Jim Reeves~ "Am I That Easy to Forget"

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. He was born in Galloway, Texas a small rural community near Carthage.

Jim Reeves Drive at the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in Carthage, Texas

Legacy

Reeves was elected posthumously to the Country Music Hall of Fame during 1967, which honored him by saying, "The velvet style of 'Gentleman Jim Reeves' was an international influence.

His rich voice brought millions of new fans to country music from every corner of the world.

Although the crash of his private airplane took his life, posterity will keep his name alive because they will remember him as one of country music's most important performers."

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

The inscription on the memorial reads,

 "If I, a lowly singer, dry one tear, or soothe one humble human heart in pain, then my homely verse to God is dear, and not one stanza has been sung in vain."

Posthumous releases

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

His widow, Mary, combined unreleased tracks with previous releases (placing updated instrumentals alongside Reeves' original vocals) to produce a regular series of "new" albums after her husband's death.

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

On the fifteenth anniversary of Jim's death Mary told a country music magazine interviewer, "Jim Reeves my husband is gone; Jim Reeves the artist lives on." ^[6]

During 1966, Reeves' record "Distant Drums" scored No. 1 on the British singles chart and scored there for five weeks, besting competition from the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" and "Eleanor Rigby" (a double-sided "A" release), and the Small Faces' song, "All Or Nothing".

The song scored on the UK charts for 45 weeks and scored No. 1 on the US country music chart.

Originally, "Distant Drums" had been recorded merely as a "demo" for its composer, Cindy Walker, believing it was for her personal use and had been deemed "unsuitable" for general release by Chet Atkins and RCA Victor.

During 1966, however, RCA determined that there was a market for the song because of the war in Vietnam. It was named Song of the Year in the UK during 1966 and Reeves became the first American artist to receive the accolade. That same year, singer Del Reeves (no relation) recorded an album paying tribute to him.

In 1980, Reeves had another two Top Ten posthumous duet hits along with the late country star Patsy Cline, who featured on Have You Ever Been Lonely? and I Fall to Pieces.

 Although the two had never recorded together during their tragically short lives, producers Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley lifted their isolated vocal performances off their original 3-track stereo master session tapes, resynchronized them and re-recorded new digital backing tracks.

Reeves' compilation albums containing well-known standards continue to sell well.

 The Definitive Collection scored No. 21 in the UK album charts during July 2003, and Memories are Made of This scored No. 35 during July 2004.

Bear Family Records produced a 16-CD boxed set of Reeves' studio recordings and several smaller sets, mainly radio broadcasts and demos.

During 2007, the label released a set entitled Nashville Stars on Tour, including audio and video material of the RCA European tour during April 1964 in which Reeves features prominently.

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

Among them was "I'm a Hit Again", the last song he recorded in his basement studio just a few days before his death. VoiceMasters overdubbed this track in the same studio in Reeves' former home (now owned by a Nashville record producer).

Reeves' fans repeatedly urged RCA or Bear Family to re-release some of the songs overdubbed during the years after his death which have never appeared on CD.

A compilation CD The Very Best of Jim Reeves scored No. 8 on initial release in the UK album chart during May 2009, to later score its maximum of No. 7 during late June, his first top 10 album in the UK since 1992.

Source:Wikipedia

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