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Jim Reeves, a long time coming

  • Writer: Tony Plews
    Tony Plews
  • Oct 20, 2015
  • 1 min read

Life in the world of country music during the '40s, '50s and '60s was not for the faint of heart. Would-be stars toured and travelled for years, sometimes even decades, before reaching the first rung on the ladder of success.

Jim Reeves is a good example of a country singer who slowly grafted his way to the top: it took almost ten years before he secured a half-decent record contract, and even when an occasional hit record came along he was still a long way from national or international stardom.

He eventually signed with a serious label — RCA Victor — in 1955 just a few months before the fast-rising Elvis Presley, and they both chose Tree Music published songs for their initial RCA single releases. But it wasn't until 1959 that Jim scored a genuine hit record with "He'll Have To Go", which also established his signature intimate style. By that time, he'd been working in the country music field for over a dozen years.

When Elvis Presley recorded "Heartbreak Hotel" as his debut RCA record in January 1956, he'd been a professional musician for all of sixteen months. Such was the speed of the revolution kick-started by the boy from Memphis.

[Jim Reeves and RCA producer Chet Atkins, copyright unknown.]

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© 2015 George Smith Publications. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, all content is the property of George Smith Publications and may not be copied, posted, distributed, displayed or otherwise disseminated without express prior written permission of the author, Tony Plews.(georgesmithpublications@gmail.com)

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