He died recently. You probably already know that.
He was fun. You probably know that, too.
He died of emphysema from smoking too many cigarettes. That’s sad, though in his song Another Puff, he seemed to “dance on his troubles,” as David Cantwell said so eloquently in the obituary he wrote for Living In Stereo .
Here’s a snippet:
Reed died last month of emphysema, a demise he predicted in his “Another Puff,†a grimly hialrious talking blues about his half-assed attempts to quit smoking: “I wish I could think of something bad to say about cigarettes,†he muses at one point, before announcing, “Boo cigarettes!†He cracks up at his joke, then collapses in a fit of smoker’s cough. I don’t know but I suspect Reed was making those sorts of jokes right up to the end. Another way Reed was a rock ‘n’ roller was that he understood that the blues weren’t just about being down; they were about dancing on your troubles and laughing long and hard to keep from crying.
You can read Cantwell’s full article here.
Photo from Libra Rising
I hadn’t heard this one before. I should listen, but then again that’s nothing new. A cautionary tale. Thanks for the link to David Cantwell’s article in full.
Oh, I didn’t know he had died. I just played his original of Guitar Man for a post on originals of Elvis songs I’m planning. I like his version much better than Elvis’.
he was a good man
Jerry was a man that i looked up to im my childhood. He made you feel like you could live life the way you wanted to and that’s all that mattered. He will alway’s be on of my favorites.
Just learned of Jerry Reeds death as I watched the CMA awards,all I could think was “Oh no” I pray for his soul, and my deepest regards for his family, he will be missed. He was fun and just what he said he was an entertainer,always.
My day was saddened by the news of Jerry Reed’s passing,kinda ruined the CMA awards for me. He was one of the greatest guitar pickers of all time, he will be greatly missed . His comical antics permmeated not only his professional career but also his life off stage, that was just the way he was. There must be one hell of a band there in heaven!
I greatly enjoyed Jerry Reed’s comic performances in such as the Smokey and The Bandit movies and Hot Stuff. He typified the Southern Good Ol’ Boy and I hadn’t realised the ‘Guitar Man’ connection to Elvis, one of my much loved singers. Waylon Jennings is/was another Southern singer who enriched Country Music and I’m somewhat depressed to think that so many of the singers I enjoyed, Roy Orbison being one, have gone.
Echoing Randy’s comment about the tribute song “If there’s a rock n’ roll Heaven they must have a hell of a band”.
Just mentioning the Smokey movies again, though I’m a retired Police Officer I thought Jackie Gleason’s portrayal of Buford T. in the Smokey movies was hilarious. He had to try and keep up his ‘hot pursuit’ whilst encumbered with Junior, his idiot son.
you cant not love mister reed smokey and the bandit 1 ov the best movies ov all time
love you jerry and my condolences too your familly
I knew Jerry when we all were in Hollywppd @ The Palomino. He was great fun and Great talent.
My husband was on of the singers, Kelly Guthrie. We had a lot of good days. My heart goes out to his family,my husband of 25 years was a song writer and singer, he died of emphysema 6 yrs ago on NY’s eve.
loved jerry reed
jerry was great ,
East Bound and Down, one of my favorite songs of all time.
He seemed to have a happy go lucky way about him, i think he was cool
I thought that Jerry was one of the best looking singing/acting stars out there. Loved his sense of humor and his good ole country boy charm. He was a cool cat and I still can’t believe that he has gone.
Gone to go spin East Bound And Bound for you, my man. You’re memory won’t fade here.