Jim Reeves
James Travis "Jim" Reeves (August 20, 1923 – July 31, 1964) was an American… Read Full Bio ↴James Travis "Jim" Reeves (August 20, 1923 – July 31, 1964) was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville sound (a mixture of older country-style music with elements of popular music). Reeves scored his greatest success with the Joe Allison composition "He'll Have to Go". Known as "Gentleman Jim", his songs continued to chart for years after his death. Reeves died at age 40 in the crash of a private airplane. He is a member of both the Country Music and Texas Country Music Halls of Fame.
Reeves was born in Galloway, Texas, a small rural community near Carthage. Winning an athletic scholarship to the University of Texas, he enrolled to study speech and drama, but quit after only six weeks to work in the shipyards in Houston. Soon he resumed baseball, playing in the semi-professional leagues before contracting with the St. Louis Cardinals "farm" team during 1944 as a right-handed pitcher. He played for the minor leagues for three years before severing his sciatic nerve while pitching, which ended his athletic career.
Reeves began to work as a radio announcer, and sang live between songs. During the late 1940s, he was contracted with a couple of small Texas-based recording companies, but without success. Influenced by such Western swing-music artists as Jimmie Rodgers and Moon Mullican, as well as popular singers Bing Crosby, Eddy Arnold and Frank Sinatra, it was not long before he was a member of Moon Mullican's band, and made some early Mullican-style recordings like "Each Beat of my Heart" and "My Heart's Like a Welcome Mat" from the late 1940s to the early 1950s.
He eventually obtained a job as an announcer for KWKH-AM in Shreveport, Louisiana, home of the popular former radio program, the Louisiana Hayride. According to former Hayride master of ceremonies Frank Page, who had introduced Elvis Presley on the program in 1954, singer Sleepy LaBeef was late for a performance, and Reeves was asked to substitute. (Other accounts—-including Reeves himself, in an interview on the RCA album Yours Sincerely—-name Hank Williams as the absentee.)
Reeves' first successful country music songs included "I Love You" (a duet with Ginny Wright), "Mexican Joe", and "Bimbo" which reached Number 1 in 1954 on the U.S. Country Charts, and other songs with both Fabor Records and Abbott Records. Abbott released his first album in November 1955, Jim Reeves Sings (Abbott 5001), which was the label's only album release. Earlier in 1955, he was signed to a 10-year recording contract with RCA Victor by Steve Sholes, who produced some of Reeves' first recordings at RCA and signed Elvis Presley for the company that same year. Also in 1955, he joined the Grand Ole Opry and made his first appearance on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee, where he was a fill-in host from May–July 1958.
For his earliest RCA recordings, Reeves was still singing with the loud style of his first recordings, considered standard for country and western performers at that time. He decreased his volume, using a lower pitch and singing with lips nearly touching the microphone, although there were protests at RCA. During 1957, with the endorsement of his producer Chet Atkins, he used this style for his version of a demonstration song of lost love intended for a female singer. "Four Walls" not only scored No. 1 on the country music charts, but scored No. 11 on the popular music charts. Reeves had helped begin a new style of country music, using violins and lusher background arrangements soon known as the Nashville sound.
Reeves became known as a crooner because of his rich light baritone voice. Songs such as "Adios Amigo", "Welcome to My World", and "Am I Losing You?" demonstrated this. His Christmas songs have been perennial favorites, including "C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S", "Blue Christmas" and "An Old Christmas Card".
He is also responsible for popularizing many gospel songs, including "We Thank Thee", "Take My Hand, Precious Lord", "Across The Bridge", "Where We'll Never Grow Old" and many others.
Reeves scored his greatest success with the Joe Allison composition "He'll Have to Go", a great success on both the popular and country music charts, which earned him a platinum record. Released during late 1959, it scored number one on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Songs chart on February 8, 1960, which it scored for 14 weeks consecutive. Country music historian Bill Malone noted that while it was in many ways a conventional country song, its arrangement and the vocal chorus "put this recording in the country pop vein". In addition, Malone lauded Reeves' vocal styling—lowered to "its natural resonant level" to project the "caressing style that became famous"—as why "many people refer to him as the singer with the velvet touch." In 1963, he released his well proclaimed "Twelve Songs of Christmas" album, which had the well known songs "C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S" and "An Old Christmas Card". During 1975, RCA producer Chet Atkins told an interviewer, "Jim wanted to be a tenor but I wanted him to be a baritone... After he changed his voice to that smooth deeper sound, he was immensely popular."
Reeves' international popularity during the 1960s, however, at times surpassed his popularity in the United States, helping to give country music a worldwide market for the first time.
During the early 1960s, Reeves was more popular in South Africa than Elvis Presley and recorded several albums in the Afrikaans language. In 1963, he toured and was featured in a South African film, Kimberley Jim. The film was released with a special prologue and epilogue in South African cinemas after Reeves' death, praising him as a true friend of the country. The film was produced, directed, and written by Emil Nofal.[citation needed]
Reeves was one of an exclusive trio of performers to have released an album there that played at the little-used 16⅔ rpm speed. This unusual format was more suited to the spoken word and was quickly discontinued for music. The only other artists known to have released such albums in South Africa were Elvis Presley and Slim Whitman.
Reeves toured Britain and Ireland during 1963 between his tours of South Africa and Europe. Reeves and the Blue Boys were in Ireland from May 30 to June 19, 1963, with a tour of US military bases from June 10 to June 15, when they returned to Ireland. They performed in most counties in Ireland, though Reeves occasionally abbreviated performances because he was unhappy with the piano. In a June 6, 1963 interview with Spotlight magazine, Reeves expressed his concerns about the tour schedule and the condition of the pianos, but said he was pleased with the audiences.
There was a press reception for him at the Shannon Shamrock Inn organised by Tom Monaghan of Bunratty Castle, County Clare. Show band singers Maisie McDaniel and Dermot O' Brien welcomed him on May 29, 1963. A photograph appeared in the Limerick Leader on 1 June, 1963. Press coverage continued from May until Reeves's arrival with a photograph of the press reception in The Irish Press. Billboard magazine in the US also reported the tour before and after. The single "Welcome to My World" with the B/W side "Juanita" was released by RCA Victor during June 1963 and bought by the distributors Irish Records Factors Ltd. This scored the record number one while Reeves was there during June.
There were a number of accounts of his dances in the local newspapers and a good account was given in The Kilkenny People of his dance in the Mayfair Ballroom where 1,700 persons were present. There was a photograph in The Donegal Democrat of Reeves's singing in the Pavesi Ball Room on June 7 1963, and an account of his non-appearance on stage in The Diamond, Kiltimagh, County Mayo in The Western People representing how the tour went in different areas.
He planned to record an album of popular Irish songs, and had three number one songs in Ireland during 1963 and 1964: "Welcome to My World", "I Love You Because", and "I Won't Forget You". (The last two are estimated to have sold 860,000 and 750,000 respectively in Britain alone, excluding Ireland.) Reeves had 11 songs in the Irish charts from 1962 to 1967. He recorded two Irish ballads, "Danny Boy" and "Maureen". "He'll Have to Go" was his most popular song there and was at number one and on the charts for months during 1960. He was one of the most popular recording artists in Ireland, in the first ten after the Beatles, Elvis and Cliff Richard.
He was permitted to perform in Ireland by the Irish Federation of Musicians on the condition that he share the bill with Irish show bands, becoming popular by 1963. The British Federation of Musicians would not permit him to perform there because no agreement existed for British show bands to travel to America in exchange for the Blue Boys playing in Britain. Reeves, however, performed for British radio and TV programmes.
