The warm, enveloping baritone of Jim
Reeves, framed by elegantly luxuriant Nashville
Sound arrangements, became one of the most
distinctive musical palettes in country music. A
crossover pioneer and one of the first country
artists to take his music overseas, Reeves showed
how country music could survive and thrive in
the turbulent years following the insurgent birth
of rock ‘n’ roll. But he didn’t begin there; he
began here in the late 1940s and early ’50s. Cer-
tainly, there are hints of what Jim Reeves be-
came, but don’t view these recordings through
the prism of his later work; appreciate them for
their own merits.
James Travis Reeves was born on a farm in
Panola County, Texas, on August 20, 1923 - not
1924 as his press releases always said. And so
the man, who revolutionized country music after Hank Williams’ death, was actu-
ally older than Williams by one month. His father died in May 1924, and the onset
of the Depression worsened the family’s fortunes. By the age of nine, Jim was
performing at country dances, and, as a teenager, sung on the radio in Shreveport,
Louisiana. One way or another, he was determined to get off the farm. For a few
years, baseball seemed a good bet. In the 1945, ’46, and ’47 seasons he played for
the Lynchburg Cardinals, the Natchez Giants, the Alexandria Aces, the Marshall
Comets, and the Henderson Oilers. As a pitcher, he racked up an impressive 1.55
Earned Run Average in 342 innings pitched, but when an injury cut short his career,
he returned to radio. In a transitional era that saw ‘live’ country radio shows slowly
giving way to pre-recorded music on dee-jay hosted shows, Jim was both a ‘live’
performer and a dee-jay. Slowly, he discovered how to exploit his greatest natural
asset: his voice.
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