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70-482: The label has been in existence since 1975, founded by collector Richard Weize , started with the double LP Going Back to Dixie by Bill Clifton . It has become known for its extravagant (and expensive) box sets. The company describes itself as "a collector's record label" due to its primary business, which is reissuing rare recordings in CD format in small amounts. Historically, their material has had only limited availability in

140-696: A "demo" for its composer, Cindy Walker , believing it was for her personal use and had been deemed "unsuitable" for general release by Chet Atkins and RCA Victor. During 1966, however, RCA determined a market for the song existed because of the war in Vietnam . It was named Song of the Year in the UK during 1966 by the BBC , and Reeves became the first American artist to receive the accolade. That same year, singer Del Reeves (no relation) recorded an album paying tribute to him. In 1980, Reeves

210-488: A 1966 album entitled Del Reeves Sings Jim Reeves . Reeves' nephew, singer-songwriter John Rex Reeves (March 4, 1936 – November 15, 2022), appeared occasionally on RFD-TV 's Midwest Country, singing Reeves' songs, as well as other popular country songs. John Rex, a recording artist in his own right, had two songs on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1981 ("What Would You Do" #93; and "You're

280-642: A 24-track tape. New orchestration and new backing tracks were added, and the tracks were then remixed for stereo. RCA's similar album was, Greatest Hits of Jim Reeves & Patsy Cline . These duets appeared on the Remembering Patsy Cline & Jim Reeves LP. In 1996, the label released a 16 CD compilation titled Welcome to my World , by Jim Reeves , including more than 75 unissued titles and many demo recordings. Richard Weize Richard Weize (Born August 4, 1945 in Bad Gandersheim, Germany)

350-452: A Welcome Mat" in the late 1940s and early 1950s. During these years, Reeves took a job as an announcer for KWKH-AM in Shreveport, Louisiana , then the home of the popular radio program Louisiana Hayride . According to former Hayride master of ceremonies Frank Page , who had introduced Elvis Presley on the program in 1954, singer Sleepy LaBeef was late for a performance, and Reeves

420-531: A country balladeer". "Four Walls" and " He'll Have to Go " (1959) defined Reeves' style. Reeves was instrumental in creating a new style of country music that used violins and lusher background arrangements that soon became known as the Nashville Sound . This new sound was able to cross genres, which made Reeves even more popular as a recording artist. Reeves became known as a crooner because of his light yet rich baritone voice. Because of his vocal style, he

490-419: A deal on some real estate. While flying over Brentwood, Tennessee , they approached a violent thunderstorm. A subsequent investigation showed that once the small airplane became caught in the storm Reeves suffered spatial disorientation . The singer's widow, Mary Reeves (1929–1999), probably unwittingly started the rumor that he was flying the airplane upside down and assumed he was increasing altitude to clear

560-524: A foreword to ‟The TELDEC Story.” Richard Weize has five children from his first two marriages with Helga and Petra Weize: Ricky (1964), Rene (1965), Tobias (1972), Sarah (1974) and Philipp (1979). Since 1994, Weize has been living with his third wife, Birgit in Vollersode near Bremen. Richard Weize has been honored with numerous awards, including the ‟W.C. Handy Award,‟ the ‟Blues Music Award,‟ and several of Bear Family albums have been nominated for Grammys in

630-473: A habit of producing thorough compilations of artists with a more limited fanbase, such as two separate five-CD Johnnie Ray collections, five-CD box set of Merle Travis ±, six-CD box sets of Slim Whitman and the Orioles , a seven-CD Rod McKuen set, eight-CD collections of Lonnie Donegan , Del Shannon , Neil Sedaka and Gene Vincent , a nine-CD omnibus of Johnny Burnette , a 16 CD omnibus of Jim Reeves , or

700-563: A photograph of the press reception in The Irish Press . Billboard magazine in the US also reported the tour before and after. The single " Welcome to My World " with the B/W side "Juanita" was released by RCA Victor during June 1963 and bought by the distributors Irish Records Factors Ltd. This scored the record number one while Reeves was there during June. A number of accounts of his dances were given in