Reeves played at the sports arena Njårdhallen, Oslo on April 16, 1964 with Bobby Bare, Chet Atkins, the Blue Boys and the Anita Kerr Singers. They performed two concerts; the second was televised and recorded by the Norwegian network NRK (Norsk Rikskringkasting, the only one in Norway at the time). The complete concert, however, was not recorded, including some of Reeves' last songs. There are reports he performed "You're the Only Good Thing (That's Happened to Me)" in this section. The program has been repeated on NRK several times over the years.
His first success in Norway, "He'll Have to Go", scored No. 1 in the Top Ten and scored the chart for 29 weeks. "I Love You Because" was his greatest success in Norway, scoring No. 1 during 1964 and scoring on the list for 39 weeks. His albums spent 696 weeks in the Norwegian Top 20 chart, making him one of the most popular music artists in the history of Norway.
Reeves' last recording session for RCA Victor had produced "Make the World Go Away", "Missing You", and "Is It Really Over?" When the session ended with some time remaining on the schedule, Reeves suggested he record one more song. He taped "I Can't Stop Loving You", in what was to be his last RCA recording. He made one later recording, however, at the little studio in his home. During July 1964 Reeves recorded "I'm a Hit Again", using just an acoustic guitar as accompaniment. That recording was never released by RCA but appeared during 2003 as part of a collection of Reeves songs, after RCA had sold its rights to Reeves' recordings.
On July 31, 1964, Reeves and his business partner and manager Dean Manuel (also the pianist of Reeves' backing group, the Blue Boys) left Batesville, Arkansas, en route to Nashville in a single-engine Beechcraft Debonair aircraft, with Reeves at the controls. The two had secured a deal on some real estate (Reeves had also unsuccessfully tried to buy property from the LaGrone family in Deadwood, Texas, north of his birthplace of Galloway).
While flying over Brentwood, Tennessee, they encountered a violent thunderstorm. A subsequent investigation showed that the small airplane had become caught in the storm and Reeves suffered spatial disorientation. The singer's widow, Mary Reeves (1929-1999), probably unwittingly started the rumor that he was flying the airplane upside down and assumed he was increasing altitude to clear the storm. However, according to Larry Jordan, author of the 2011 biography, Jim Reeves: His Untold Story, this scenario is refuted by eyewitnesses known to crash investigators who saw the plane overhead immediately before the mishap, and confirmed that Reeves was not upside down. Jordan writes extensively about forensic evidence (including from the long-elusive tower tape and accident report), which suggests that instead of making a right turn to avoid the storm (as he had been advised by the Approach Controller to do), Reeves turned left in an attempt to follow Franklin Road to the airport. In so doing, he flew further into the rain. While preoccupied with trying to re-establish his ground references, Reeves let his airspeed get too low and stalled the aircraft. Relying on his instincts more than his training, evidence suggests he applied full power and pulled back on the yoke before leveling his wings—a fatal, but not uncommon, mistake that induced a stall/spin from which he was too low to recover. Jordan writes that according to the tower tape, Reeves ran into the heavy rain at 4:51 p.m. and crashed only a minute later, at 4:52 p.m.
When the wreckage was found some 42 hours later, it was discovered the airplane's engine and nose were buried in the ground due to the impact of the crash. The crash site was in a wooded area north-northeast of Brentwood approximately at the junction of Baxter Lane and Franklin Pike Circle, just east of Interstate 65, and southwest of Nashville International Airport where Reeves planned to land. Coincidentally, both Reeves and Randy Hughes, the pilot of Patsy Cline's ill-fated airplane, were trained by the same instructor.[citation needed]
On the morning of August 2, 1964, after an intense search by several parties (which included several personal friends of Reeves including Ernest Tubb and Marty Robbins) the bodies of the singer and Dean Manuel were found in the wreckage of the aircraft and, at 1:00 p.m. local time, radio stations across the United States began to announce Reeves' death formally. Thousands of people traveled to pay their last respects at his funeral two days later. The coffin, draped in flowers from fans, was driven through the streets of Nashville and then to Reeves' final resting place near Carthage, Texas.
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."
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."
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.
Reeves had many fans in both India and Sri Lanka since the 1960s, and is probably the all-time most popular English language singer in Sri Lanka. His Christmas carols are especially popular, and music stores continue to carry his CDs or audio cassettes.[citation needed] Two of his songs, "There's a Heartache Following Me" and "Welcome to My World," were favorites of the Indian spiritual teacher Meher Baba.[citation needed] A follower of Meher Baba, Pete Townshend of the Who, recorded his own version of "Heartache" on his first major solo album Who Came First during 1972.
Robert Svoboda, in his trilogy on aghora and the Aghori Vimalananda, mentions that Vimalananda considered Reeves a gandharva, i.e. in Indian tradition, a heavenly musician, who had been born on Earth. He had Svoboda play Reeves' "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" at his cremation.
Tributes to Reeves were composed in Britain and Ireland after his death. The song "A Tribute to Jim Reeves" was written by Eddie Masterson and recorded by Larry Cunningham and the Mighty Avons and during January 1965 it scored on the UK Charts and Top Ten in Ireland. It scored the UK Charts on the 10 December 1964 and was there for 11 weeks and sold 250,000 copies. The Dixielanders Show Band also recorded a Tribute to Jim Reeves written by Steve Lynch and recorded during September 1964 and it scored the North of Ireland Charts during September 1964. The Masterson song was translated later into Dutch and recorded.
In the UK, "We'll Remember You" was written by Geoff Goddard but not released until 2008 on the Now & Then: From Joe Meek To New Zealand double album by Houston Wells.
Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra, a Canadian alternative rock band whose musical style blends elements of surf music, gospel music, rockabilly, garage and punk released the song entitled "Jimmy Reeves" on their 1992 album "Don't Mind If I Do"
Reeves remains a popular artist in Ireland and many Irish singers have recorded tribute albums. A play by author Dermot Devitt, Put Your Sweet Lips, was based on Reeves' appearance in Ireland at the Pavesi Ballroom in Donegal town on 7 June 1963 and reminiscences of people there.
Blind R&B and blues music artist Robert Bradley (of the band Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise) paid tribute to Reeves in the album description of his release, Out of the Wilderness. Bradley is quoted as saying, "This record brings me back to the time when I started out wanting to be a singer-songwriter, where the music did not need the New York Philharmonic to make it real...I wanted to do a record and just be Robert and sing straight like Jim Reeves on ‘Put Your Sweet Lips a Little Closer to the Phone.'"
British comedian Vic Reeves adopted his stage name from Reeves and Vic Damone, two of his favorite singers.
In the United States, Del Reeves (no relation) recorded and released a 1966 album entitled Del Reeves sings Jim Reeves.
Reeves' nephew, John Rex Reeves, appears occasionally on RFD-TV's Midwest Country, singing the songs of his uncle, and other popular country songs.
Reeves was born in Galloway, Texas, a small rural community near Carthage. Winning an athletic scholarship to the University of Texas, he enrolled to study speech and drama, but quit after only six weeks to work in the shipyards in Houston. Soon he resumed baseball, playing in the semi-professional leagues before contracting with the St. Louis Cardinals "farm" team during 1944 as a right-handed pitcher. He played for the minor leagues for three years before severing his sciatic nerve while pitching, which ended his athletic career.
