Reed was born on the 20th March 1937 in Atlanta, Georgia, the second child of Robert and Cynthia Hubbard. Reed's parents separated four months after his birth, and he and his sister spent seven years in foster homes or orphanages. Reed was reunited with his mother and stepfather in 1944.
By high school (O'Keefe High School, Atlanta, Georgia) Reed was already writing and singing music, having picked up the guitar as a child. At the age of eighteen he was signed by publisher and record producer Bill Lowery to make his first record, "If the Good Lord's Willing and the Creeks Don't Rise". At Capitol Records, he recorded both country and rockabilly singles with little success, until label mate Gene Vincent covered his "Crazy Legs" in 1958. By 1958, Lowery signed Reed to his National Recording Corporation, and he recorded for NRC as both artist and as a member of the staff band, which included other NRC artists Joe South and Ray Stevens.
Reed married Priscilla Mitchell in 1959. They have two daughters, Charlotte Elaine Reed Stewart, and Seidina Ann Reed Hinesley.
After a two-year stint in the military, Reed moved to Nashville in 1961 to continue his songwriting career, which had continued to gather steam while he was in the armed forces, thanks to Brenda Lee's 1960 cover of his "That's All You Got to Do". He also became a popular session and tour guitarist. In 1962, he scored some success with the singles "Goodnight Irene" and "Hully Gully Guitar", which found their way to Chet Atkins, who produced Reed's 1965 "If I Don't Live Up to It".
In 1967 Reed had his first chart hit with "Guitar Man", which Elvis Presley soon covered. Presley had gone to Nashville to record in 1967, and one of the songs he was working on was "Guitar Man," which Reed had written and recorded. Jarvis hired Reed to play on the session. Reed also played the guitar for Presley's "Too Much Monkey Business" (1968), recorded at the same session. After Presley recorded another of Reed's songs, "U.S. Male", the songwriter recorded an Elvis tribute, "Tupelo Mississippi Flash", which became his first top-twenty hit.
After releasing the 1970 crossover hit "Amos Moses", a hybrid of rock, country, and Cajun styles, which reached number eight on the U.S. pop charts, Reed teamed up with Atkins for the duet LP Me & Jerry. During the 1970 television season, he was a regular on the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and in 1971 he issued his biggest hit, "When You're Hot, You're Hot", which was also the title track of his first solo album and reached number nine on the pop charts.
A second collaboration with Atkins, Me & Chet, followed in 1972, as did a series of top-forty singles, which alternated between frenetic, straightforward country offerings and more pop-flavoured material. A year later, he scored his second number-one single with "Lord, Mr. Ford" (written by Dick Feller), from the album of the same name.
Reed was featured in animated form in a December 9, 1972 episode of Hanna-Barbera's The New Scooby-Doo Movies, "The Phantom of the Country Music Hall". He sang and played the song "Pretty Mary Sunlite", which is played throughout the episode as Scooby and the gang search for Reed's missing guitar.
In the mid-1970s, Reed's recording career began to take a back seat to his acting aspirations. In 1974, he co-starred with his close friend Burt Reynolds in the film W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings. While he continued to record throughout the decade, his greatest visibility was as a film star, almost always in tandem with headliner Reynolds; after 1976's Gator, Reed appeared in 1978's High Ballin and 1979's Hot Stuff, which won the Best Picture award from the Pawn Shop Association of America. He also co-starred in all three of the Smokey and the Bandit films; the first, which premiered in 1977, landed Reed a number-two hit with the soundtrack's "East Bound and Down".
Reed also hosted a television variety show, filming two episodes of The Jerry Reed Show in 1976. The show featured music performances and interview segments, but did not contain the comedy skits that usually were a part of variety shows of the 1970s. Guests included Tammy Wynette, Ray Stevens, and Burt Reynolds.
Reed died on the 31st August 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee, of complications from emphysema.
