Singer-actor Jerry Reed dies at the age of 71
Staff and agencies
02 September, 2008


By JOHN GEROME, Associated Press Writer 23 minutes ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Jerry Reed, a singer who became a good ol‘ boy actor in car chase movies like "Smokey and the Bandit," has died of complications from emphysema at 71.

"He‘s one of the greatest entertainers in the world. That‘s the way I feel about him," Moore-Reed said.

"Everything about Jerry was distinctive: his guitar playing, writing, voice and especially his sense of humor," Galante said. "I was honored to have worked with him."

As a singer in the 1970s and early 1980s, Reed had a string of hits that included "Amos Moses," "When You‘re Hot, You‘re Hot," "East Bound and Down," "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)" and "The Bird."

Reynolds gave him a shiny black 1980 Trans Am like the one they used in "Smokey and the Bandit."

"I went around the corner to motion pictures," he said in a 1992 AP interview.

Born in Atlanta, Reed learned to play guitar at age 8 when his mother bought him a $2 guitar and showed him how to play a G-chord.

At 17, he signed his first recording contract, with Capitol Records.

He first established himself as a songwriter. Elvis Presley recorded two of his songs, "U.S. Male" and "Guitar Man" (both in 1968). He also wrote the hit "A Thing Called Love," which was recorded in 1972 by Johnny Cash. He also wrote songs for Brenda Lee, Tom Jones, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole and the Oak Ridge Boys.

He won a Grammy Award for "When You‘re Hot, You‘re Hot" in 1971. A year earlier, he shared a Grammy with Chet Atkins for their collaboration, "Me and Jerry." In 1992, Atkins and Reed won a Grammy for "Sneakin‘ Around."

Reed continued performing on the road into the late 1990s, doing about 80 shows a year.

"I‘m proud of the songs, I‘m proud of things that I did with Chet (Atkins), I‘m proud that I played guitar and was accepted by musicians and guitar players," he told the AP in 1992.

In a 1998 interview with The Tennessean, he admitted that his acting ability was questionable.

"I used to watch people like Richard Burton and Mel Gibson and think,

I could never do that.‘

"When people ask me what my motivation is, I have a simple answer: Money."

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Associated Press Writer Joe Edwards contributed to this story.

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