Reeves began to work as a radio announcer, and sang live between songs. During the late 1940s, he was contracted with a couple of small Texas-based recording companies, but without success. Influenced by such Western swing-music artists as Jimmie Rodgers and Moon Mullican, as well as popular singers Bing Crosby, Eddy Arnold and Frank Sinatra, it was not long before he was a member of Moon Mullican's band, and made some early Mullican-style recordings like "Each Beat of my Heart" and "My Heart's Like a Welcome Mat" from the late 1940s to the early 1950s.
He eventually obtained a job as an announcer for KWKH-AM in Shreveport, Louisiana, home of the popular former radio program, the Louisiana Hayride. According to former Hayride master of ceremonies Frank Page, who had introduced Elvis Presley on the program in 1954, singer Sleepy LaBeef was late for a performance, and Reeves was asked to substitute. (Other accounts—-including Reeves himself, in an interview on the RCA album Yours Sincerely—-name Hank Williams as the absentee.)
Reeves' first successful country music songs included "I Love You" (a duet with Ginny Wright), "Mexican Joe", and "Bimbo" which reached Number 1 in 1954 on the U.S. Country Charts, and other songs with both Fabor Records and Abbott Records. Abbott released his first album in November 1955, Jim Reeves Sings (Abbott 5001), which was the label's only album release. Earlier in 1955, he was signed to a 10-year recording contract with RCA Victor by Steve Sholes, who produced some of Reeves' first recordings at RCA and signed Elvis Presley for the company that same year. Also in 1955, he joined the Grand Ole Opry and made his first appearance on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee, where he was a fill-in host from May–July 1958.
For his earliest RCA recordings, Reeves was still singing with the loud style of his first recordings, considered standard for country and western performers at that time. He decreased his volume, using a lower pitch and singing with lips nearly touching the microphone, although there were protests at RCA. During 1957, with the endorsement of his producer Chet Atkins, he used this style for his version of a demonstration song of lost love intended for a female singer. "Four Walls" not only scored No. 1 on the country music charts, but scored No. 11 on the popular music charts. Reeves had helped begin a new style of country music, using violins and lusher background arrangements soon known as the Nashville sound.
Reeves became known as a crooner because of his rich light baritone voice. Songs such as "Adios Amigo", "Welcome to My World", and "Am I Losing You?" demonstrated this. His Christmas songs have been perennial favorites, including "C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S", "Blue Christmas" and "An Old Christmas Card".
He is also responsible for popularizing many gospel songs, including "We Thank Thee", "Take My Hand, Precious Lord", "Across The Bridge", "Where We'll Never Grow Old" and many others.
Reeves scored his greatest success with the Joe Allison composition "He'll Have to Go", a great success on both the popular and country music charts, which earned him a platinum record. Released during late 1959, it scored number one on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Songs chart on February 8, 1960, which it scored for 14 weeks consecutive. Country music historian Bill Malone noted that while it was in many ways a conventional country song, its arrangement and the vocal chorus "put this recording in the country pop vein". In addition, Malone lauded Reeves' vocal styling—lowered to "its natural resonant level" to project the "caressing style that became famous"—as why "many people refer to him as the singer with the velvet touch." In 1963, he released his well proclaimed "Twelve Songs of Christmas" album, which had the well known songs "C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S" and "An Old Christmas Card". During 1975, RCA producer Chet Atkins told an interviewer, "Jim wanted to be a tenor but I wanted him to be a baritone... After he changed his voice to that smooth deeper sound, he was immensely popular."
Reeves' international popularity during the 1960s, however, at times surpassed his popularity in the United States, helping to give country music a worldwide market for the first time.
During the early 1960s, Reeves was more popular in South Africa than Elvis Presley and recorded several albums in the Afrikaans language. In 1963, he toured and was featured in a South African film, Kimberley Jim. The film was released with a special prologue and epilogue in South African cinemas after Reeves' death, praising him as a true friend of the country. The film was produced, directed, and written by Emil Nofal.[citation needed]
Reeves was one of an exclusive trio of performers to have released an album there that played at the little-used 16⅔ rpm speed. This unusual format was more suited to the spoken word and was quickly discontinued for music. The only other artists known to have released such albums in South Africa were Elvis Presley and Slim Whitman.
Reeves toured Britain and Ireland during 1963 between his tours of South Africa and Europe. Reeves and the Blue Boys were in Ireland from May 30 to June 19, 1963, with a tour of US military bases from June 10 to June 15, when they returned to Ireland. They performed in most counties in Ireland, though Reeves occasionally abbreviated performances because he was unhappy with the piano. In a June 6, 1963 interview with Spotlight magazine, Reeves expressed his concerns about the tour schedule and the condition of the pianos, but said he was pleased with the audiences.
There was a press reception for him at the Shannon Shamrock Inn organised by Tom Monaghan of Bunratty Castle, County Clare. Show band singers Maisie McDaniel and Dermot O' Brien welcomed him on May 29, 1963. A photograph appeared in the Limerick Leader on 1 June, 1963. Press coverage continued from May until Reeves's arrival with a photograph of the press reception in The Irish Press. Billboard magazine in the US also reported the tour before and after. The single "Welcome to My World" with the B/W side "Juanita" was released by RCA Victor during June 1963 and bought by the distributors Irish Records Factors Ltd. This scored the record number one while Reeves was there during June.
There were a number of accounts of his dances in the local newspapers and a good account was given in The Kilkenny People of his dance in the Mayfair Ballroom where 1,700 persons were present. There was a photograph in The Donegal Democrat of Reeves's singing in the Pavesi Ball Room on June 7 1963, and an account of his non-appearance on stage in The Diamond, Kiltimagh, County Mayo in The Western People representing how the tour went in different areas.
He planned to record an album of popular Irish songs, and had three number one songs in Ireland during 1963 and 1964: "Welcome to My World", "I Love You Because", and "I Won't Forget You". (The last two are estimated to have sold 860,000 and 750,000 respectively in Britain alone, excluding Ireland.) Reeves had 11 songs in the Irish charts from 1962 to 1967. He recorded two Irish ballads, "Danny Boy" and "Maureen". "He'll Have to Go" was his most popular song there and was at number one and on the charts for months during 1960. He was one of the most popular recording artists in Ireland, in the first ten after the Beatles, Elvis and Cliff Richard.
He was permitted to perform in Ireland by the Irish Federation of Musicians on the condition that he share the bill with Irish show bands, becoming popular by 1963. The British Federation of Musicians would not permit him to perform there because no agreement existed for British show bands to travel to America in exchange for the Blue Boys playing in Britain. Reeves, however, performed for British radio and TV programmes.
Reeves played at the sports arena Njårdhallen, Oslo on April 16, 1964 with Bobby Bare, Chet Atkins, the Blue Boys and the Anita Kerr Singers. They performed two concerts; the second was televised and recorded by the Norwegian network NRK (Norsk Rikskringkasting, the only one in Norway at the time). The complete concert, however, was not recorded, including some of Reeves' last songs. There are reports he performed "You're the Only Good Thing (That's Happened to Me)" in this section. The program has been repeated on NRK several times over the years.
His first success in Norway, "He'll Have to Go", scored No. 1 in the Top Ten and scored the chart for 29 weeks. "I Love You Because" was his greatest success in Norway, scoring No. 1 during 1964 and scoring on the list for 39 weeks. His albums spent 696 weeks in the Norwegian Top 20 chart, making him one of the most popular music artists in the history of Norway.
Reeves' last recording session for RCA Victor had produced "Make the World Go Away", "Missing You", and "Is It Really Over?" When the session ended with some time remaining on the schedule, Reeves suggested he record one more song. He taped "I Can't Stop Loving You", in what was to be his last RCA recording. He made one later recording, however, at the little studio in his home. During July 1964 Reeves recorded "I'm a Hit Again", using just an acoustic guitar as accompaniment. That recording was never released by RCA but appeared during 2003 as part of a collection of Reeves songs, after RCA had sold its rights to Reeves' recordings.
