Jimmy Reed

Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences.  Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries.  His lazy, slack-jawed singing, piercing harmonica and hypnotic guitar patterns were one of the blues' most easily identifiable sounds in the 1950s and 1960s, and had a significant impact on many rock and roll artists who followed, such as Elvis Presley, Billy Gibbons, the Rolling Stones, and myself! From the first time that I had heard a Jimmy Reed recording, Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall, I wanted to become the White Jimmy Reed.  I got a guitar and harmonica, and using a four track recorder (in my parents basement room), I learned how to play Jimmy's music. On my very first trip out, as The Great White Jimmy, to recruit a second guitar player - Lil Coop:  I was singing Big Boss Man in his basement, when his Mom came in saying "Ive got all those records" and in her hands, indeed, she had a dozen Jimmy Reed albums.

Mississipi born, who like his contempoaries: Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf and Little Walter.  Jimmy journeyed north with his wife Mary Mama Reed to Gary, Imdiana after the war.  By the 1950s, Reed had established himself as a popular musician and joined the Gary Kings with John Brim, as well as playing on the street with Willie Joe Duncan.  Reed failed to gain a recording contract with Chess Records, but signed with Vee-Jay Records through Brim's drummer, Albert King.  At Vee-Jay, Reed began playing again with Eddie Taylor and soon released You Don't Have to Go, his first hit record.  This was followed by a long string of hits. Mama Reed appears as an uncredited background singer on many of his songs, notably the major hits Baby What You Want Me to Do, Big Boss Man and Bright Lights, Big City.  It was common for Mama Reed to sit at Jimmy's side whispering the lyrics into his ear. In 1991 Reed was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Wanderin' Spirit
February, 2007
"Jimmy Reed"

This page has been made for viewing in Internet Explorer.  In order for all audio to play in Chrome or Firefox you will need to install the IE Tab extension and add https://www.angelfire.com/* to the Auto URL list, thank you.