This just confirms that I am actually older than I feel. I remember going to the theater with my parents in the ‘70s to see Jerry Reed star alongside Burt Reynolds and Sally Field in Smokey and the Bandit. I read that Jerry died last Monday due to complications from emphysema.
Jerry was somewhat of a good ole boy Renaissance man in the ‘70s. He was a singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actor, but he did it the hard way. He dropped out of high school to tour with Ernest Tubb and Faron Young then signed his first recording contract at age 17.
After moving to Nashville, in the ‘60s, Reed took a stab at songwriting, penning both “U.S. Male” and “Guitar Man” for Elvis. Johnny Cash had a hit with Reed’s “A Thing Called Love” in 1972. But, by then, Reed had found his own success as a recording artist. His first hit was 1970’s “Amos Moses,” which reached #8 on the pop charts. He hit the charts again in 1971 with “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot” (yeah, it’s on my iPod), which won him a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. He already had one Grammy on his shelf though, having won one with Chet Atkins in 1970 for their collaboration on “Me and Jerry.” The two also won another Grammy in 1992 for “Sneakin’ Around.”
By the mid-‘70s, Reed had decided to give acting a try. He appeared as Burt Reynolds sidekick Cletus Snow in Smokey and the Bandit. In addition, he wrote the movie’s theme song “East Bound and Down.” He would go on to appear in the second and third sequels of the film. Reed acted under Reynold’s direction in Gator. But, those were in the ‘70s. Kids of today may remember Reed best as the mean, conniving coach in 1998’s Waterboy.
Even with the acting career, Reed continued to record, with the hit “She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)” in 1982 (also on my iPod) and 1983’s “I’m a Slave. He made an appearance in the ‘80s on “Mama’s Family” as Naomi’s ex-husband Leonard Oates. Reed still toured into the late ‘90s, but was sidelined by quadruple bypass in June 1999.