On July 31, 1964, Reeves and his business partner and manager Dean Manuel (also the pianist of Reeves' backing group, the Blue Boys) left Batesville, Arkansas, en route to Nashville in a single-engine Beechcraft Debonair aircraft, with Reeves at the controls. The two had secured a deal on some real estate (Reeves had also unsuccessfully tried to buy property from the LaGrone family in Deadwood, Texas, north of his birthplace of Galloway).
While flying over Brentwood, Tennessee, they encountered a violent thunderstorm. A subsequent investigation showed that the small airplane had become caught in the storm and Reeves suffered spatial disorientation. The singer's widow, Mary Reeves (1929-1999), probably unwittingly started the rumor that he was flying the airplane upside down and assumed he was increasing altitude to clear the storm. However, according to Larry Jordan, author of the 2011 biography, Jim Reeves: His Untold Story, this scenario is refuted by eyewitnesses known to crash investigators who saw the plane overhead immediately before the mishap, and confirmed that Reeves was not upside down. Jordan writes extensively about forensic evidence (including from the long-elusive tower tape and accident report), which suggests that instead of making a right turn to avoid the storm (as he had been advised by the Approach Controller to do), Reeves turned left in an attempt to follow Franklin Road to the airport. In so doing, he flew further into the rain. While preoccupied with trying to re-establish his ground references, Reeves let his airspeed get too low and stalled the aircraft. Relying on his instincts more than his training, evidence suggests he applied full power and pulled back on the yoke before leveling his wings—a fatal, but not uncommon, mistake that induced a stall/spin from which he was too low to recover. Jordan writes that according to the tower tape, Reeves ran into the heavy rain at 4:51 p.m. and crashed only a minute later, at 4:52 p.m.
When the wreckage was found some 42 hours later, it was discovered the airplane's engine and nose were buried in the ground due to the impact of the crash. The crash site was in a wooded area north-northeast of Brentwood approximately at the junction of Baxter Lane and Franklin Pike Circle, just east of Interstate 65, and southwest of Nashville International Airport where Reeves planned to land. Coincidentally, both Reeves and Randy Hughes, the pilot of Patsy Cline's ill-fated airplane, were trained by the same instructor.[citation needed]
On the morning of August 2, 1964, after an intense search by several parties (which included several personal friends of Reeves including Ernest Tubb and Marty Robbins) the bodies of the singer and Dean Manuel were found in the wreckage of the aircraft and, at 1:00 p.m. local time, radio stations across the United States began to announce Reeves' death formally. Thousands of people traveled to pay their last respects at his funeral two days later. The coffin, draped in flowers from fans, was driven through the streets of Nashville and then to Reeves' final resting place near Carthage, Texas.
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."
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."
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.
Reeves had many fans in both India and Sri Lanka since the 1960s, and is probably the all-time most popular English language singer in Sri Lanka. His Christmas carols are especially popular, and music stores continue to carry his CDs or audio cassettes.[citation needed] Two of his songs, "There's a Heartache Following Me" and "Welcome to My World," were favorites of the Indian spiritual teacher Meher Baba.[citation needed] A follower of Meher Baba, Pete Townshend of the Who, recorded his own version of "Heartache" on his first major solo album Who Came First during 1972.
Robert Svoboda, in his trilogy on aghora and the Aghori Vimalananda, mentions that Vimalananda considered Reeves a gandharva, i.e. in Indian tradition, a heavenly musician, who had been born on Earth. He had Svoboda play Reeves' "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" at his cremation.
Tributes to Reeves were composed in Britain and Ireland after his death. The song "A Tribute to Jim Reeves" was written by Eddie Masterson and recorded by Larry Cunningham and the Mighty Avons and during January 1965 it scored on the UK Charts and Top Ten in Ireland. It scored the UK Charts on the 10 December 1964 and was there for 11 weeks and sold 250,000 copies. The Dixielanders Show Band also recorded a Tribute to Jim Reeves written by Steve Lynch and recorded during September 1964 and it scored the North of Ireland Charts during September 1964. The Masterson song was translated later into Dutch and recorded.
In the UK, "We'll Remember You" was written by Geoff Goddard but not released until 2008 on the Now & Then: From Joe Meek To New Zealand double album by Houston Wells.
Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra, a Canadian alternative rock band whose musical style blends elements of surf music, gospel music, rockabilly, garage and punk released the song entitled "Jimmy Reeves" on their 1992 album "Don't Mind If I Do"
Reeves remains a popular artist in Ireland and many Irish singers have recorded tribute albums. A play by author Dermot Devitt, Put Your Sweet Lips, was based on Reeves' appearance in Ireland at the Pavesi Ballroom in Donegal town on 7 June 1963 and reminiscences of people there.
Blind R&B and blues music artist Robert Bradley (of the band Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise) paid tribute to Reeves in the album description of his release, Out of the Wilderness. Bradley is quoted as saying, "This record brings me back to the time when I started out wanting to be a singer-songwriter, where the music did not need the New York Philharmonic to make it real...I wanted to do a record and just be Robert and sing straight like Jim Reeves on ‘Put Your Sweet Lips a Little Closer to the Phone.'"
British comedian Vic Reeves adopted his stage name from Reeves and Vic Damone, two of his favorite singers.
In the United States, Del Reeves (no relation) recorded and released a 1966 album entitled Del Reeves sings Jim Reeves.
Reeves' nephew, John Rex Reeves, appears occasionally on RFD-TV's Midwest Country, singing the songs of his uncle, and other popular country songs.
