Song:Mexican Joe
Album:His Personal Best: The Greatest Hits
Despite his premature death in a 1964 plane crash, Gentleman Jim Reeves remains one of country music's greatest and most enduring legends. He was a big part of establishing what was known in the 50s as Countrypolitan and Reeves crossed over to the pop charts several times. Mexican Joe was his first number one country hit in 1953. He was born Aug. 20, 1923 in the rural community of Galloway, TX. He learned to play guitar as a child and was a big fan of country music pioneer Jimmie Rodgers. But Reeves was also a great athlete. After attending the University of Texas on an athletic scholarship, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1944. After three years pitching in their farm system, Reeves was forced to retire due to a severed sciatic nerve. He returned to music with Moon Mullican's band and got a job as a DJ at KWKH in Shereveport. LA., home of the popular Louisiana Hayride radio show. When he filled in for an absent Hank Williams, Reeves signed a contract with Fador Robison's Abbott label. Mexican Joe was his second single and first number one country music hit in 1953. It was written by veteran songwriter Mitchell Torok. He recorded his own music in the 60s but he had a lot of success as a songwriter incuding the number one country hit Caribbean for Hank Snow. Reeves didn't like the kind of novelty songs he was recording for Abbott. So he approached RCA Records Nashville head Steve Shoales. Shoales bought his Abbott contract and the recordings and signed Reeves to a ten year contract. Shoales and producer Chet Atkins turned Reeves into a crooner with spectacular results. He had many hits on the country charts but then started to cross over to the pop charts. He'll Have To Go was his biggest hit in 1960. It topped the Country Singles chart for 14 weeks and reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. This all ended on July 31, 1964. Reeves was flying his own plane with passenger and business partner Dean Manuel. They encountered a violent thunderstorm above Brentwood, TN and the plane crashed and Jim Reeves was dead at age 40. RCA continued to release Jim Reeves recordings and he was a regular on the country charts until the 80s. There are a lot of Jim Reeves comps out there but this 2004 comp from BMG Europe is the best single CD comp available. Don't let the crappy cover fool you. Of course Jim Reeves was inducted into The Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1967 and is still loved today as one of the all time greats of country music. Here's Jim Reeves performing Mexican Joe on Tex Ritter's Ranch Party 1955.
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