Jim Reeves

Jim Reeves was one of America's biggest male country singers out of Nashville. Jim was a country singer who used his baritone voice to sing “Mexican Joe,” which was a song that was number one in 1953. Jim Reeves’ music was even more popular in Europe and Britain than it was in America.

He was born in Galloway, Texas and was one of nine children. His father died when he was only 10 months old, which forced his mother to become the farmer that worked outside of the house, but still taking care of the inside of the house, too. He got hooked on the guitar when he received an old guitar at the age of five years old. At 12 years old, Reeves appeared on the radio show in Shreveport, Los Angeles. Jim Reeves was not only a great musician, but he was also a talented athlete. He played semi-professional baseball and signed on with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1944. After 3 years of playing with them, he seriously injured his ankle which terminated his career as a baseball player.

Reeves began singing as an amateur until 1949, when he cut a number of singles for an independent Macy label. None of these songs were a hit. Over the next few years, he worked as a disc jockey until late in 1952, when Hank Williams was unable to sing at the Louisiana Hayride show and Jim Reeves sang in his place. By the spring of 1953, he had two number one hits, “Mexican Joe” and “Bimbo.” Over the next few years, he earned the nickname “Gentleman Jim,” due to his distinctively smooth deep voice.

Even after his untimely death in 1964 at the height of his career, 6 number one singles came within 3 year after his death.