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Jim Reeves Lyrics
'Til the End of the World Till the star in the sky seems to shine Till the…
'Till The End Of The World Till the stars in the sky cease to shine Till the…
A Beatiful Life Each day I'll do a golden deed by helping those…
A Fallen Star A star fell from heaven right into my arms A brighter…
A Fool Such As I Pardon me if I'm sentimental when we say goodbye Don't be…
A Letter to My Heart Dear heart, there is something I must tell you Something sad…
A Nickel Piece of Candy When you were a little girl And lived across the street…
A Railroad Bum I used to be a railroad bum a living on…
A Room Full Of Roses If I sent a rose to you for every time…
A Stranger's Just a Friend If ever your life is lonely If ever your feeling low There's…
A Woman's Love There's nothin' like a woman's love For a man when he's…
According to My Heart Accordin' to my heart You're the one for me The one love…
Across The Bridge I had lived a life of sin in this world…
Adios Amigo Adios amigo, adios my friend The road we have travelled has…
Adiós Amigo Adios amigo, adios my friend, The road we have travelled has…
After Awhile After awhile after awhile I'll learn to smile after awhile I…
After Loving You Darling after loving you what else is there to do Cause…
All Dressed up and Lonely I put your favorite suit on and the tie that…
Almost Almost you fell in love with me almost you were…
Am I Losing You Am I losing you Are my fears coming true How I wish…
Am I That Easy to Forget They say you've found somebody new, But that won't stop my…
Am I That Easy to Forget? They say you′ve found somebody new But that won't stop my…
An Evening Prayer If I have wounded any soul today If I have caused…
An Old Christmas Card There's an old Christmas card in an old dusty trunk And…
Angels Don Someone told a story when They said they saw you out…
Anna Marie Tonight while the snowflakes are falling Here in my dreams I…
Annabel Lee It was many and many a year ago In a kingdom…
Are You the One (When you are gone) When you are gone there's no fun…
Auf Wiederseh Auf wiederseh'n auf wiederseh'n we'll meet again sweetheart …
Baby Won't You Please Come Home I've got the blues, I feel so lonely I'd give…
Be Honest with Me Be honest with me dear whatever you do Remember you're mine…
Beatin' on a Ding Dong Beatin' on the ding dong all day long I go around…
Before I Die No need to say you're sorry No need to feel ashamed If…
Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt You are my guiding star The one love I can't live…
Beyond the Clouds An old log house and it half-built A home made bed,…
Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt You are my guiding star The one love I can't live…
Billy Bayou Back about eighteen hundred and some A Louisiana couple had …
Bimbo Bimbo, Bimbo Where you going to go e oh Bimbo, Bimbo What yo…
Blizzard There's a blizzard comin' on, how I'm wishin' I was…
Blue Boy Blue boy That's what they call me 'Cause I'm so lonely Since…
Blue Canadian Rockies In the Blue Canadian Rockies Spring is sighing through the t…
Blue Christmas You'll be doin' all right with your Christmas of white But…
Blue Side of Lonesome I'm calling to tell you, it's over Yes, darling, you're now…
Blue Skies Blue skies smilin' at me Nothin' but blue skies do I…
Blue Without My Baby Oh I'm blue without my baby and it's hurtin' more…
Blues in My Heart (Wish I could lose these blues in my heart) Blues in…
Bolandse Nooientjie Bolandse nooientjie stil is die nag Soet sy jou ruste na…
Bottle Take Effect Well, I'm sittin' here, a glass so near Filled with my…
Breeze Breeze, you took her from my side She was my blushing…
But You Love Me Daddy Your five year old face Is a dirty disgrace But you love…
Butterfly Love Your butterfly love just flutters around From flower to flow…
C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S C is for the Christ child Born upon this day H is…
Carolina Moon Carolina moon keep shining shining on the one who waits…
Charmaine I wonder why you keep me waiting Charmaine, my Charmaine I…
Chicken Hearted It seems you're always wonderin' why With love you can't get…
Christmas You'll be doin' all right with your Christmas of white But…
Crazy I guess I'm crazy for loving you You tell me many…
Crying Is My Favorite Mood Why do I sit and cry every day Knowing in my…
C‐H‐R‐I‐S‐T‐M‐A‐S C is for the Christ child Born upon this day H is…
Daar Doer in Die Bosveld Daar Doer In Die Bosveld De Waal/Van Rooyen Daar doer in di…
Danny Boy Oh Danny boy The pipes, the pipes are calling From glen to…
Dark Moon Dark moon a way up high up in the sky Oh…
Dear Hearts and a Gentle People I love those dear hearts and gentle people who live…
Dear Señor Santa Claus Dear Señor Santa Claus, I think I tell you what I…
Deep Dark Water Alone and so lonesome bored and so blue I got the…
Die Blonde Matroos Sy staan op die hawe van Tafelbaai strand, haar seemans-geli…
Die Ou Kalahari Jim Reeves:The Old Kalahari This song appears on the albu…
Ding Dong Beatin' on the ding dong all day long I go around…
Distant Drums I hear the sound of distant drums Far away, far away And…
Don Don't tell me her eyes are bright as diamonds Don't tell…
Don't Ask Me Why Don't ask me why I stand aside and watch her…
Don't Let Me Cross Over I'm temped my darling to steal you away So help me,…
Don't Tell Me Don't tell me her eyes are bright as diamonds Don't tell…
Don't You Want to Be My Girl Poor little doll you're too young for tears I'm in love…
Drinking Tequila I'm just gettin' back from Juarez Mexico And I'll tell you…
Each Beat Of My Heart Each beat of my heart tells me I love you Each…
Each Time You Leave Each time you leave I die a little say I'm…
Echo Bonita Echo Bonita I'm sad and blue my senorita is lonely…
Ek Verlang Na Jou Ja ek verlang na jou my liefling en ek droom…
Evening Prayer If I have wounded any soul today If I have caused…
Everywhere You Go Everywhere you go sunshine follows you everywhere you go ski…
Final Affair This is my final affair it's over and now I…
Fool Such As I Pardon me if I'm sentimental when we say goodbye Don't be…
Fool's Paradise As I write this letter to you darlin' I can't hold…
Four Walls Out where the bright lights are glowing You're drawn like a…
From A Jack To A King From a jack to a king From loneliness to a wedding…
Geboorteplaasie Ek verlang na jou, geboorteplasie... Na die liefde van 'n Mo…
Give Me One More Kiss Give me one more kiss For happiness I'll miss For when I…
Give My Love to Rose (Roses are red my love violets are blue) A long long…
Glad Rags Now honey, you do the dishes and I'll feed the…
God Be with You God be with you till we meet again by his…
Gods Were Angry With Me The Gods were angry with me for loving you The Gods…
Golden Memories and Silver Tears I dream of a golden moon and silver stars When first…
golden memories silver tears I dream of a golden moon and silver stars When first…
Good Morning Self Good morning self how do you feel this morning I must…
Good Night Irene Irene goodnight Irene goodnight Goodnight Irene goodnight Ir…
Got You on My Mind Got you on my mind, Feeling kind of sad and low. Got…
Grief In My Heart (Wish I could lose these blues in my heart) Blues in…
Guess I I guess I'm crazy for loving you You tell me many…
Guilty I've been accused convicted and condemned the trial's over A…
Gun This is the story of love that came undone This is…
Gypsy Feet Gypsy feet will wander Gypsy feet will stray Neither love no…
Gypsy Heart Oh, Gypsy heart when you hear the whistle of a…
Have I Stayed Away Too Long Have I stayed away too long? Have I stayed away too…
Have I Told You Lately Have I told you lately that I love you Could I…
Have Thine Own Way Have Thine own way Lord Have Thine own way Thou art the…
Have You Ever Been Lonely Have you ever been lonely Have you ever been blue Have you…
he Thought I'd stop by awhile and see you Just once more…
He Will He will open up the doorway you never knew was…
he'l lhave to go Put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone Let's…
He'll Have To Go (Live) Put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone Lets…
He'll Have to Go Put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone Let's…
Heart Breaking Baby Heart breaking baby What makes you want to roam Heart breaki…
Heartbreak In Silhouette I listened to an old friend describe the girl he'd…
heâll have to go Sweet dream baby Sweet dream baby Sweet dream baby How long …
Hell Have To Go Put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone Let's…
Highway to Nowhere I'm traveling the highway to nowhere cause I can't find…
Hillbilly Waltz The music was lovely, the lights, they were low The couples…
Home Well, I've been a traveler most of my life Never took…
Honey Won't You Please Come Home I've got the blues, I feel so lonely I'd give…
How If all the guys you ever knew were standing here…
How Can I Write On Paper With pen in hand, I try to write this note…
How Long Has It Been How long has it been since you talked with the…
How Many If all the guys you ever knew were standing here…
How's the World Treating You I've had nothing but sorrow since you said we were…
I When all your loves have ended When all your friends have…
I can You look lovelier tonight than I remember I'm so glad…
I Can't Fly I've tried my very best to meet all of your…
I Can't Stop Loving You I can't stop loving you I've made up my mind To…
I Care No More My love is gone my pride is gone I care…
I Catch Myself Crying It doesn't matter one way or another I say but…
I Could Cry I could cry cause I fell in love with you…
I Don I don't see me in your eyes anymore oh why…
I Fall to Pieces I fall to pieces Each time I see you again I fall…
I Fall To Pieces ) I fall to pieces Each time I see you again I fall…
I Get the Blues When It Rains I get the blues when it rains the blues I…
I Got a Woman Out with someone new, Almost every day People look at me I c…
I Guess I'm Crazy I guess I'm crazy for loving you You tell me many…
I Heard a Heart Break Last Night I heard the pitter-patter Of a slow winter rain I heard the…
I Know When all your loves have ended When all your friends have…
I Know What It Means to Be Lonesome I know what it means to be lonesome And I know…
I Love to Say I Love You I love you because you understand, dear Every single thing I…
I Love You Because You Understand me I love you because you understand, dear Every single thing …
I Love You More I love you because you understand, dear Every single thing I…
I Missed Me Last night was the worst night of my life, no…
I Never Pass There Anymore There's a house just down the street A welcome mat outside…
I Was Just Walking Out the Door I was just walkin' out the door it's too bad…
I Won I know that I won't forget you For I've loved you…
I Won't Come in While He's Still There Thought I'd stop by awhile and see you Just once more…
I Won't Forget You I know that I won't forget you For I've loved you…
I' ve Lived A Lot In My Time I've lived a lot in my time (I've lived a…
I'd Fight the World I don't care what anybody thinks of me My pride is…
I'd Like to Be I'd like to be the picture on your mantel I'd…
I'd Rather Have Jesus I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold I'd rather…
I'll Always Love You I'll always love you like I used to love you…
I'll Fly Away Some glad morning when this life is o'er I'll fly away To…
I'll Follow You I KNOW THAT I WON'T FORGET YOU FOR I'VE LOVED YOU…
I'm a Fool to Care I'm a fool to care when you treat me this…
I'm A Hit Again Ja ek verlang na jou my liefling en ek droom…
I'm Alone Because I Love You I love you because you understand, dear Every single thing I…
I'm Beginning to Forget I'm beginning to forget you That old heartache is gone I'm b…
I'm Crying Again Ja ek verlang na jou my liefling en ek droom…
I'm Gettin' Better I walked by the river Where we said good-bye Thought of your…
I'm Getting Better I walked by the river Where we said goodbye, Thought of your…
I'm Gonna Change Everything Yeah I'm gonna change everything that holds a memory of…
I'm Hurtin' Inside I'm hurtin' inside where it doesn't show I'm hurtin' inside…
I'm Waiting for Ships That Never Come In [Sang] I'm waiting for ships that never come in. I wonder wh…
I've Enjoyed as Much of This as I Can Stand You look lovelier tonight than I remember I'm so glad…
I've Forgotten You I've forgotten you I know that's true Except when I'm lonely…
I've Lived a Lot in My Time I've lived a lot in my time (I've lived a…
I've Never Been So Blue No matter what I do Can't help if it's wrong You know…
Ichabod Crane I'll tell you a story of a love and his…
If Heartache Is the Fashion My hands reach out to touch someone but they know…
If Heartaches Are the Fashion My hands reach out to touch someone But they know she's…
If Heartaches is the Fashion My hands reach out to touch someone but they know…
If You Love Me Don't Leave Me If you love me don't leave me If you leave me…
If You Were Mine Count the raindrops in a rainstorm count the leaves upon…
In a Mansion Stands My Love On a mountain stands a mansion so fine and it…
In the Garden I come to the garden alone While the dew is still…
In the Misty Moonlight In the misty moonlight By the flickering firelight Any plac…
Irene Goodnight Irene goodnight Irene goodnight Goodnight Irene goodnight Ir…
Is It Really Over Is it really over, is this the end of the…
Is This Me Is this me, is it really me sittin' here crying? Well,…
It Well, this is it, that day is here The day I…
It Hurts so Much Tonight we'll reach the hour we set for parting We wanted…
It Hurts So Much to See You Go Tonight we'll reach the hour we set for parting We wanted…
It Is No Secret The chimes of time ring out the news, another day…
It's Hard to Love Just One It's hard to love just one When so many hearts beat…
It's No Secret The chimes of time ring out the news, another day…
It's No Sin Take away the breath of flowers it would surely be…
It's Nothin' to Me Take your drink to the end of the bar buddy…
It's Only A Paper Monn It's only a paper moon sailing over a cardboard sea But…
Its No Sin Take away the breath of flowers it would surely be…
It’s Nothing to Me Take your drink to the end of the bar buddy…
Im Hurtin Inside I'm hurtin' inside where it doesn't show I'm hurtin' inside…
I’d Like to Be I'd like to be the picture on your mantel I'd…
I’m Beginning to Forget You I'm beginning to forget you That old heartache is gone I'm b…
I’m Getting Better I walked by the river Where we said good-bye Thought of your…
I’m Gonna Change Everything Yeah I'm gonna change everything that holds a memory of…
I’ve Lived a Lot in My Time I've lived a lot in my time (I've lived a…
Jim Reeves Four Walls (George Campbell and Marvin Moore) Four walls to…
Jimbo Jenkins (Jim Reeves - Bobby Garrett) There's a funny little man i…
Jingle Bells (Jingle ling a ling, ah) (Jingle ling a ling, ah) Dashing t…
Juanita Nita Juanita ask Thy soul if we should part Nita…
Just Call Me Lonesome Why must I love a heartless one? Who'll never know the…
Just Married Just married this mornin'. How happy they are. "Just Marri…
Just One More My love is gone my pride is gone I care…
Just Out of Reach Love that runs away from me dreams that just won't…
Just Walking in the Rain (Just walking in the rain lonely and blue) Just walking in…
Jy is my liefling Jy is my liefling en ek is so bly Hier die…
Kentucky Waltz Jim Reeves & Friedns Album: Radio Days, Vol. 2 Disk: 01 Tr…
Let Me Love Just a Little Just because the moon is bright and no sign he's…
Let Me Love You Just a Little Just because the moon is brights No sign he's watching us…
Let Me Remember Leave me, forget me But please, darling, let me Remember the…
Let Me Talk to You Just because the moon is brights No sign he's watching us…
Letter Edged in Black I was standin' by my window yesterday morning Without a thou…
Letter To My Heart Dear heart there is something I must tell you Something sad…
Linda (Linda Linda I wish you were mine) When I go to…
Little Ole Dime Little ole dime You're the last of a pocket full I put…
Little Ole You It's a great big world full of little surprises There's a…
Lonely Music An empty glass Another coin in the jukebox This pain inside …
Lonesome waltz When a record starts to spinnin' and love words make…
Look Behind You If you ever change your mind And you find that you…
Look Who's Talking Look who's talkin' Look and you will see The one who's break…
Losing You Love I have filled up my pockets with money Big trophies, I've…
Love is No Excuse Love is no excuse for what we're doing For we both…
Love Me Just a Little Bit More Just because the moon is bright and no sign he's…
Love Me Tender If you love me don't leave me If you leave me…
Make the World Go Away Make the world go away Make the world go away And get…
