TGIF Oldies- Jerry Reed: When You're Hot, You're Hot/Amos Moses 1970/71

Reaganite Republican ^ | January 21, 2011 | Reaganite Republican

[Reaganite Republican]

Georgia Native Jerry Reed Hubbard (1937-08) was an American country music singer, country guitarist, session musician, songwriter, and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films... nothing short of an American cultural icon.

As a musician, "The Snowman" was best known for "(Who Was the Man Who Put) The Line in Gasoline"; "Lord, Mr. Ford (What Have You Done)"; "Amos Moses"; "When You're Hot, You're Hot," (Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance); and "East Bound and Down," the theme song for the film Smokey and the Bandit, in which he co-starred with Burt Reynolds.

Back in '67, Reed notched his first official country chart hit with "Guitar Man," which Elvis Presley soon covered. Presley had come to Nashville to record in 1967, and one of the songs he was working on was "Guitar Man" (which Reed had written and recorded earlier). 

"I was out on the Cumberland River fishing, and I got a call from Felton Jarvis (then Presley's producer). He said, 'Elvis is down here. We've been trying to cut 'Guitar Man' all day long. He wants it to sound like it sounded on your album.' I finally told him, 'Well, if you want it to sound like that, you're going have to get me in there to play guitar, because these guys (you're using in the studio) are straight pickers. I pick with my fingers and tune that guitar up all weird kind of ways.'"

Jarvis hired Reed to play on the session. "I hit that intro, and Elvis' face lit up and here we went. Then after he got through that, he cut my "U.S. Male" at the same session. I was toppin' cotton, son..." 

Subsequently the songwriter recorded an Elvis tribute, "Tupelo Mississippi Flash," which proved to be his first Top 20 hit. Elvis Presley also recorded two other Reed compositions: "A Thing Called Love" in 1970 and "Talk About The Good Times" in 1973.

Johnny Cash would also release Reed's "A Thing Called Love" as a single in 1971, which would reach #2 on the Country Singles Chart. After releasing the 1970 crossover hit "Amos Moses", a hybrid of rock, country, funk, and Cajun styles (below), Reed teamed with Atkins for the duet LP Me and Jerry. 

During the 1970 TV season, he was a regular on The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and in 1971 Reed issued his biggest hit, the chart-topper "When You're Hot, You're Hot", which was also the title track of his first solo album. Both "Amos Moses" and "When You're Hot, You're Hot" sold over a million copies.

In the mid-1970s, Reed's recording career began to take a back seat to his acting aspirations. In 1974, he co-starred with his close friend Burt Reynolds in the film W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings. While he continued to record throughout the decade, his greatest visibility was as a motion picture star, almost always in tandem with headliner Reynolds; after 1976's Gator, Reed appeared in 1978's High Ballin and 1979's Hot Stuff. 

He also co-starred in all three of the Smokey and the Bandit films; the first, which premiered in 1977, landed Reed a #2 hit with the soundtrack's "East Bound and Down." 

Reed also took a stab at hosting a TV variety show, filming two episodes of The Jerry Reed Show in 1976. Guests included Tammy Wynette, Ray Stevens, and Burt Reynolds. 

In 1982, Reed's career as a singles artist was revitalized by the chart-topping hit "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)," followed by "The Bird," which peaked at #2. His last chart hit, "I'm a Slave," came in 1983.

And btw, if you've never seen the unheralded The Survivors (1983) with Reed, Walter Matthau, and a young Robin Williams you ought to... hilarious imo.

Wikipedia   

Three videos/more at Reaganite Republican

[caver]

Jerry Reed is great!

[MarineBrat]

Many only know Reed as Burt Reynolds’ sidekick in the Bandit movies, but he’s also one of the great guitar pickers of all time. Go to YouTube and type in “Jerry Reed.” You’ll be blown away at some of his musical prowess.

[Reaganite Republican]

I adore everything the guy’s ever done

[johncocktoasten]

I didn’t see his depiction of legendary university of louisiana head coach Red Belyieu in The Waterboy, listed in his credits.

[BillM]

There are only a handful of ‘Master Guitar Players’ on Chet Atkins’ list. Jerry Reed was at the top!

[Reaganite Republican]

You got that right MB, his finger pickin style is somethin else

AND Jerry Reed is one of only four people to have the title of “Certified Guitar Player” (an award only bestowed to those who have completely mastered guitar), and awarded this title by Chet Atkins

[bigbob]

hmmmm...”Amos Moses”....sounds like we could have a political correctness violation right there. Won’t be hearing this played on NPR ;-)

[andy58-in-nh]

Here's Jerry Reed and Chet Atkins doing some Serious Pickin'.

[Lurker]

When I was a kid I played my 45 of Amos Moses until the grooves wore out.

[Reaganite Republican]

Good stuff there, Andy

[Sivad]

Trekked to New Orleans in ‘76 to visit my best
high school buddy who had left the Navy SEALs and
became a hardhat diver. We drove up to Magnolia,
Ms to the country music festival where we saw,
among other acts, a 17(?)yr old Tanya Tucker, Mel
Tillis, and Jerry Reed. I enjoyed Reed the most.

[andy58-in-nh]

I’ve been playing guitar for over 35 years now and both of those guys just make me shake my head in amazement.

[Reaganite Republican]

I taped it off the radio and played it in my little Panasonic cassette player until it was spaghetti when I was ten, similar lol

[andy58-in-nh]

Way back when there was still music on AM radio and country stations still played Country, you could hear songs like Amos Moses that offered great stories set to truly original American music. I do miss those days, because for all of the obvious improvement in musical fidelity, Merle Haggard just doesn’t sound quite the same in mp3 as he did on my old transistor radio.

[Reaganite Republican]

Probably shouldn’t have left that out, you’re right- he was the funniest one in the film imo

[Reaganite Republican]

It is true... there is some grey area of sound quality and general buzz of white noise that gave it a mystique to me, too

And back then how it sounded on AM was of course taken into consideration by any act with serious commercial aspirations

[andy58-in-nh]

“Wish a buck was still silver... it was back when the country was strong...”

[Responsibility2nd]

I was gonna say this article missed his narrating the Dukes of Hazzard TV shows.

But I googled it. That was Waylon Jennings.

In any event, Jerry Reed was awesome.

[Reaganite Republican]

Didn’t he write that in the Carter era...?

Deja vu all over again lol