Reynolds was a regular on the "oldies" circuit and a successful businessman in the U.S. Southwest. Beginning in the 1980s several compilations of his music were issued in the U.S. and Europe, and he enjoyed modest acclaim as a pioneer of rockabilly music.
In 1999 Reynolds was honored with both a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Palm Springs Walk of Stars and induction into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Ralph Joseph Reynolds was born in Denver, Colorado, and was raised in the small town of Shady Grove, Oklahoma. Inspired by Western Swing and artists such as Bob Wills, Hank Thompson, and Eddy Arnold, who he heard on the radio, Reynolds took up guitar at age 14. He began playing rockabilly in Texas in the mid-1950s after hearing performers such as Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, and Roy Orbison.
While performing in San Diego, California, Reynolds met music publisher Herb Montel. Montel rejected several songs offered by Reynolds, but after hearing his composition "Endless Sleep", got him signed to Demon Records and began managing him.
Inspired by the haunting sound of Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel", Reynolds wrote "Endless Sleep" while in Yuma, Arizona for a gig, and played it onstage the same night. Though a proficient guitarist himself, the studio recording of the song featured Al Casey and Howard Roberts on guitars. It had been written solely by Reynolds, but Demon Records credited it to Reynolds and the fictitious "Dolores Nance", in order to make it appear to have been written by a 'professional' songwriting team. With spooky, reverb-laden vocals, "Endless Sleep" tells the story of a young man desperately searching for his girlfriend, who, after an argument, has flung herself into the ocean. The label persuaded a reluctant Reynolds to change the lyrics to give the song a happy ending.
The song reached the #5 position on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on July 7, 1958, sold over one million copies, and inspired a trend of "teen tragedy" songs.[3] Reynolds performed on American Bandstand and other TV shows, and was featured on concert tours organized by the legendary disc jockey/promoter Alan Freed. "Endless Sleep" would later be covered by the Judds, John Fogerty, and Billy Idol; Marty Wilde had a major hit with it in England, and Hank Williams, Jr.'s version was a modest country music chart success.
Reynolds' self-penned follow up single, "Fire of Love", became a rock & roll classic years later, after being revived by the MC5 and the Gun Club, but only reached #66 on the Billboard chart when released in August 1958, and was his last song to reach the "Hot 100". As with "Endless Sleep", "Fire of Love" was given a fictitious co-writer — in this case, "Sonja Stordivant".
Reynolds recorded several more singles, both with Demon and other labels, including duets with Bobbie Gentry, two songs written by Marty Cooper and Lee Hazlewood, and two hot instrumentals released under the name "The Storms" (Reynolds' backing band). By the mid-1960s he had settled in Palm Springs, where he focused on raising a family and working as a realtor; however, he retained his lifelong love of music, writing and recording songs in a small home studio, occasionally performing in "oldies" shows, and opening a music store.
Col. Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager, signed Reynolds to his Boxcar Publishing Co., thinking Presley might be interested in some of his songs, though Presley died in 1977 before recording any of them. Reynolds included one of the songs he'd written for Presley, "Yesterday and Today", on a 1978 album.
Starting in the late 1970s, "Endless Sleep" and other of Reynolds' songs were re-released in Europe and America; the rockabilly revival beginning in the 1980s saw a further increase of interest in his music.
Reynolds died of liver cancer on November 7, 2008, in Palm Desert, California, at age 75. He was survived by Judy, his wife of 47 years, daughters Malinda and Marla, and son Mark.
The Whipping Post
Jody Reynolds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A long time ago
There once stood a sign saying
"Stranger, beware!
Beware of the whipping post!"
A young man rode into this town
To seek his fortune there
For his heart held not a care
The next sight that befell his eye
He noticed so much more
It was the mayor's black-eyed daughter
Stepping out her door
(The whipping post, the whipping post)
If you don't keep your place
(The whipping post, the whipping post)
You will soon embrace
The way she smiled it warmed his heart
He fell in love that day
But her father found them there alone
And had this to say
"The likes of you aren't good enough
To have my daughter's hand
Leave this town before the dawn
Or die a broken man"
(The whipping post, the whipping post)
Was this to be his fate?