770-660: A plane crash. He is a member of both the Country Music and Texas Country Music Halls of Fame. Reeves was born at home in Galloway, Texas , a small rural community near Carthage . He was the youngest of eight children born to Thomas Middleton Reeves (1882-1924) and Mary Beulah Adams Reeves (1884-1980). He was known as Travis during his childhood years. Winning an athletic scholarship to the University of Texas , he enrolled to study speech and drama but quit after only six weeks to work in

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840-570: A set of eight CDs was released by Intermusic S.A., titled The Great Jim Reeves , containing 170 tracks, remastered and remixed. Tributes to Reeves were composed in the British Isles after his death. The song "A Tribute to Jim Reeves" was written by Eddie Masterson, and recorded by Larry Cunningham and the Mighty Avons; during January 1965, it scored on the UK charts and top 10 in Ireland. It scored

910-483: A set of five boxed sets with a total of 26 CDs covering Doris Day's complete recording history for Columbia Records The company has also released several hundred 'Various Artists' compilations, organized by theme or genre. These include such eclectic projects as a ten-CD political protest song box set, an eleven-CD set of the Jewish and Yiddish performers of the mid-1930s, a seven-CD box featuring 195 different versions of

980-583: A singer-songwriter, where the music did not need the New York Philharmonic to make it real...I wanted to do a record and just be Robert and sing straight like Jim Reeves on 'Put Your Sweet Lips a Little Closer to the Phone'." British comedian Vic Reeves adopted his stage name from Reeves and Vic Damone , two of his favorite singers. In the United States, Del Reeves (no relation) recorded and released

1050-600: Is on the board of the Klaus Kuhnke Archives and continues to release recordings on the “and more bears” label. He, too, has published two books, ‟1000 Nadelstiche (Amerikaner & Briten singen deutsch 1955-1975”—1000 Needlesticks (Americans and British sing in the German language 1955-1975)--and ‟Creole Music of the French West Indies – a discography 1900-1959.” and co-written ‟ ‟LONDON Label Lexikon,‟ and contributed

1120-571: Is the founder of Bear Family Records label, operator of the Richard Weize Archives, and an author. Weize and his work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times , Rolling Stone Die Zeit , Welt , Die Presse , Der Standard , and more. Weize grew up in Bad Gandersheim. His family has been working in the bookbinding trade since 1845, as well as running a book and stationery shop. His passion for pop music emerged when

1190-461: The Remembering Patsy Cline & Jim Reeves LP. Reeves' compilation albums containing well-known standards continue to sell well. The Definitive Collection scored number 21 in the UK album charts during July 2003, and Memories are Made of This reached number 35 during July 2004. Since 2003, US-based VoiceMasters has issued more than 80 previously unreleased Reeves recordings, including new songs, as well as newly overdubbed material. Among them

1260-588: The Now & Then: From Joe Meek to New Zealand double album by Houston Wells. Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rhythm Orchestra , a Canadian alternative rock band whose musical style blends elements of surf music, gospel music, rockabilly, garage, and punk, released the song entitled "Jimmy Reeves" on their 1992 album Don't Mind If I Do Reeves remains a popular artist in Ireland, and many Irish singers have recorded tribute albums. A play by author Dermot Devitt, Put Your Sweet Lips,

1330-472: The Blue Boys were in Ireland from May 30 to June 19, 1963, with a tour of US military bases from June 10 to 15, when they returned to Ireland. They performed in most counties in Ireland, though Reeves occasionally abbreviated performances because he was unhappy with the available pianos at concert venues. In a June 6, 1963 interview with Spotlight magazine, Reeves expressed his concerns about the tour schedule and

1400-649: The Bridge", and "Where We'll Never Grow Old". He was given the nickname Gentleman Jim, an apt description of his character both on stage and off. Reeves scored his greatest success with the Joe Allison composition " He'll Have to Go ", a success on both the popular and country music charts, which earned him a platinum record . Released during late 1959, it scored number one on Billboard ' s Hot Country Songs chart on February 8, 1960, which it scored for 14 consecutive weeks. Country music historian Bill Malone noted that while it