Amos Moses
Jerry Reed Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now Amos Moses was a Cajun
He lived by himself in the swamp
He hunted alligator for a living
He'd just knock them in the head with a stump
The Louisiana law gonna get you, Amos
It ain't legal hunting alligator down in the swamp, boy
Now everyone blamed his old man
For making him mean as a snake
When Amos Moses was a boy
His daddy would use him for alligator bait
Tie a rope around his base and throw him in the swamp (hahaha)
Alligator bait in the Louisiana bayou
About forty-five minutes southeast of Thibodaux, Louisiana
Lived a man called Doc Millsap and his pretty wife Hannah
Well, they raised up a son that could eat up his weight in groceries
Named him after a man of the cloth
Called him Amos Moses, yeah (haha)
Now the folks from down south Louisiana
Said Amos was a hell of a man
He could trap the biggest, the meanest alligator
And he'd just use one hand
That's all he got left 'cause an alligator bit it (hahaha)
Left arm gone clear up to the elbow
Well the sheriff caught wind that Amos
Was in the swamp trapping alligator skin
So he snuck in the swamp to gon' and get the boy
But he never come out again
Well, I wonder where the Louisiana sheriff went to
Well, you can sure get lost in the Louisiana bayou
About forty-five minutes southeast of Thibodaux, Louisiana
Lived a cat called Doc Millsap and his pretty wife Hannah
Well, they raised up a son that could eat up his weight in groceries
Named him after a man of the cloth
Called him Amos Moses
Sit down on 'em Amos!
Make it count son
About forty-five minutes southeast of Thibodaux, Louisiana
Lived a man called Doc Millsap and his pretty wife Hannah
The song "Amos Moses" by Jerry Reed tells the story of a Cajun man who lives in the swamp of Louisiana and hunts alligators for a living. However, the law is after him, as it is illegal to hunt alligators in the swamp. Amos was raised in a tough environment by his father, who trained him to use himself as bait for alligators when he was just a boy. Despite his upbringing, Amos has become a legendary figure in the local community for his skill in catching alligators, often with just one hand after losing his left arm to an alligator bite.
Line by Line Meaning
Now Amos Moses was a Cajun
Amos Moses was a person of Cajun ethnicity
He lived by himself in the swamp
He resided in the swamp with no other inhabitant
He hunted alligator for a living
His job was to hunt alligators
He'd just knock them in the head with a stump
He killed alligators by hitting them on the head with a stump
The Louisiana law gonna get you, Amos
The Louisiana law will catch you, Amos, for your illegal alligator hunting in the swamp
It ain't legal hunting alligator down in the swamp, boy
Hunting alligators in the swamp is an illegal activity
Now everyone blamed his old man
People held Amos Moses' father responsible for making him rough
For making him mean as a snake
His father's harmful influence caused Amos to become a venomous and vicious person
When Amos Moses was a boy
During his childhood days, as a young child
His daddy would use him for alligator bait
His father would make him alligator bait, tie a rope around him and throw him in the swamp
Tie a rope around his base and throw him in the swamp (hahaha)
His father would tie him with a rope and leave him in the swamp to attract alligators
Alligator bait in the Louisiana bayou
He was used as alligator bait in the Louisiana bayou/swamp
About forty-five minutes southeast of Thibodaux, Louisiana
Thibodaux, Louisiana is located approximately 45 minutes southeast of this place
Lived a man called Doc Millsap and his pretty wife Hannah
A man named Doc Millsap and his beautiful wife Hannah lived there
Well, they raised up a son that could eat up his weight in groceries
They had a son who could eat a lot
Named him after a man of the cloth
Their son was named after a religious figure
Called him Amos Moses, yeah (haha)
They named him Amos Moses
Now the folks from down south Louisiana
People from southern Louisiana
Said Amos was a hell of a man
People praised Amos for his bravery and strength
He could trap the biggest, the meanest alligator
He could successfully catch the biggest, strongest alligators
And he'd just use one hand
He accomplished all of this with only one hand
That's all he got left 'cause an alligator bit it (hahaha)
He lost his other hand when an alligator bit it off
Left arm gone clear up to the elbow
The alligator bit off his left arm up to the elbow
Well the sheriff caught wind that Amos
The sheriff heard about Amos Moses
Was in the swamp trapping alligator skin
Amos was hunting and catching alligators for their skin
So he snuck in the swamp to gon' and get the boy
The sheriff went to the swamp to catch Amos illegally hunting alligators
But he never come out again
The sheriff never returned back
Well, I wonder where the Louisiana sheriff went to
The whereabouts of the Louisiana sheriff is unknown
Well, you can sure get lost in the Louisiana bayou
It's easy to get lost in the swamp and bayou areas in Louisiana
Sit down on 'em Amos!
A command to attack or overpower the opponent
Make it count son
Make your move carefully and thoughtfully
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Jerry Reed
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind