Jim replaced Red Foley as host for a few weeks.

DID YOU KNOW TOM PERRYMAN WAS THE FIRST WHO PLAYED JIM REEVES' RECORD AM I LOSING YOU?

Did you know that Tom Perryman was the first deejay to play Jims "AM I LOSING YOU" record? Jim had recorded the song earlier that evening in RCA Studio B and took an acetate record of it to Tom, who played it at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning at his all night show at WSM Radio. The song was the biggest self penned hit for Jim Reeves.

As was his custom after a performance, Jim Reeves was signing autographs. The autograph line moved along, and when it became her turn, a woman asked Jim if he would autograph a photo for her blind niece. Of course, he did.

Later, there was an article about this particular blind girl in her hometown South Carolina newspaper. She was ten years old, and had been blind from birth. Her eyes were "undeveloped". Recently, her left eye had begun to shrivel, both eyes hurt, and the headaches she'd been having were blamed on her eyes. Her doctors decided that the best thing to do would be to remove her eyes and replace them with plastic ones. The article was published on the day of her surgery.

Besides mentioning that the girl attended the school for the deaf and blind in Spartanburg, the article also told about her singing in church the previous Sunday, how she loved to play house and play with her dolls, and that Jim Reeves was her favorite singer. She said that she had an autographed picture of Jim which she treasured.

Near the end of the article, the girl's mother said that her daughter wanted a braille watch, but the family had been unable to find one for her.

A disc jockey at a small radio station in the blind girl's hometown cut out the article and sent it, along with a letter, to Jim Reeves. The DJ wrote that the little girl loved the songs by "My Jim Reeves", as she called him. The DJ asked Jim to send the girl a card or "...a small record with you saying a prayer for her recovery."

Jim responded to the DJ's letter about the little blind girl by going beyond what had been asked of him. Although it took several weeks, Jim did what the girl's parents had been unable to do: he found and bought the little blind girl a braille watch and had it sent to her.

Along with the photos and tourbooks and songbooks which Jim Reeves sold at his performances, he also sold puzzles. Inside a tiny envelope with "Jim Reeves and The Blue Boys" printed on the outside, was a paper "T" puzzle. The puzzle consisted of several odd-shaped pieces of paper with the object of the puzzle being to arrange the pieces to form the letter "T". In October, 1962, Jim ordered 3,000 of the puzzles from a printer in California

DID YOU KNOW THAT JIM REEVES HAD A "RUN-IN" IN PRINTER'S ALLEY?

DID YOU KNOW THAT JIM REEVES ENJOYED NASHVILLE'S MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL?

DID YOU KNOW THAT JIM BULLEIT HELPED TO BOOK JIM REEVES ON THE LOUISIANA HAYRIDE IN 1951?

Jim Bulleit helped to book Jim Reeves on the Louisiana Hayride on July 14, 1951? In January 1951, KWKH hired Jim Bulleit, who had started his own Bullit record label in 1946, as a full-time artists' service representative. In 1952 Jim Bulleit quit and moved back to his family in Nashville. In the brief period he was at KWKH, he had helped to book several important acts such as JIM REEVES, Slim Whitman, and the Wilburn Brothers.

This very interesting and important information had first been published in a 1995 Ph. D. dissertation "LOUISIANA SATURDAY NIGHT: A History of Louisiana Country Music" by Steven R. Tucker, and quoted in the book "LOUISIANA HAYRIDE - Radio & Roots Music Along the Red River" by Tracey E. W. Laird, which was published in 2005. I sincerely hope that this info is useful for a Jim Reeves biographer who, for a number of years, has been struggling to finish his book and apparently is quite unaware of this information.

DID YOU KNOW THAT THE FIRST 'THE JIM REEVES SHOW' WAS BROADCAST ON OCTOBER 7, 1957?

Did you know that the first 'The Jim Reeves Show' was broadcast on 7 October 1957 over ABN ? It ran for 21 weeks on weekdays (105 one hour episodes) till 28 February 1958. The ARMED FORCES RADIO AND TELEVISION SERVICE is known to have transcribed 74 condensed episodes of 25 minutes each on 16" discs for transmission to American Forces serving abroad.

DID YOU KNOW THAT IN 1965 JIM REEVES' FANS COULD LOOK FORWARD TO A BOOK ON JIM'S LIFE?

Did you know that Jim Reeves' fans could look forward to a book on Jim's life? In April 1965 Mary Reeves reported in an interview that she soon would begin work on the book. The title would have been derived from the conversation Jim was having with the tower at the Nashville airport at the instant the plane went down.