1470-575: The Hayride in Shreveport, Reeves and Hunt traveled and performed together for several years in the dance halls and clubs of East Texas and rural Arkansas. Reeves became the headliner with Hunt as the backup performer. Due to his growing popularity, Reeves went on to release his first album in November 1955, Jim Reeves Sings (Abbott 5001), which proved to be one of Abbott Records' few album releases. Reeves' star

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1540-564: The Irish charts from 1962 to 1967. He recorded two ballads, " Danny Boy " and "Maureen". "He'll Have to Go" was his most popular song there and was at number one and on the charts for months. He was one of the most popular recording artists in Ireland, in the first 10 after the Beatles , Elvis Presley, and Cliff Richard . He was permitted to perform in Ireland by the Irish Federation of Musicians on

1610-537: The Jim Reeves International Award to an artist who has made an "outstanding contributions to the acceptance of country music throughout the world.done the most to promote the genre worldwide". Reeves' records continued to sell well, both earlier and new albums issued after his death. According to Billboard magazine, "Reeves' career continued to thrive with hit records on the Billboard charts throughout

1680-647: The Kingston Trio , Louis Jordan , The Everly Brothers , Chet Atkins , Ann-Margret , Pat Boone , Frankie Laine , Petula Clark , Burl Ives , the Carter Family , Fats Domino , Rosemary Clooney , Doris Day , Connie Francis , Lesley Gore , Ricky Nelson , Nat King Cole , Gene Autry , Johnny Sea , Joe Dowell , the Treniers , Porter Wagoner , Dolly Parton , Jerry Lee Lewis , The Vipers Skiffle Group , Merle Travis and Weldon Rogers . Bear Family has also made

1750-599: The Only Good Thing (That's Happened to Me)" in this section. The program has been repeated on NRK several times over the years. His first success in Norway, "He'll Have to Go", scored number one in the top 10 and scored the chart for 29 weeks. "I Love You Because" was his greatest success in Norway, scoring number one during 1964 and on the list for 39 weeks. His albums spent 696 weeks in the Norwegian top-20 chart, making him one of

1820-418: The U.S, stocked at Ernest Tubb Record Shop , and through mail order sources. Many of their box sets are available through Amazon Marketplace . Among the many artists who have been the subject of extensive box set releases by Bear Family are Bob Wills , Merle Haggard , Waylon Jennings , David Allan Coe , Hank Snow , Jim Reeves , Johnny Cash , Willie Nelson , Dean Martin , Bill Haley & His Comets ,

1890-614: The U.S. He also received a special award by the Association of German Music Critics in 2003 for his life’s work, and in 2009 the German music industry honored his achievements by granting an Echo award to Bear Family for ‟outstanding contributions to music.‟ On 2 February 2021 Richard Weize was awarded with the Cross of the Order of Merit – on proposal of Germany's Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier – for his life’s work. He has devoted his life to

1960-547: The U.S. country charts in 1954. In addition to those early hits, Reeves recorded many other songs for Fabor Records and Abbott Records . In 1954, Abbott Records released a 45 single with "Bimbo" on side-A which hit number one and featured Little Joe Hunt of the Arkansas Walk of Fame. Jim Reeves and Little Joe Hunt met at the Louisiana Hayride, which was Louisiana's equivalent to Nashville's Grand Ole Opry. After performing at

2030-499: The UK charts on December 10, 1964, and was there for 11 weeks and sold 250,000 copies. The Dixielanders Show Band also recorded "Tribute to Jim Reeves" written by Steve Lynch and recorded during September 1964; it scored on the Northern Ireland charts during September 1964. The Masterson song was translated later into Dutch and recorded. In the UK, "We'll Remember You" was written by Geoff Goddard, but not released until 2008 on

2100-512: The United States at times, helped to give country music a worldwide market for the first time. According to Billboard , "Reeves’ star shone equally bright overseas in the United Kingdom, India, Germany, and even South Africa. Jim Reeves was hugely popular in Sri Lanka in the 1960s and 1970s and presently he is the most popular English language singer in Sri Lanka. During the early 1960s, Reeves