Making Believe Making believe that you still love me it's leaving me…
Margie Margie I'm always thinking of you Margie I'll tell the world…
Maria Elena Maria Elena you're the answer to a prayer Maria Elena…
Marie Marie the dawn is breaking Marie you'll soon be waking To…
Mary Long time ago in Bethlehem so the Holy Bible say Mary's…
Mary's Boy Child Long time ago in Bethlehem So the Holy Bible say Mary's bo…
Mary's Little Boy Child Long time ago in Bethlehem so the Holy Bible say Mary's…
Maureen All alone tonight I dream in my land of an…
May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You May the good Lord bless and keep you whether near…
Mean Mean Man I know what it means to be lonesome And I know…
Memories Are Made of This The sweet sweet memories you gave to me You can't beat…
Men with Broken Hearts You'll meet many just like me upon life's busy street With…
Mexicali Rose Mexicali Rose stop crying I'll come back to you some…
Mexican Joe South of the border, hey, I know a lad He's got…
Mine All Mine Count the raindrops in a rainstorm count the leaves upon…
Missing Angel Star above please shine so bright cause I need your…
Missing You Missing you, can't help but wish That you were in my…
Misty Moonlight In the misty moonlight By the flickering firelight Any pl…
Mona Lisa Mona Lisa Mona Lisa men have named you you're so…
Moon River Not until the next time Will I cry all night for…
Moonlight & Roses Moonlight and roses Bring wonderful memories of you My heart…
Moonlight And Roses (Bring Memories Of You) Moonlight and roses Bring wonderful mem'ries of you My heart…
Mother of a Honky Tonk Girl Jim Reeves & Carol Johnson (Sang - Carol) I'm the mother of…
Mother Went A-Walkin' (Sang) (Shall we gather at the river that flows by the…
My Blinde Hart My blinde hart wil een ding nimmer weet nie dat ek…
My Cathedral My cathedral has a ceiling of blue my cathedral neath…
My Happiness Evening shadows make me blue when each weary day is…
My Heart Accordin' to my heart You're the one for me The one love…
My Heart's Like A Welcome Mat My heart's like a welcome mat Like some old coat or…
My Juanita Nita Juanita ask Thy soul if we should part Nita…
My Lips Are Sealed I promise you he'll never know that once we loved…
My Mary I take a trip every evening journey down a memory…
My Rambling Heart Accordin' to my heart You're the one for me The one love…
Need Me You can go where you want to go even sail…
Night Watch God is keeping the night watch for you and for…
No One to Cry To No one to cry to No one to say goodnight No one…
NOBODY I know they've been sayin' That you broke every rule That on…
Nooentjie Van Die Ou Transvaal As die awendskadus daal kom Ek jou weer eendag haal Jy's m…
Noointjie Van Die Ou Transvaal As die awendskadus daal Kom ek jou weer eendag haal Jy′s my…
Not Until the Next Time Not until the next time Will I cry all night for…
Now and Then There's a Fool Such as I Pardon me if I'm sentimental when we say goodbye Don't be…
O Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee…
O Come All Ye Faithful Oh, come ye O come ye to Bethlehem Come and behold him Born…
O Little Town of Bethlehem Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee…
O' Come All Ye Faithful O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant O come ye,…
O' Little Town of Bethlehem Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee…
Oh Come All Ye Faithful O come all ye faithful Joyful and triumphant O come ye,…
Oh Gentle Shepherd My soul is lost so lonely and so cold just…
Oh How I Miss You Tonight The days are so long, nost everything's wrng, For now…
Oh What It Seemed to Be It was just a neighborhood dance, that's all that it…
Oklahoma Hills Many years have come and gone since I wandered from…
Old Christmas Card There's an old Christmas card in an old dusty trunk And…
Old Tige (Tige you were faithful faithful to the end Tige now…
Old Time Religion Gimme that old time religion Gimme that old time religion Gi…
Once Upon a Time Once upon a time life was lovely I never found…
One By One When all your loves have ended When all your friends have…
One Dozen Roses Give me one dozen roses Put my heart in beside them Send…
Overnight I met you on the Sunday night by that Monday…
Padre of Old San Antone I strolled to an old mission garden and as I…
Partners Trying to forget the thrill of holding you will I…
Peace in the Valley Oh well, I'm tired and I'm weary But I must go…
Penny Candy There's a little girl lives on our street She's awful sweet…
Pickin' A Chicken Come to the barbeque and sit by my side We couldn't…
Poor Little Doll Poor little doll, you're too young for tears I'm in love…
Precious Memories Precious memories unseen angels sent from somewhere to my so…
Pride Goes Before a Fall Might as well admit it, you don't really love me You've…
Put Your Sweet Lips Closer To The Phone Put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone Let′s…
Ramona I wander out yonder o'er the hills Where the mountains high …
Read This Letter Somebody read this letter for me There's tears in my eyes…
Release Me Please release me let me go for I don't love you…
Rodger Young On July 31st 1943 a bloody round in the battle…
Roly Poly Roly Poly eatin' corn and taters hungry every minute of…
Room Full of Roses If I sent a rose to you for every time…
Rosa Rio My heart is in Rosa Rio Under the Argentine skies There…
Roses (Roses are red my love violets are blue) A long long…
Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reinderer Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer Had a very shiny nose And if…
San Antonio Rose Deep within my heart lies a melody A song of old…
Sarie Marais My Sarie Marais is so ver van my hart Maar'k hoop…
Satan Can't Hold Me When the trumpets are sounded and the judgement we stand And…
Scarlet Ribbon You know I peeked in to say goodnight, When I heard…
Scarlet Ribbons for Her Hair I peeked in to say goodnight and then I heard…
Seasons of my heart Accordin' to my heart You're the one for me The one love…
Senor Santa Claus Dear Señor Santa Claus, I think I tell you what I…
Señor Santa Claus Dear Se�or Santa Claus I think I tell you what I…
Seven Days Seven days can be a long long time my friend When…
Silent Night Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright 'Round y…
Silver Bells Silver bells, silver bells Soon it will be Christmas day…
Sin Take away the breath of flowers it would surely be…
Snow Flake (Snowflake, snowflake, snowflake) Hey-hey-hey snowflake (sn…
Snowflake Hey snowflake My pretty little snowflake Ooh, ooh, the chang…
Softly & Tenderly Jesus Is Calling Now we'd like to settle things down just a bit And…
Softly And Tenderly Now we'd like to settle things down just a bit And…
Someday I know that someday you'll want me to want you…
Somewhere Along the Line Somewhere along the line I lost my love for you I…
Spanish Violins One night in Old Monterey by the silvery Rio Grande I…
Stand at Your Window Stand at your window some night Again let me see The one…
Stand In I'm only a stand in after all's said and done I…
Standby I'm just a standby Standby in your heart I'm just a standby …
Streets of Laredo As I walked out in the streets of Laredo As I…
Suppertime Many years ago in days of childhood I used to play…
Sweet Evening Breeze Breeze, you took her from my side She was my blushing…
Sweet Sue Every little star above knows the one I love Sweet Sue,…
Tahiti Tahiti land of love o sweetest paradise where palms whisper…
Take Me in Your Arms and Hold Me Take me in your arms and hold me Like I've been…
Take My Hand Precious Lord When my way groweth drear Precious Lord, linger near-ear Whe…
Talking Walls When the shades of twilight Close the bay In my solitude I s…
Teach Me How to Pray (Daddy my daddy teach me how to pray) One night a…
Teach Me How to Pray [ (Daddy my daddy teach me how to pray) One night a…
Teardrops in My Heart You'll never know I cried when I found out you…
Teardrops of Regret I look back into the past since we've parted The last…
Teardrops On The Rocks Well hello Sam now how you been guess it's a…
That You say it's over now but it's easy to see You…
That Is It Well, this is it, that day is here The day I…
That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine In a vine-covered shack in the mountains Bravely fighting t…
That's a Sad Affair I know a boy who knows a girl and she…