Did you know that on May 26, 1962, Jim Reeves appeared on the Harvey's Record Department portion of the Grand Ole Opry. He sang both sides of his new RCA Victor release, "Adios Amigo", and "A Letter To My Heart." The single was offered free along with an autographed photo of Jim, with each purchase from Harvey's of Reeves' album, "He'll Have To Go." Harvey's is a well known department store in Nashville.

DID YOU KNOW THAT EDDY ARNOLD REPLACED JIM REEVES ON ONE EPISODE OF THE ABN 'THE JIM REEVES SHOW' ?

Did you know that Eddy Arnold replaced Jim Reeves on one episode of the ABN 'The Jim Reeves Show'? Jim reported ill with the flu and Eddy Arnold was invited to replace him. It must have sounded funny to the audience to hear Eddy, "The Tennessee Plowboy' making jokes about situations in Jim's birthplace, Carthage, Texas.

Did you know that in April, 1957 RCA Victor artists Jim Reeves, Del Wood, Hank Locklin, Janis Martin, The Browns, and the Wagonmasters embarked on a European tour, giving approximately 30 concerts for both military and civilians. Before leaving for Europe, they did two shows, one in the armory at Akron, Ohio and one in Toledo. And they also appeared on the NBC-TV's TONIGHT show.

DID YOU KNOW THAT JIM REEVES PERFORMED OTHER ARTIST'S SONGS BEFORE HE HAD HIS OWN SONGS?

In 1952, a year before Jim Reeves had his first hit record, he performed the popular songs of the day which had been made famous by established singers. To help him remember the lyrics to the songs he performed, he carried a little black notebook which contained the typed and hand-written words to many songs.

Within the notebook are the words to many country and western songs, but also there are several "pop" songs as well. The notebook is arranged alphabetically by song title. The first song in the notebook is the same song which Jim recorded about eight years later for his RCA LP, "The Intimate Jim Reeves": "Almost".

The established artist who had more songs in Jim's book than any other was Hank Williams. Hank was still living at the time, and his popularity was reflected by all the aspiring artists like Jim Reeves who performed Hank's songs. The following Hank Williams songs were in Jim's song notebook in 1952:

1. Baby, We're Really In Love
2. Cold, Cold Heart
3. Half As Much
4. Hey, Good Lookin'
5. I Can't Help It If I'm Still In Love With You
6. I'm Sorry for You, My Friend
7. Jambalaya

Jim also performed songs by Eddy Arnold, Lefty Frizzell, Carl Smith, and several other country music singers, as witnessed by their songs appearing in Jim's song lyric notebook.

Did you know that the Vickers Viking airplane in which Jim Reeves, Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer and the Blue Boys were flown during their South African Tour in 1962, has been preserved. A two part article about that tour by Mr. David Davies, was published in the latest two issues of the fan club magazine. Mr. Davies mentioned several incidents with the airplane during that tour. In January 1963, the airplane was put on the roof of a petrol station near Johannesburg. It was removed and taken to the Jan Smuts airport for restoration in March 1987 where it still stands as a tatty hulk.

DID YOU KNOW THAT THE ABN RADIO JIM REEVES SHOW WAS ALSO TRANSMITTED IN EUROPE?

Did you know that the US ARMED FORCES RADIO TRANSCRIPTION SERVICE produced 25 minutes editions of the ABN RADIO JIM REEVES SHOW for transmission on AFN radio stations outside the USA? The program was broadcast in Europe too and attracted little or no attention from the then few European Jim Reeves fans. It did not got mentioned in any of the European 'Hillbilly Music' magazines of that era or in any other European country music magazines since. Possibly the 'pop' content of the programs was the reason for this.

C.V."Buster" Kern was the sheriff of Harris County, Texas (Houston is the county seat) from 1949 until 1972. Sheriff Kern had a custom of deputizing celebrities who visited Houston. He presented them with gold deputy sheriff's badges. Among the celebrities who became Harris County deputies and received gold badges were actor James Cagney, comedian Milton Berle, Elvis Presley, and Jim Reeves.

During a visit to Houston in March,1960, Jim was made a deputy by Sheriff Kern. The badge which the sheriff gave to Jim reads, "Deputy Sheriff, Harris County, Texas, Jim Reeves". Jim also received a matching pair of cuff links (with the Harris County Sheriff's logo) at the time. The Badge and cuff links have survived, and are in a private collection.

In a photo taken on the occasion, Jim is wearing the black and white houndstooth coat which can be seen on the " Gentleman Jim" LP, among others. Sheriff Kern is placing the badge on Jim's left coat lapel, and Mrs. Kern is standing between the two men.