2170-564: The Wilburn Brothers , and Little Joe Hunt got their start at the Louisiana Hayride. In addition to the Hayride, Jim Reeves joined the Grand Ole Opry , also in 1955. Reeves also made his first appearance on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee in 1955. He was such a hit with the fans that he was invited to act as fill-in host from May thru July 1958 on the popular program, Ozark Jubilee . From his earliest recordings with RCA Victor, Reeves relied on

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2240-403: The aircraft. Relying on his instincts more than his training, evidence suggests he applied full power and pulled back on the yoke before leveling his wings—a fatal, but not uncommon, mistake that induced a stall/spin from which he was too low to recover. Jordan writes that according to the tower tape, Reeves ran into the heavy rain at 4:51 pm and crashed only a minute later. When the wreckage

2310-442: The bodies of the singer and Dean Manuel were found in the wreckage of the aircraft, and at 1:00 pm local time, radio stations across the United States began to announce Reeves' death formally. Thousands of people traveled to pay their last respects at his funeral two days later. The coffin, draped in flowers from fans, was driven through the streets of Nashville and then to Reeves' final resting place near Carthage, Texas. Reeves

2380-428: The cataloging and preservation of Mozart’s and Schubert’s music. Jim Reeves James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923 – July 31, 1964) was an American country and popular music singer and songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound . Known as "Gentleman Jim", his songs continued to chart for years after his death in

2450-571: The company, Weize had found many companions – producers, authors, musicians, music lovers – some of whom continue to contribute to the label’s releases. Among them: Jürgen Brückner, John Cowley, Hank Davis, Colin Escott , Bill Geerhart, Martin Hawkins, Hugo Keesing, Michael Kleff, Volker Kühn, Rainer E. Lotz, Bernd Matheja, Ted Olson, Tony Russel, Dr. Jürgen Schebera. Weize retired in 2015, but continues to compile records for Bear Family Records. In addition, he

2520-524: The condition of the pianos, but said he was pleased with the audiences. A press reception for him at the Shannon Shamrock Inn was organized by Tom Monaghan of Bunratty Castle , County Clare . Showband singers Maisie McDaniel and Dermot O'Brien welcomed him on May 29, 1963. A photograph appeared in the Limerick Leader on June 1, 1963. Press coverage continued from May until Reeves' arrival with

2590-606: The condition that he share the bill with Irish show bands , becoming popular by 1963. The British Musicians' Union would not permit him to perform there, because no agreement existed for British show bands to travel to America, in exchange for the Blue Boys playing in Britain. Reeves did, however, perform for British radio and TV programmes. During the 1960s, at the early stage of his career, Elton John performed at various pubs in England, frequently playing songs by Reeves. Reeves played at

2660-476: The endorsement of his producer Chet Atkins , Reeves used this new style in a 1957 recording, a demonstration song of lost love that had originally been intended for a female voice. It was titled " Four Walls ", which not only scored number one on the country music charts, but also scored number 11 on the popular music charts, as well. This recording marked his transition from novelty songs to serious country-pop music, and according to one source, "established Reeves as

2730-729: The film-making experience and would consider devoting more of his career to this medium. The film was released in South Africa (and also in the US) in 1965 after Reeves's death. Reeves was one of an exclusive trio of performers to have released an album there that played at the little-used 16⅔ rpm speed. This unusual format was more suited to the spoken word and was quickly discontinued for music. The only other artists known to have released such albums in South Africa were Elvis Presley and Slim Whitman . Reeves toured Britain and Ireland during 1963, between his tours of South Africa and Europe. Reeves and

2800-625: The first Anglo-American 45-rpm records appeared in Germany in the 1950s, and it was fueled with American Forces Network , Elvis Presley and the Star-Club in Hamburg . By 1960, Weize had become a pioneering record trader, importing hard-to-get country and rock ‘n’ roll albums from the USA and selling them – with a small surcharge – to his friends. Not only was this the start of his own record collection, but also one of

