Singer Jerry Reed Dies at 71: ; Country Star Also Known for Role in Smokey Movies

By LOS ANGELES TIMES

Jerry Reed, whose roles in three Smokey and the Bandit Southern comedy films opposite Burt Reynolds often overshadowed his gifts as a prolific country singer-songwriter and virtuoso guitarist, died Monday at his home outside Nashville, Tenn., of complications from emphysema. He was 71. He was still recording right up until he couldnt any more, his booking agent, Carrie Moore-Reed, who is not related, said Tuesday. He had been ill for some time. Reed gained widespread fame as Reynolds wisecracking foil starting with W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings in 1975, followed the next year by Gator and then, in 1977, the first of three Smokey and the Bandit movies in which he played Cledus Snowman Snow. In his last major film role, he played a harsh football coach in the 1998 Adam Sandler comedy The Waterboy. But before he made the jump to Hollywood, hed established himself as one of the most sought-after guitarists in Nashville, a songwriter who wrote hits for Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Brenda Lee and many others. He became a regular presence on the pop and country charts in the 1970s and 80s with humorous hits including When Youre Hot, Youre Hot, Amos Moses, East Bound and Down and She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft). The general population might recognize him most as Snowman in the Smokey films, but they should be aware of so many important contributions he made in music, Michael Gray, museum editor for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, said Tuesday. Added current country star Brad Paisley, I drew a lot of inspiration from him in various ways. His overall artistry and persona was so much fun and entertaining that is just one way I want to emulate him. Another is his total musicianship anyone who picks a country guitar knows of his mastery of the instrument one of the most inspirational stylists in the history of country music. Reed, however, said that growing up hed admired comedians as much as musicians, and that he had long hoped to emulate them in his own career. My favorite people on earth are the Jack Bennys and Jackie Gleasons and Red Skeltons and Sid Caesars those guys that could just tear your head off, he said in 1999. If youre laughing your guts out, how can you be depressed? Besides, he said, the movies kept his face and voice in circulation long after his 16-year string of 57 Top 100 country singles tailed off in 1983. To this day, kids follow me down the street talking about those movies. They see the reruns on Saturday afternoons, he said in 1999. The pictures gave me an (image) that kept me out there long after the music industry wasnt interested any more. Jerry Reed Hubbard was born March 20, 1937 in Atlanta, into a family of cotton farmers. He started playing guitar young, and by the time he was a teenager he was performing with the likes of Ernest Tubb and Faron Young. He got his first record contract in 1955 he was 18 with Capitol Records. His own records didnt click, but one of his songs, Crazy Legs, was recorded by Capitols big rockabilly star, Gene Vincent. Then Brenda Lee charted a Top 10 hit in 1960 with Reeds song Thats All You Gotta Do. Following a two-year stint in the U.S. Army, he relocated to Nashville and switched to Columbia Records to further his music career. Once in the country capital, his songs and guitar-playing caught the ear of Chet Atkins, the esteemed guitarist who worked for RCA as a producer and talent scout. He signed Reed in 1965. The first tangible result of that deal was Guitar Man, which reached No. 53 on the country singles chart. Because he was a label mate of Presley, Reed suggested that Presley record the tune. Presleys version became a Top 50 hit and helped usher in Presleys late-60s career revitalization following his round of fluffy Hollywood movies. Presley followed Guitar Man, with another Reed song, U.S. Male. Reed landed the first Top 10 pop hit of his own in 1970 with Amos Moses, a country funk tune about a Cajun alligator hunter built around Reeds chicken-cluck electric guitar leads and cackling laugh. That year the Country Music Association named him instrumentalist of the year. Amos Moses was followed by When Youre Hot, Youre Hot, the 1971 hit for which Reed won the Grammy for male country vocal. He won two others during his life for duets he recorded with Atkins. The colorful narratives in his quasi-novelty hits set the stage for his TV and film persona, which emphasized his ability to turn homespun catch phrases and Southern wisdom. Earlier this year he released The Gallant Few, a collection of songs he wrote about wounded war veterans, an outgrowth of what he described as his mission in recent years to help ensure that they would not be forgotten. Reed is survived by his wife, Priscilla; two daughters, Sedena and Lottie; and two grandchildren. There are no plans for a public memorial service, Moore-Reed said.

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