On the back of the picture, in Jim Reeves' handwriting, is the following caption:
"Sheriff Buster Kern pinning badge on Jim Reeves deputizing him as a member of the Harris County Sheriff's Dept. Mrs. Kern looks on. Houston, Texas, Rice Hotel, Thursday March 24, 1960."

DID YOU KNOW WHICH COUNTRIES CONTRIBUTED THE MOST TO JIM REEVES ROYALTIES EARNINGS IN 2004?

Did you know which countries contributed the most to Jim Reeves royalty earnings in 2004? Here is the list of the top eight countries and their percentage of royalty contributions to the Reeves estate as published by a Nashville newspaper:

1. United Kingdom - 24.7 %
2. Canada - 8.5 %
3. South Africa - 4.6 %
4. Australia - 4.6 %
5. Germany - 2.1 %
6. New Zealand - 1.7 %
7. India - 1.2 %
8. Ireland - 1.2 %

DID YOU KNOW THAT MARY REEVES HIRED SOMEONE TO PROMOTE THE JIM REEVES MUSEUM WHEN IT FIRST OPENED?

Fredda Lee was employed to publicize the new Jim Reeves Museum at Nashville, Tennessee. She went to to television and radio stations all across America. In the early 1980's, Fredda logged thousands of miles working for Mary by talking about the museum devoted to Jim.

Almost everywhere she went to be interviewed about the museum and Jim Reeves, whether it was a radio station or a TV station, her promotional work was recorded. Now, almost 30 years after the Jim Reeves Museum first opened, many of those audio tapes and video tapes still survive. Unfortunately, The Jim Reeves Museum itself has not survived.

DID YOU KNOW THAT JIM REEVES RECEIVED A CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION FROM THE COUNTRY MUSIC ASSOCIATION?

Jim Reeves and several other country music performers participated in a couple of C&W shows sponsored by The Country Music Association. The shows were intended to promote country music.

Afterwards, Jim received a certificate from the CMA, dated February 22, 1964, "...for his generous contribution of time and talent in our mutual cause for the broader acceptance and progress of country music."

The certificate was signed by Frances Preston, as Chairman of the Board of the CMA. It was also signed by the then President of the CMA, Tex Ritter. As many fans know, Tex and Jim were both natives of Panola County, Texas.

During Jim's time as a professional singer, several country music performers had television programs. Pee Wee King was a TV pioneer in 1947 with his TV show in Cincinnati. Red Foley's nation-wide show began in 1955. Tenn. Ernie Ford's show originated in California in 1956. "Eddy Arnold Time" was filmed in Chicago in 1955. Flatt and Scruggs had their TV show beginning in the late 1950's. Jimmy Dean's first program was in the '50's. Porter Wagoner's show began in 1960.
The Wilburn Brothers Show started in 1963.

All of these country music shows enjoyed varying degrees of success either on a network basis or in syndication. Yet, the pilot for The Jim Reeves Show did not sell. From the documents which survive, it seems that there was little or no interest in Jim's show among TV executives or advertisers.

One possible explanation for the failure of The Jim Reeves Show pilot to sell has little to do with Jim Reeves himself. The format of the pilot, it's production values, and the general show environment may have caused it to go unsold.

Jim Reeves was a major star and was quite popular by the time the pilot was made, so it seems doubtful that he was the reason the show was rejected. If you compare Jim's pilot with the successful TV shows of his contemporaries, there are some differences, however.

On the successful country music shows of the day, almost all of the music was performed live using singers and musicians, and very little lip-synching. Jim just talked and lip-synched. Most of the other shows had an ensemble-like cast: the star, the musicians, and often a comedian. Jim's show had Jim and a couple of guests. The guests also lip-synched their songs. There was often lively, humorous interaction between the cast members throughout these other shows. Jim talked to the camera or introduced his guests. Most of the other shows had relatively higher production values than Jim's show. The other guys had nicer sets, better visuals, etc. Jim had a slide projector, slides, and a screen.

It is unfortunate that a performer of Jim's stature did not have a better media vehicle to take him before the TV public. If only...

If Jim had performed his songs live with The Blue Boys; if there had been a first class TV "set"; if he would have used a comedian, such as Archie Campbell or Minnie Pearl; if...

But it happened the way it happened. And the powers that be were not interested.

DID YOU KNOW THAT JIM REEVES WAS AN OUTSTANDING PLAYER ON HIS CARTHAGE, TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL TEAM?

Did you know that Jim Reeves was an outstanding player on his Carthage, Texas high school baseball team?