2870-428: The foundation stones of his Bear Family Records business. Weize founded Bear Family Records in 1975. The label was such a grassroots operation at first that Weize began by typing the label’s first ‟catalogues” on his typewriter, but soon he had to employ some staff to help him with his work. By then Bear Family had changed from a mail order business to a record label selling their own rereleases worldwide. In building

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2940-537: The impact. Jordan writes extensively about forensic evidence (including from the long-elusive tower tape and accident report), which suggests that instead of making a right turn to avoid the storm (as he had been advised by the approach controller to do), Reeves turned left in an attempt to follow Franklin Road to the airport. In so doing, he flew further into the rain. While preoccupied with trying to re-establish his ground references, Reeves let his airspeed get too low and stalled

3010-574: The little studio in his home. In late July 1964, a few days before his death in an airplane crash, Reeves recorded "I'm a Hit Again", using just an acoustic guitar as accompaniment. That recording was never officially released by RCA Victor (because it was a home recording not owned by the label), but appeared during 2003 as part of a collection of previously unissued Reeves songs released on the VoiceMasters label. Jim Reeves married Mary White on September 3, 1947. They never had any children, as Jim Reeves

3080-1082: The local newspapers, with a good one in The Kilkenny People of his dance in the Mayfair Ballroom, where 1,700 people were present. A photograph in The Donegal Democrat had Reeves' singing in the Pavesi Ball Room on June 7, 1963, and an account of his nonappearance on stage in The Diamond , Kiltimagh , County Mayo in The Western People representing how the tour went in different areas. He planned to record an album of popular Irish songs, and had three number-one songs in Ireland during 1963 and 1964: "Welcome to My World", " I Love You Because ", and " I Won't Forget You ". The last two are estimated to have sold 860,000 and 750,000, respectively, in Britain alone, excluding Ireland. Reeves had 11 songs in

3150-406: The loud, East Texas style, which was considered standard for country and western performers of that time, but he developed a new style of singing over the course of his career. He said, "One of these days.....I'm gonna sing like I want to sing!" So, he decreased his volume and used the lower registers of his singing voice, with his lips nearly touching the microphone. Amid protests from RCA, but with

3220-515: The mid-1970s until 1996. On the 15th anniversary of Reeves death, Mary told a country music magazine interviewer, "Jim Reeves my husband is gone; Jim Reeves the artist lives on." During 1966, Reeves' record " Distant Drums " hit number one on the UK Singles Chart and remained there for five weeks. The song stayed in the UK chart for 25 weeks, and took number one on the US country music chart. Originally, "Distant Drums" had been recorded merely as

3290-526: The military as World War II enveloped the United States. On March 9, 1943, he reported to the Army Induction Center in Tyler, Texas for his preliminary physical examination. However, he failed the exam (probably due to a heart irregularity), and on 4 August 1943 an official letter declared his 4-F draft status. Reeves began to work as a radio announcer and sang live between songs. During the late 1940s, he

3360-711: The most important performers in Country music." In 1998 Reeves was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in Carthage, Texas, where the Jim Reeves Memorial is located. The inscription on the memorial reads, "If I, a lowly singer, dry one tear, or soothe one humble human heart in pain, then my homely verse to God is dear, and not one stanza has been sung in vain." Each year, the Academy of Country Music awards

3430-535: The most popular music artists in the history of Norway. Reeves' last two recording sessions for RCA Victor were held July 2, 1964; they produced the songs " Make the World Go Away ", " Missing You ", and " Is It Really Over? " When the session ended with some time remaining on the schedule, Reeves suggested that he should record one more song. He taped " I Can't Stop Loving You ", in what was to be his final RCA recording. Reeves made one later recording, however, at

3500-523: The next two decades". The last Reeves song on the chart was "The Image Of Me", in 1984. His widow, Mary, was instrumental in the ongoing success of the songs. She combined unreleased tracks with previous releases (placing updated instrumentals alongside Reeves' original vocals) to produce a regular series of "new" albums after her husband's death. She also operated the Jim Reeves Museum in Nashville from

