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.
Georgia On My Mind
Jerry Reed Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I never met a woman quite like you and all the sweet things you do
Stay fine on my mind all the time
My papa said someday boy true love's gonna come your way
Someday some woman's gonna love you right out of your mind
You'll lose your appetite it won't be able to sleep at night
For thinkin' bout some woman all the time
Well girl you're fine...
Well if papa could just see me Lord I know how tickled he'd be
To know some woman got me talkin' to myself
And it's been like this since it come first time we kissed
I can't seem to think about nothin' else
Yes girl you're fine...
The lyrics to Jerry Reed's song "Georgia On My Mind" express the singer's infatuation with a woman who is constantly on his mind. He describes her as unique and sweet, and her presence occupies his every thought. The song's chorus repeats the phrase "fine on my mind all the time" to emphasize the woman's significance to the singer.
The second verse introduces the singer's father, who predicts his son will find true love. The singer acknowledges that his father was right, as he has indeed found a woman who consumes his thoughts day and night. The lyrics suggest that the singer is experiencing a profound infatuation with this woman, as he talks to himself about her, loses his appetite, and struggles to sleep.
Overall, the lyrics of "Georgia On My Mind" convey the intensity of the singer's emotions and the impact that this woman has had on his life.
Line by Line Meaning
Well girl you're fine on my mind all the time fine on my mind all the time
I can't stop thinking about you and how great you are. You are always on my mind, and I can't get enough of you.
I never met a woman quite like you and all the sweet things you do
You are absolutely unique and special, and no one else can compare to you. Your sweetness and kindness are unmatched.
Stay fine on my mind all the time
Please stay with me always because I never want to let you go. I want to keep you close to me in my thoughts and in my heart.
My papa said someday boy true love's gonna come your way
My father always told me that one day I would find true love, and I never believed him until I met you. You are the love I have been waiting for.
Someday some woman's gonna love you right out of your mind
My father also said that one day a woman would come along and love me so much that I would lose my mind. I never knew what he meant until now.
You'll lose your appetite it won't be able to sleep at night
This love is so intense that it consumes me entirely. I can't eat, sleep or think about anything else.
For thinkin' bout some woman all the time
All I can think about is you, and it's driving me crazy. I can't imagine my life without you, and I want to spend every moment with you.
Well if papa could just see me Lord I know how tickled he'd be
If my father were alive to see me now, he would be so happy that I have finally found true love. He always believed in me, and I'm so glad that I can prove him right.
To know some woman got me talkin' to myself
I'm so crazy in love with you that I find myself talking to myself about you. I just can't help it, and it's all because of how amazing you are.
And it's been like this since it come first time we kissed
Ever since our first kiss, I knew that you were the one for me. I felt a connection with you that I had never felt before, and it only grows stronger with each passing day.
I can't seem to think about nothin' else
My thoughts are consumed by you, and I can't focus on anything else. All I want is to be with you and to cherish the love we share.
Yes girl you're fine...
In conclusion, you are the most amazing woman I have ever met, and I am so grateful to have you in my life. You are always on my mind, and I will always cherish the love we share.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JERRY HUBBARD REED
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@markthornton1560
An arrangement and ideas only Jerry could come up with. All his own, from the heart. Musical taste at its best.
@maxwelld1961
Back again, a genius, and the best guitarist, (in my humble opinion ) that ever picked up a six string.R.I.P. Snowman, we Love and sure do Miss you.
@moseyalong1
This man's musical sense is just unbelievable.
@byronlowder
Jerry's guitar could talk better than a lot of folks!
@jimyeomans4299
Oh boy. What an interpretation. Love this. RIP Jerry. With all your recorded music we will never tired or miss your artistry. We just miss you.
@Coppertunes
Probably one of the best versions of this wonderful song.
@budhee
Hand Up .. Just discovered Jerry .. Went from Guitar Man to Today Is Mine to this .. Had a good day today ....
@1954tele
Jerry Reed; Miles & miles of chops. Sure do miss you & Chet. RIP
@thomasa.bradley6292
An amazing guitarist.
@fanmanone
Yes He Is, R.I.P. Jerry.