(Yes, he feared the whipping post)
But he could not run away
So they tied him to the post that day
Before his loved one's eye
But she ran between him and the lash
She tried to save his life
Her father cried to stop the whip
But he was now too late
The singing lash went through the air
And struck her lovely face
(The whipping post, the whipping post)
The evil that you do
(The whipping post, the whipping post)
You bring men to their doom
Upon his knees the mayor wept
"I know now I was wrong"
He took his daughter in his arms
And freed the stranger's bonds
And to this day the legend lives
So all who love will know
Their love so strong that it lived on
And defied the whipping post
(The whipping post, the whipping post)
(The whipping post, the whipping post)
(The whipping post, the whipping post)
The Whipping Post by Jody Reynolds tells a tragic story that took place in colonial Delaware. The song begins by describing a sign that warns strangers to beware of the whipping post. Despite this warning, a young man enters the town, hoping to make his fortune. He then falls in love with the mayor's daughter, who smiles at him warmly. However, when her father finds them together, he forbids them from being together and orders the young man to leave town before dawn.
The young man is tied to the whipping post as punishment the next day, with his love watching in horror from the sidelines. But just before the lash strikes him, she runs to him and tries to save his life. Unfortunately, she is hit instead, and the mayor realizes that he was wrong to punish the two lovers. He immediately frees the young man and his daughter's bonds, and the legend of their love lives on, defying the whipping post.
Line by Line Meaning
In the colony of Delaware
There was a place called Delaware where this story took place
A long time ago
This happened a long time ago
There once stood a sign saying
A sign used to stand that read the following words
"Stranger, beware!
Be careful, stranger!
Beware of the whipping post!"
Watch out for the whipping post!
A young man rode into this town
A young man rode into town
To seek his fortune there
He wanted to find good luck there
He read the sign but he laughed aloud
He read the warning sign but laughed anyway
For his heart held not a care
He didn't care what the sign said
The next sight that befell his eye
The next thing he saw
He noticed so much more
He saw so much more than just the sign
It was the mayor's black-eyed daughter
He saw the beautiful daughter of the mayor
Stepping out her door
She came out of her house
(The whipping post, the whipping post)
Be careful of the whipping post
If you don't keep your place
If you don't follow the rules
(The whipping post, the whipping post)
Be careful of the whipping post
You will soon embrace
You will soon feel the sting of the lash
The way she smiled it warmed his heart
Her smile made him feel good
He fell in love that day
He fell in love with her that day
But her father found them there alone
But her father caught them alone
And had this to say
And said this to him
"The likes of you aren't good enough
You're not good enough
To have my daughter's hand
To marry my daughter
Leave this town before the dawn
Leave town by dawn
Or die a broken man"
Or else you will die here
(The whipping post, the whipping post)
Be careful of the whipping post
Was this to be his fate?
Was this going to happen to him?
(Yes, he feared the whipping post)
Yes, he was afraid of the whipping post
But he could not run away
But he couldn't leave
So they tied him to the post that day
They tied him to the whipping post that day
Before his loved one's eye
In front of his loved one's eyes
But she ran between him and the lash
She ran between him and the whip
She tried to save his life
She tried to save him
Her father cried to stop the whip
Her father asked them to stop whipping
But he was now too late
But it was too late
The singing lash went through the air
The whip swung through the air
And struck her lovely face
And it hit her beautiful face
(The whipping post, the whipping post)
Be careful of the whipping post
The evil that you do
The bad things you do
(The whipping post, the whipping post)
Be careful of the whipping post
You bring men to their doom
You lead men to their downfall
Upon his knees the mayor wept
The mayor fell down on his knees and cried
"I know now I was wrong"
"I realize now that I was mistaken"
He took his daughter in his arms
He hugged his daughter
And freed the stranger's bonds
And freed the stranger from the whipping post
And to this day the legend lives
And people still remember this story
So all who love will know
So that everyone who loves will learn
Their love so strong that it lived on
That their love was so strong that it lasted
And defied the whipping post
And overcame the whipping post
(The whipping post, the whipping post)
Be careful of the whipping post
(The whipping post, the whipping post)
Be careful of the whipping post
(The whipping post, the whipping post)
Be careful of the whipping post
Writer(s): Jody Reynolds
Contributed by Lillian W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@israelnippon6401
love it