3570-448: The preservation and accessibility of musical cultural assets. Or, as stated by Götz Alsmann in his written eulogy: “Richard Weize’s work is one big recovery of cultural treasures, purely and simply the preservation of the world’s musical heritage.” According to Alsmann, Weize’s work in the field of musical history is by all means comparable to that of Ludwig von Köchel or Otto Erich Deutsch, whose directories are fundamental contributions to

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3640-562: The shipyards in Houston . Soon he resumed baseball, playing in the semi-professional leagues before contracting with the St. Louis Cardinals "farm" team during 1944 as a right-handed pitcher. He played for the minor leagues for three years before severing his sciatic nerve while pitching, which ended his athletic career. Reeves' initial efforts to pursue a baseball career were sporadic, possibly due to his uncertainty as to whether he would be drafted into

3710-501: The song " Lili Marleen ," compilations of music based on and from the TV series Bonanza , a four-CD collection of British music hall songs of the early 20th century, a ten-CD set of late-1930s calypso music, a 52-CD "History of Pop Music" set and a 26-CD compilation detailing the country hit parade from 1945 to 1970. In 1982, RCA combined song sung independently by Reeves and Patsy Cline into duets using three-track mastering recorders onto

3780-637: The songs overdubbed during the years after his death which have never appeared on CD. A compilation CD, The Very Best of Jim Reeves , scored number eight on initial release in the UK Albums Chart during May 2009, to later score its maximum of number seven during late June, his first top-10 album in the UK since 1992. In 1994, the German Bear Family Records label released a 16-CD compilation titled Welcome to my World , including more than 75 unissued titles, and many demo recordings. In 2014,

3850-521: The sports arena Njårdhallen , Oslo, on April 15, 1964, with Bobby Bare , Chet Atkins , the Blue Boys, and the Anita Kerr Singers . They performed two concerts; the second was televised and recorded by Norwegian network NRK (Norsk Rikskringkasting, the only one in Norway at the time). The complete concert, however, was not recorded, including some of Reeves' last songs. He reportedly performed "You're

3920-416: The storm. However, according to Larry Jordan, author of the 2011 biography, Jim Reeves: His Untold Story , this scenario is rebutted by eyewitnesses known to crash investigators, who saw the plane overhead immediately before the mishap and confirmed that Reeves was not upside down. Reeves' friend, musician Marty Robbins , recalled hearing the wreck happen and alerting authorities to which direction he heard

3990-403: The well-known songs "C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S" and "An Old Christmas Card". During 1975, RCA Victor producer Chet Atkins told interviewer Wayne Forsythe, "Jim wanted to be a tenor, but I wanted him to be a baritone... I was right, of course. After he changed his voice to that smooth, deeper sound, he was immensely popular." Reeves' international popularity during the 1960s, surpassing his popularity in

4060-465: Was "I'm a Hit Again", the last song he recorded in his basement studio just a few days before his death. VoiceMasters overdubbed this track in the same studio in Reeves' former home (then owned by a Nashville record producer ). The song was released in 2008 by H&H Music (UK) and became number one in a survey of radio stations in the UK. Reeves' fans repeatedly urged RCA or Bear Family to re-release some of

4130-458: Was also considered a talented artist because of his versatility in crossing the music charts. He appealed to audiences that were not necessarily country/western. His catalog of songs such as " Adios Amigo ", " Welcome to My World ", and " Am I Losing You? " demonstrated this appeal. Many of his Christmas songs have become perennial favorites, including "C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S", " Blue Christmas ", and "An Old Christmas Card". Between 1957 and 1958, Reeves

4200-484: Was asked to substitute. (Other accounts—including that of Reeves himself, in an interview on the RCA Victor album Yours Sincerely —name Hank Williams as the absentee.) Jim Reeves was a country music singer who had success early on in his career, first with the song " Mexican Joe " in 1953 for Abbott Records. Other hits followed, such as "I Love You" (a duet with Ginny Wright ), and " Bimbo " which reached number one on

