Everything about Jimmy Reed totally explained
Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed (
September 6 1925 -
August 29 1976) was an
American blues singer 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.
Jimmy Reed died in
Oakland,
California in 1976,
Selected albums
Influence
The Rolling Stones have cited Reed as a major influence on their sound, and their early set lists comprised many of Reed's songs. The Rolling Stones
recorded tracks like "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby", "The Sun is Shining" (also played at the Stones' 1969
Altamont concert), "Close Together", "Bright Lights, Big City" and 'Shame, Shame, Shame" in 1963 as
demos to offer to
record labels like
Decca, and their February 1964 hit single "
Not Fade Away" had as the
B-side "
Little by Little", a pastiche of "Shame, Shame, Shame". Their first
album,
The Rolling Stones released in April 1964, featured their
cover of Reed's "Honest I Do".
"Big Boss Man" was sung regularly by
Ron McKernan, also known as "Pigpen", with the
Grateful Dead during the 1960s and early 1970s. It was revived a few times by
Bob Weir with the
Grateful Dead during the 1980s. He also played it a few times with
Kingfish in the mid 70s, and more recently with
Ratdog.
Phil Lesh also plays it with Phil & Friends.
Elvis Presley recorded several of Reed's songs, scoring a 1967 hit with "Big Boss Man" and recording several performances of "Baby, What You Want Me to Do" for his
1968 Comeback TV Special. (However, Presley's 1964 hit, "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby" is a different song than that recorded by Reed.) The song "Baby, What You Want Me to Do" was also covered by
Wishbone Ash on their 1972
live album,
Live Dates.
Reed's recordings of "
Big Boss Man" and "Bright Lights, Big City" were both voted onto the list of
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
Noted
Austin musicians,
Omar Kent Dykes and
Jimmie Vaughan released an album,
On the Jimmy Reed Highway as a tribute to Reed.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Jimmy Reed'.
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