RIP Tribute to Jerry Reed. The Bandit has lost the Snowman

[twyacht]

With all the election coverage, and convention coverage, and hurricanes coverage, I missed it until now. Jerry Reed passed away Sept. 1, and I just wanted to share how good a musician he was, and a  "Good ol' Boy", decent kind-hearted man who loved his dog "Fred".

He is East bound and down, and will be missed. The real Wabash Cannonball.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni8KBhnebwE&feature=related



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCE48O6U4Yw&feature=related

[Hazcat]

WOW, I hadn't heard it either!  Funny I was just talking about him a couple of days ago.

The scene where he runs over all the motorcycles.

[alfsauve]

The story goes that they were almost finished all the location shooting for "Smokey and the Bandit" when Jerry Reed heard the director say they hadn't been able to find the right music for the movie.   Jerry went to his trailer and came out and hour or so later with the songs.


Jerry had fun playing his guitar, of which he was rather accomplished.  And you can't help but smile as the little boy in him would look up at the camera, grin and laugh.


Also, you missed last week the passing of Don La Fontain (famous voice over, lately Gieco insurance commercials) and Fred Crane (Stuart Tarleton, "Gone with the Wind")

[PegLeg45]

I had not heard either. And I'm always looking at the news. Just missed it I guess.
I really liked Jerry. He was a "Good 'ol Boy" and one fine musician and songwriter.
I still have the original album for the Smokey and the Bandit soundtrack.
I'll have to dig it out and give it a spin.

 

Singer-actor Jerry Reed dies at the age of 71

By JOHN GEROME – Sep 2, 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jerry Reed, a singer who became a good ol' boy actor in car chase movies like "Smokey and the Bandit," has died of complications from emphysema at 71.

His longtime booking agent, Carrie Moore-Reed, no relation to the star, said Reed died early Monday.

"He's one of the greatest entertainers in the world. That's the way I feel about him," Moore-Reed said.

Sony BMG Nashville Chairman Joe Galante called Reed a larger-than-life personality.

"Everything about Jerry was distinctive: his guitar playing, writing, voice and especially his sense of humor," Galante said. "I was honored to have worked with him."

Reed's catalog of country chart hits, from 1967 through 1983, were released under the label group's RCA imprint.

As a singer in the 1970s and early 1980s, Reed had a string of hits that included "Amos Moses," "When You're Hot, You're Hot," "East Bound and Down," "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)" and "The Bird."

In the mid-1970s, he began acting in movies such as "Smokey and the Bandit" with Burt Reynolds, usually as a good ol' boy. But he was an ornery heavy in "Gator," directed by Reynolds, and a hateful coach in 1998's "The Waterboy," starring Adam Sandler.

Reynolds gave him a shiny black 1980 Trans Am like the one they used in "Smokey and the Bandit."

Reed and Kris Kristofferson paved the way for Nashville music personalities to make inroads into films. Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Kenny Rogers (TV movies) followed their lead.

"I went around the corner to motion pictures," he said in a 1992 AP interview.

Reed had quadruple bypass surgery in June 1999.

Born in Atlanta, Reed learned to play guitar at age 8 when his mother bought him a $2 guitar and showed him how to play a G-chord.

He dropped out of high school to tour with Ernest Tubb and Faron Young.

At 17, he signed his first recording contract, with Capitol Records.

He moved to Nashville in the mid-1960s where he caught the eye of Chet Atkins.

He first established himself as a songwriter. Elvis Presley recorded two of his songs, "U.S. Male" and "Guitar Man" (both in 1968). He also wrote the hit "A Thing Called Love," which was recorded in 1972 by Johnny Cash. He also wrote songs for Brenda Lee, Tom Jones, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole and the Oak Ridge Boys.

Reed was voted instrumentalist of the year in 1970 by the Country Music Association.

He won a Grammy Award for "When You're Hot, You're Hot" in 1971. A year earlier, he shared a Grammy with Chet Atkins for their collaboration, "Me and Jerry." In 1992, Atkins and Reed won a Grammy for "Sneakin' Around."

Reed continued performing on the road into the late 1990s, doing about 80 shows a year.

"I'm proud of the songs, I'm proud of things that I did with Chet (Atkins), I'm proud that I played guitar and was accepted by musicians and guitar players," he told the AP in 1992.

In a 1998 interview with The Tennessean, he admitted that his acting ability was questionable.

"I used to watch people like Richard Burton and Mel Gibson and think, `I could never do that.'

"When people ask me what my motivation is, I have a simple answer: Money."

Associated Press Writer Joe Edwards contributed to this story.


http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gtCKwgisw0t7ftgEpx3zQa1gEjtQD92UROC00

[Scott Moore]

Not only should the Music Industry mourn the death of this great guitarist, so should the shooting World. While Jerry never was as out-spoken as some other celebrity shooters he was indeed a shooter. While growing up in Nashville and having one foot in the Music Industry and one in the Shooting Industry I had several opportunities to interact with the “Snowman”. After the filming of “WW & The Dixie Dancekings”, Burt Reynolds bought a matching pair of SKB over-and-under shotguns from our gun store. He then had our gunsmiths shorten them to 18 ½” (just over the legal limit) he kept one and the other one he gave to his friend Jerry Reed. Interesting wrap-up gift!

[Sponsor]

[Big Frank]

I think I only heard Jerry's Breakdown once or twice before and never saw the video. Thanks for the links. I'm a lot more familiar with his funny songs than his serious ones. I had to dig out my old greatist hits LP so I can listen to it this weekend. Out of 1,000 records, tapes, and CDs I have, only a few could be called country and one is Jerry Reed. Some music is just great music no matter what kind you like, and he was a great performer.

[jaybet]

That's too bad. he was a guy who did a lot of cool stuff but pretty low profile. A good musician and a guitar-slinger for sure...a serious player. I also remember him for his role in the movie about choppers- he was a wing commander or something and every time someting came up he'd blurt out, "Sum-bitch" with such conviction and wild abandon. World class cussing.
Cool guy..

[PegLeg45]

He played the chopper squadron commander in "BAT-21" with Gene Hackman and Danny Glover.
Good movie. Jerry did good.