4270-584: Was based on Reeves' appearance in Ireland at the Pavesi Ballroom in Donegal town on June 7, 1963, and reminiscences of people who attended. Blind R&B and blues music artist Robert Bradley (of the band Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise ) paid tribute to Reeves in the album description of his release, Out of the Wilderness . He said, "This record brings me back to the time when I started out wanting to be

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4340-400: Was believed to be sterile , (though not 100% proven) due to complications from a mumps infection. On July 31, 1964, Reeves and his business partner and manager Dean Manuel (also the pianist of Reeves's backing group, the Blue Boys) left Batesville, Arkansas , en route to Nashville in a single-engine Beechcraft Debonair aircraft, N8972M, with Reeves at the controls. The two had secured

4410-464: Was contracted with a couple of small Texas-based recording companies, but without success. Reeves at this point was influenced by early country and western swing artists including Jimmie Rodgers and Moon Mullican , as well as popular singers Bing Crosby , Eddy Arnold and Frank Sinatra . In the late 1940s, Reeves joined Moon Mullican's band, and as a solo artist, Reeves recorded Mullican-style songs including "Each Beat of my Heart" and "My Heart's Like

4480-551: Was credited with two more top-10 posthumous duet hits, " Have You Ever Been Lonely? " and " I Fall to Pieces ", which combined separate vocal tracks of both he and the late country star Patsy Cline , who had also passed away in an airplane crash mid-career. Although the two had never recorded together, producers Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley lifted their isolated vocal performances off original three-track stereo master session tapes, resynchronized them, and combined them with digitally re-recorded backing tracks. The duets first appeared on

4550-405: Was elected posthumously to the Country Music Hall of Fame during 1967, which honored him by saying, "The velvet style of 'Gentleman Jim Reeves' was an international influence. His rich voice brought millions of new fans to country music from every corner of the world. Although the crash of his private airplane took his life, posterity will keep his name alive because they will remember him as one of

4620-547: Was found some 42 hours later, the airplane's engine and nose was discovered buried in the ground due to the impact of the crash. The crash site was in a wooded area north-northeast of Brentwood, roughly at the junction of Baxter Lane and Franklin Pike Circle, just east of Interstate 65 , and southwest of Nashville International Airport where Reeves planned to land. On the morning of August 2, 1964, after an intense search by several parties (which included several personal friends of Reeves, among them Ernest Tubb and Marty Robbins),

4690-416: Was in many ways a conventional country song, its arrangement and the vocal chorus "put this recording in the country-pop vein". In addition, Malone lauded Reeves' vocal styling—lowered to "its natural resonant level" to project the "caressing style that became famous"—as to why "many people refer to him as the singer with the velvet voice." In 1963, he released his Twelve Songs of Christmas album, which had

4760-485: Was more popular in South Africa than Elvis Presley, and recorded several albums in the Afrikaans language . In 1963, he toured and starred in a South African film, Kimberley Jim . In the film, he sang part of one song in Afrikaans. The film was released with a special prologue and epilogue in South African cinemas after Reeves' death, praising him as a true friend of the country. The film was produced, directed, and written by Emil Nofal . Reeves later said that he enjoyed

4830-414: Was on the rise because he had already been signed to a 10-year recording contract with RCA Victor by Steve Sholes . Sholes went on to produce some of Reeves' first recordings at RCA Victor. Sholes signed another performer from the Louisiana Hayride that same year (1955), Elvis Presley . Most of the talented performers of the 1950s such as Reeves, Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis , Jim Ed Brown , Maxine Brown ,

4900-436: Was the host of a radio show on the ABC network. Debuting on October 7, 1957, the program was broadcast weekdays from 1 to 2 p.m. from Nashville, Tennessee. It featured the Anita Kerr Singers and Owen Bradley's orchestra. This was also when he began shifting from cowboy outfits to sports jackets. Reeves is also responsible for popularizing many gospel songs, including "We Thank Thee", " Take My Hand, Precious Lord ", "Across

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