Although he was 85 years old at the time, Jim's coach, Mr. E. B. Morrison, remembered Jim well when asked about him. "Jim Reeves was one of my players. He was an all-state pitcher." said Morrison.

In those days, "The boys didn't get letters for playing baseball. I did have three boys who won all-state honor for baseball and did receive awards. They got little gold baseballs."

Jim Reeves won his little gold baseball in 1941, and it was engraved to him and recognized his outstanding achievement. That particular little gold baseball has survived and is in a private collection.

On October 21, 1963, an 81 year old woman living in Houston, Texas wrote a letter to Jim Reeves asking for his help in obtaining a television set. She did not ask Jim to buy her a TV and give it to her for free. Apparently, the woman's reasoning was that since Jim "worked" for RCA, he might be able to help her get an RCA TV at a discount. She wrote: "I can
pay by the month a small amount...I was hoping that you could get one cheaper than I can."

It appears that Jim soon contacted the RCA distributor in Houston and made some secret arrangements to surprise an old woman.

On October 30, 1963, one of the female employees from the Houston distributor delivered a brand new RCA TV and TV stand to the elderly lady's modest home, set it up, and showed her how to operate the TV.

In his letter to Jim, an employee of the Houstion RCA distributor wrote that the elderly lady who received the gift from Jim "...was thrilled beyond words."

Did you know that after Jim Reeves appeared on Lawrence Welk's television program in 1958, Mr. Welk sent Jim a thank you note?

In his thank you note to Jim Reeves, Lawrence Welk expressed his appreciation to Jim for appearing on his TV show. Welk said that they "all" enjoyed Jim's performance. And Welk further said: "...your wonderful cooperation made it a pleasure to work with you."

An interesting feature of Lawrence Welk's personal stationery is a silhouette of Welk and his accordion standing in a champagne glass with bubbles all around.

Did you know that Jim Reeves had at least three managers? Early in his career when he was with Abbott Records, Jim signed a management contract with Fabor Robison, owner of Abbott Records. After the acrimonious split with Robison, Jim next hired Herb Shucher to manage his career. By that time, Jim had signed with RCA Records. The business association between Jim and Herb lasted a few years, but was eventually dissolved. Many fans may not know that Jim had a third manger by the name of Jim Barry. Barry's tenure as Jim Reeves' manager was short. The few photographs of Barry taken with Jim show Barry dressed in a dinner jacket and wearing a bow tie, which is quite similar to the attire worn at the time by his boss.

Did you know that when one day Mary Reeves bought a Collie and called him Tango. Jim was out on a tour and when Mary phoned him and mentioned the name of dog. Jim told her that he didn't like that name. They decided that since he was in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the dog would be called Cheyenne instead.

Most fans are aware that Jim Reeves grew up on a farm in Texas, but did you know that Jim received an award while in high school for his work in an agriculture class? In 1940 Jim received a certificate of achievement from his high school chapter of the Texas Future Farmers of America for his outstanding work in class. The certificate still exists and is part of major private collection of Jim Reeves memorabilia.

Most Jim Reeves fans know that he wore a hairpiece. The hairpieces which he wore during the last few years of his life were top quality, coming from a California maker.

However, some of his earlier "rugs" did not look so good. In fact, one hairpiece in particular may have played a small part in Jim's missing out on what could have been a significant career advancement.

In 1957, Jim's hit record, "Four Walls", opened many doors for him. One door led Jim to New York City and a meeting with talent agents from an internationally known agency and representatives of corporate America. The purpose of the meeting was to introduce Jim to the corporate reps. Unfortunately, the meeting did not go well for Jim. Later, in his analysis of the meeting, one of the agents stated some reasons why he thought Jim was passed over, and the hairpiece was mentioned. The agent suggested that Jim get a new and better-looking hairpiece.

It is clear from the surviving documents that the hairpiece was only a minor factor in the New York meeting not going well. But it appears that from the time of the meeting onward, the quality and appearance of Jim's hairpieces improved. He seems to have heeded the advice of the New York talent agent.

Did you know that Jim Reeves had more than one secretary? Most long-time fans are aware that Joyce Gray (later Joyce Jackson) was Jim's secretary for several years. But before Jim hired Miss Gray to take care of the office work of correspondence, filing, typing, etc., another woman had those responsibilities. Although it was only for a short time, Shirley O'Daniel handled the secretarial work before Joyce Gray took over.

DID YOU KNOW THAT JIM REEVES HAD A "RUN-IN" IN PRINTER'S ALLEY?

DID YOU KNOW THAT JIM REEVES ENJOYED NASHVILLE'S MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL?