James Travis Reeves was born on August 20, 1923, at Galloway,
a small rural community near Carthage in southeastern Panola
County, Texas. The youngest of nine children, his father died
when Jim was a baby. In his early teens he was singing and
playing guitar on KRMD radio in Shreveport, Louisiana.

When a leg injury ended Jim’s dream of a baseball career he
returned to singing and promoting his appearances with a job
as an announcer on several East Texas radio stations. After
signing an agreement with Abbott Records, Jim Reeves had
his first chart topping single in 1953, “Mexican Joe”.

Moving up to become an announcer on the giant 50,000 watt
signal of Shreveport’s KWKH, Jim Reeves became a performer
on the famed Louisiana Hayride. His second #1 hit, “Bimbo”
was followed by top ten charters, “I Love You” and
“Penny Candy” in 1954.

Signing with RCA Victor, Jim had a two sided top five hit,
“Yonder Comes a Sucker” and “I’m Hurtin’ Inside”. Nine more
#1 country hits would follow, “Four Walls”, “Billy Bayou”,
“I Guess I’m Crazy”, “This is It”, “Distant Drums”, “Blue Side
of Lonesome” “I Won’t Come In While He’s Still There” and
his Grammy Hall of Fame, multi million selling pop hit
of 1960, “He’ll Have to Go”.

Among Jim’s dozen or more top five hits were, “According to
My Heart”, “Am I Losing You”, “Anna Marie”, “Blue Boy”,
“Home”, “I’m Getting’ Better”, “Adios Amigo”, “Guilty” and
“Welcome to My World”.

The distinctive warm voice of Jim Reeves boosted country music
to new popularity with fans both in the states and worldwide,
where “Gentleman Jim” was an international favorite.

At just 40 years of age the life of Jim Reeves ended when
the small plane he was piloting crashed during a violent
thunderstorm in the late afternoon of July 31, 1964
near Nashville, Tennessee.

In 1967 Jim Reeves was elected posthumously to the
Country Music Hall of Fame.