More Info on Jimmy ReedSimilar Blues MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
Infobox musical artist | name =Jimmy Reed| image = JimmyReed.jpg| caption =| image_size =| background =solo_singer| birth_name =Mathis James Reed| alias =| birth_date =birth date|1925|9|6|mf=y| birth_place = Dunleith, Mississippi|Dunleith , Mississippi , United States | death_date =death date and age|1976|8|29|1925|9|6|mf=y| death_place = Oakland, California|Oakland , California , United States| origin =| instrument = Singer|Vocals , harmonica , guitar | genre = Blues | occupation = Musician, songwriter| years_active =1940s–1976| label = Vee-Jay Records|Vee-Jay | associated_acts =| website =| notable_instruments = Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed (September 6, 1925 & ndash; August 29, 1976) http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1203947/bio IMDb biography details - accessed December 2007 was an American blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues , as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries. His lazy, slack-jawed singing, piercing harmonica and hypnotic guitar patterns were one of the blues' most easily identifiable sounds in the 1950s and 1960s, and had a significant impact on many rock and roll artists who followed, such as Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones .
Biography
Reed was born in Dunleith, Mississippi in 1925, learning the harmonica and guitar from Eddie Taylor , a close friend. After spending several years busking and performing in the area, Reed moved to Chicago, Illinois , in 1943 before being drafted into the US Navy during World War II. In 1945, Reed was discharged and moved back to Mississippi for a brief period, marrying his girlfriend, Mary "Mama" Reed, before moving to Gary, Indiana to work at an Armour & Co. meat packing plant. Mama Reed appears as an uncredited background singer on many of his songs, notably the major hits " Baby What You Want Me to Do ", " Big Boss Man " and " Bright Lights, Big City (1961 song)|Bright Lights, Big City ".
By the 1950s, Reed had established himself as a popular musician and joined the "Gary Kings" with John Brim , as well as playing on the street with Willie Joe Duncan. Reed failed to gain a recording contract with Chess Records , but signed with Vee-Jay Records through Brim's drummer, Albert King . At Vee-Jay, Reed began playing again with Eddie Taylor and soon released "You Don't Have to Go", his first hit record. This was followed by a long string of hits.
Reed maintained his reputation despite his rampant alcoholism; sometimes his wife had to help him remember the lyrics to his songs while recording. In 1957, Reed developed epilepsy , though the condition was not correctly diagnosed for a long time, as Reed and doctors assumed it was delirium tremens .cite web|url=Allmusic|class=artist|id=p504/biography|pure_url=yes|title=Jimmy Reed Biography|author=Cub Koda, AllMusic.com
In spite of his numerous hits, Reed's personal problems prevented him from achieving the same level of fame as other popular blues artists of the time, though he had more hit songs than many others. When Vee-Jay Records closed down, Reed's manager signed a contract with the fledgling ABC-Paramount Records|ABC-Bluesway label, but Reed was never able to score another hit.
In 1968 he toured Europe with the American Folk Blues Festival .cite book | first= Tony | last= Russell | year= 1997 | title= The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray | publisher= Carlton Books Limited | location= Dubai | pages= 76–77 | isbn= 1-85868-255-X
Jimmy Reed died in Oakland, California in 1976, of respiratory failure , http://thedeadrockstarsclub.com/1970.html? referer=www.clickfind.com.au Thedeadrockstarsclub.com - accessed July 2010 eight days short of his 51st birthday. He is interred in the Lincoln Cemetery in Worth, Illinois .
In 1991 Reed was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame .
Influence
Unsourced|section|date=November 2011 The Rolling Stones have cited Reed as a major influence on their sound, and their early set lists included many of Reed's songs, including tracks like " Ain't That Lovin' You Baby (Jimmy Reed song)|Ain't That Lovin' You Baby ", "The Sun is Shining" (also played at the Stones' 1969 Altamont Free Concert|Altamont concert ), "Bright Lights, Big City" and "Shame, Shame, Shame" ; the A-side and B-side|B-side of their February 1964 hit single " Not Fade Away (song)|Not Fade Away " was a pastiche of "Shame, Shame, Shame" entitled " Little by Little (The Rolling Stones song)|Little by Little ". Their The Rolling Stones (album)|first album , released in April 1964, featured their cover version|cover of Reed's "Honest I Do".
The Yardbirds recorded an instrumental dedicated to him entitled "Like Jimmy Reed Again", which was released on the "definitive edition" of their album Having a Rave Up with The Yardbirds .
Van Morrison 's group Them covered "Bright Lights, Big City" and "Baby, What You Want Me To Do", both of which can be found on The Story of Them Featuring Van Morrison .
"Big Boss Man" was sung regularly by Ron "Pigpen" McKernan with the Grateful Dead during the 1960s and early 1970s and appears on their live album Skull and Roses . It was revived a few times by Jerry Garcia with the Dead during the 1980s. Bob Weir of the Dead also played it a few times with Kingfish in the mid 70s, and more recently with Ratdog . Phil Lesh also plays it with Phil & Friends. The Grateful Dead have also performed Baby What You Want Me to Do with Brent Mydland on vocals.
Elvis Presley recorded several of Reed's songs, scoring a 1967 hit with "Big Boss Man" and recording several performances of "Baby, What You Want Me to Do" for his Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special|1968 Comeback TV Special . (However, Presley's 1964 hit, "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby" is a different song than that recorded by Reed.) The song "Baby, What You Want Me to Do" was also covered by Wishbone Ash on their 1972 live album , Live Dates . "Baby What You Want Me to Do" was also frequently performed by Etta James and Hot Tuna . Johnny and Edgar Winter performed the song live in 1975 and included it on Johnny and Edgar Winter Together.
Reed's recordings of " Big Boss Man " and "Bright Lights, Big City" were both voted onto the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll .
Noted Austin, Texas musicians, Omar Kent Dykes and Jimmie Vaughan released an album entitled On the Jimmy Reed Highway as a tribute to Reed.cite web|last=Gilstrap |first=Andrew |url= http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/50066/omar-kent-dykes-and-jimmie-vaughan-on-the-jimmy-reed-highway/ |title=Popmatters website album review - accessed December 2007 |publisher=Popmatters.com |date= |accessdate=2011-11-13
Bill Cosby covered four of Reed's songs – "Bright Lights, Big City", "Big Boss Man", "Hush Hush" and "Aw Shucks, Hush Your Mouth" – on his 1967 album Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings .
Neil Young historically plays Reed's music to his audience before his shows.
British punk pioneer Billy Childish and his band Thee Headcoats released an EP of Reed covers entitled The Jimmy Reed Experience on Get Hip Records in 1997.
Discography
Charting singles
Hot R& B/Hip-Hop Songs>U.S.
1956
"Can't Stand to See You Go"
"I Don't Go for That"
"I Love You Baby"
1957
"Honey, Where You Going? "
"Little Rain"
"The Sun is Shining"
1958
1959
1960
"Found Love"
"Hush-Hush"
1961
Bright Lights, Big City "
"Close Together"
1962
"Good Lover"
1963
Selected albums
Year !! Album
1958
1959
1960
Now Appearing
1961
1962
1963
Jimmy Reed Sings the Best of the Blues
'' T'Ain't No Big Thing But He Is...Jimmy Reed
1964
1965
1967
1968
1971
1973
1974
1976
1980
1985
See also
List of blues musicians
List of people from Mississippi
Soul blues
Blues harp
List of people with epilepsy
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.blues.org/halloffame/inductees.php4? YearId=25 1980 Blues Foundation Hall of Fame induction
http://www.bluesharp.ca/legends/jreed.html Webpage with detailed biography and photographs
Find a Grave|3792
Persondata | NAME = Reed, Mathis James | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Reed, Jimmy | SHORT DESCRIPTION = American blues musician and songwriter | DATE OF BIRTH = September 6, 1925 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Dunleith, Mississippi , United States | DATE OF DEATH = August 29, 1976 | PLACE OF DEATH = Oakland, California , United States DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Jimmy Category:1925 births Category:1976 deaths Category:American blues singers Category:American male singers Category:Blues Hall of Fame inductees Category:Blues revival musicians Category:American buskers Category:Electric blues musicians Category:Harmonica blues musicians Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees? Category:African American musicians Category:People from Gary, Indiana Category:People from Washington County, Mississippi Category:People with epilepsy Category:Vee-Jay Records artists Category:Deaths from respiratory failure