That's My Desire To spend one night with you in our old rendezvous, And…
That's When I See the Blues You say it's over now but it's easy to see You…
The Blizzard There's a blizzard comin' on, how I'm wishin' I was…
The Christmas Polka (La-la-la-la-la-la-la) This is Christmas season so there is…
The Farmer And The Lord While resting the other evening by the side of the…
The Fool's Paradise As I write this letter to you darlin' I can't hold…
The Gods Were Angry With Me The Gods were angry with me for loving you The Gods…
The Gun This is the story of love that came undone This is…
The Hawaiian Wedding Song This is the moment I've waited for I can hear my…
The Highway To Nowhere I'm traveling the highway to nowhere cause I can't find…
The Jim Reeves Four Walls (George Campbell and Marvin Moore) Four walls to…
The Letter Edged in Black I was standin' by my window yesterday morning Without a tho…
The Merry Christmas Polka (La-la-la-la-la-la-la) This is Christmas season so there is…
The Mighty Everglades (South from Okeechobee and reachin′ to the keys) (Lays the m…
The Night Watch God is keeping the night watch for you and for…
The Oklahoma Hills Many years have come and gone since I wandered from…
The Old Kalahari Ver in die Ou Kalahari daar sing die Boere so Gee…
The One That Got Away Out with someone new, Almost every day People look at me…
The Padre of Old San Antone I strolled to an old mission garden and as I…
The Shifting Whispering Sands I discovered the valley of the shifting whispering sands Wh…
The Song Is Ended I searched the wide world over For someone just like you I…
The Spell Of The Yukon (Spoken) I wanted the gold, and I sought it, I scrabbled a…
The Storm That kiss you gave me this morning was just the…
The Streets of Laredo As I walked out in the streets of Laredo As I…
The Talking Walls When the shades of twilight Close the bay In my solitude I s…
The Tie That Binds In a room so lonely and cheerless Sits a woman all…
The White Cliffs of Dover There'll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover Tomorro…
The Wilder Your Heart Beats I found out this weekend, baby In my heart you really…
The Wind Up Can this be the wind-up You don't seem the same Can this…
The Wind-up Can this be the wind-up You don't seem the same Can this…
The World You Left Behind I try to sleep to kill the pain When I wake…
The Wreck Of The Number Nine (Words and music by Carson Robison) One dark stormy night…
The Writing's On The Wall The writing's on the wall And it's plain enough to see Your…
Theme of Love I love to say I love you And hold you close…
Then I'll Stop Loving You If there's water in the desert Sand out in the sea If…
Then I’ll Stop Loving You If there's water in the desert sand out in the…
There Thought I'd stop by awhile and see you Just once more…
There'll Be Bluebirds Over There'll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover Tomorro…
There's a heartache Sometimes they ask me if I'm really happy now I…
There's A Moon Over My Shoulder There's a new moon over my shoulder And an old love…
There's Always Me When the evening shadows fall and your wondering who to…
There's Someone Who Loves You There's someone who loves you Someone who cares Someone who …
There's That Smile Again There's that smile again the one I always see Each time…
This Is It Well, this is it, that day is here The day I…
This World Is Not My Home This world is not my home I'm just a passing…
Throw Another Log on the Fire Throw another log on the fire keep my golden memories…
Tie That Binds In a room so lonely and cheerless Sits a woman all…
Til The End Of The World Till the star in the sky seems to shine Till the…
Till the End of the World Till the stars in the sky cease to shine Till the…
Too Many Parties And Too Many Pals Too many parties and too many pals Will break your heart…
Too Many Parties Too Many Pals (Too many parties and too many pals) (May break your heart…
Trouble In Amen Corner It was a stylish congregation you could see they'd been…
True It's true I know it's true I'm losing you and…
Trying To Forget Trying to forget the thrill of holding you will I…
Tweedle O Tweedle o'twill puffin' on corn silks tweedle o'twill widdli…
Two Shadows in Your Window Two shadows on your window They make me realize Darling that…
Verre Land Verreland Daar's 'n ver, verre land, skone land waar die…
Verreland Verreland Daar's 'n ver, verre land, skone land Waar die so…
Wagon Load of Love I've got a wagon load a wagon load of love All…
Waitin For A Train All around the water tank waitin' for a train A thousand…
Waiting for a Train All around the water tank waitin' for a train A thousand…
Waitting for a Train All around the water tank waitin' for a train A thousand…
Walking The Floor Over You You left me and you went away, You said that you'd…
Waltzing on Top of the World If all of the stars were a million guitars and…
We Could If anyone could find the joy that true love brings…
We Thank Thee We thank Thee each morning for a newborn day Where we…
Welcome To My Word Welcome to my world Won't you come on in? Miracles, I guess …
What I Feel in My Heart? With pen in hand I try to write this note…
What Were You Doing Last Night What were you doing when I saw you last night Were…
What Would You Do You call me a cheater Well maybe that's true But if you…
What Would You Do Do You call me a cheater Well, maybe that's true But if you…
What Would You Do? You call me a cheater Well, maybe that's true But if you…
What's in It for Me I know that I'm a fool To keep on loving you…
When Did You Leave Heaven When did you leave Heaven How could they let you go How's…
When God Dips His Love In Me When god dips his pen of love in my heart And…
When God Dips His Love Into My Heart (Spoken by announcer) Coming up now is something else that a…
When God Dips His Pen of Love in My Heart When god dips his pen of love in my heart And…
When I Lost You I lost the sunshine and roses I lost the heavens…
When Two World Collide Your world was so different from mine don't you see We…
When You Are Gone (When you are gone) When you are gone there's no fun…
Where Do I Go from Here Where do I go from here? What fate is drawing near? Touch…
Where Do I Go to Throw a Picture Away I'm kissin' your picture goodbye and I hate to treat…
Where Does a Boraken Heart Go Where does a broken heart go, does it just fade…
Where We I have heard of a land on the faraway strand…
Whispering Hope Soft as the voice of an angel Breathing a lesson unheard Hop…
Whispering Willow Whispering willow standing alone Holding a secret that shall…
White Christmas May your days be merry and bright I'm dreaming of a…
Why Do I Love You Why do I love you I love you not only…
Wild Rose A rose should be Where the sun shines through Not where the…
Wildwood Flower Oh, I'll twine with my mingles and waving black hair With…
Wind up Doll Can this be the wind up? You don't seem the same Can…
Wishful Thinking Wishful thinking daydreams fly happy visions fill the night …
With You On My Mind Got you on my mind, Feeling kind of sad and low. Got…
World You Left Behind I try to sleep to kill the pain When I wake…
Yonder Comes a Sucker Railroad, steamboat, river and canal Yonder comes a sucker, …
you Missing you, can't help but wish That you were in my…
You Are My Love (Roses are red my love violets are blue) A long long…
You Are My Sunshine You are my darlin' There's no one but you And to you…
You Belong to Me See The Pyramids slong the Nile Watch the sun rise on…
You Kept Me Awake Last Night You kept me awake last night thought about you till…
You'll Never Be Mine Again You'll never be mine again guess I've known it since…
You'll Never Know You'll never know just how much, I love you You'll never…
You're Free to Go You're free to go darling I'll break the ties that…
You're Slipping Away from Me My eyes are closed and yet I see You're slipping away…
You're the Only Good Thing Are you thinking that I wasn't meant for you Could it…
You're The Sweetest Thing In all this big wide happy world you're the sweetest…
Young Hearts Young hearts can be foolish and make a mistake If they're…
Your Old Love Letters Today I burned your old love letters. Burned them gently one…
Yours I have filled up my pockets with money Big trophies, I've…
You’re Free to Go You're free to go darling I'll break the ties that…
You’re the Only Good Thing Are you thinking that I wasn't meant for you Could it…