1. Adios Amigo
A lot of my favourite love songs were sung by Jim Reeves. He sang so many songs, but the first one I heard was Adios Amigo, and I was instantly hooked on his singing. I loved his deep rich voice. He sang with so much sincerity, and the music was so soothing. I was into cowboy and western books at the time, and Adios Amigo sounded like a cowboy story. Unfortunately many of his love songs were about lost love, and when I sang them I became very blue and negative about myself. But it was a very beautiful feeling. However, Jim Reeves also sang some magnificent love songs.
This is another one of my favourite love songs. ”I love you because you understand dear, every single thing I try to do, you’re always there to lend a helping hand dear.” When I was young, and sang that song, I longed to find a girl who could understand me.
“Today I burned your old love letters, burned them gently one by one.” That song inspired me to sing on TV. I called the TV station, and they said they wanted to hear me. So I immediately went and sang for them, then they asked me to come on that night! It was so sudden, and I ended up singing for nine months on the Bulawayo TV station in 1965. Rhodesia is now called Zimbabwe. That song reminded me of a girlfriend I lost, and the letter she sent me had perfume on it. She knew how to do it! That was so special. I could feel with the lost love songs because of that girlfriend that I lost.
“Tige you were faithful, faithful to the end, Tige how I miss you, you were my best friend.” Many times I lie in bed in the middle of the night, and recite that song to myself. I get chills going all over my body. No other song does that to me. It happens on the line where his mother says, “I hate to tell you son, but now you’ve got to know, when you left, it broke his heart, Tige died 3 years ago.” I think it must have been an angel, disguised as a dog, that led him safely home that night.
We have always had cats, and during the winter we have fed stray cats in our area. There is a man in our city called Tony, who has been helping us with the stray cats and their babies. Today he helped us with our own cat who needed to see the vet. I am putting his web site on here if you would like to check it out, and maybe help him. http://www.feralcatsofwelland.com/
One of his most famous songs says: “Put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone.” That line alone just grabbed me. It is so beautiful. Later he sings, “Darling I will understand.” It is so comforting to know that people like him had an understanding heart. To me J.R. was like a father image. When I listened to him sing, it felt like he was my dad, giving me lessons in life and love. The music in his songs was always so beautiful to me.
This song runs through my mind all the time.
7. You’re the only good thing that’s happened to me
We have our ups and downs, like all lovers do, but you know in your heart, that I adore you. (I sometimes change the words of songs to suit myself).
8. A new moon over my shoulder
When I was young, I thought that the music in this song was the best ever. It is still one of my favourite love songs, that I sing in my mind.
9. In the misty moonlight – One of my favourite love songs by Jim Reeves
I love the talking part. It has so much meaning.
10. I’ve enjoyed as much of this as I can stand
You look lovelier tonight than I remember.
This was a big hit for him.
12. Blue skies
Such a beautiful song.
Finding someone to love is one of the biggest searches ever.
14. Four walls
I always related to this song because I am a bit laid back, and not an aggressive sort of person, (unless I get provoked).
I love the lush violin type music on this one.
16. Have I told you lately that I love you?
This is also one of the standard top love songs ever. When I was little I heard my mother sing this favourite love song.
This one takes me right back to a friend’s house where I heard it.
18. Waltzing on top of the world
This is romance!
A friend lent me this LP when I was young.
It looks like Jim Reeves is with Tex Ritter. This song is the first song I sang on TV when I was a teenager.
21. Yonder comes a sucker “live”
I think he wrote this one, so he wasn’t always crying over lost love!
22. Maria Elena
Lots of memories with this one.
23. I’d like to be
This song takes me right back to where we were living when I was a teenager.
The other night I lay in bed singing this song. I still know all the words!
25. Silver haired Daddy of mine
This is such a lovely song about a Dad. Written by Gene Autry. My Dad was the other side of the world when he died, and I wasn’t able to see him.
So much fun being on a train. Lots of memories for me.
27. Fools Paradise
This one brings back so many memories. He said he heard it on an old Tex Ritter movie.
28. The Blizzard
Cold weather is a big problem in North America. You gotta be prepared for the worst, or you could be dead.
When Jim Reeves died, the radio station played a program of songs in his honour, and this was one of the numbers. It is so sad. This is reality though. Where I lived, the station master made a mistake, and sent out a train, when there was another coming in on that track, and they met head on.
30. Bimbo
On one live recording he says: “I always break a string on Bimbo.”
I first heard this one while waiting for a train. It seems so sad that he didn’t have any children of his own. His own Dad died when he was little.
32. Too many parties and too many pals
This is very thought provoking.
33. Distant drums
I have put this one here by the favourite love songs because it makes me think of when I was in the military. This was a big hit after his death. I think it was number one in the U.K.
I had this record when I was young, and loved it very much. I love the way he takes off other country singers.
When we were in Nashville we were able to see his bus “Big Blue” that was on the back of the record.
36. The 46th anniversary of his passing
I just came across this today (January 20.2014) and enjoyed this nice glimpse of my favorite country singer.
Hi. I just found this one today too. What I thought was so interesting was, seeing Jim and Elvis in the same photo. I always wondered if they knew each other.
38. Cindy Walker talks about her song “Distant Drums” and how J.R. made a demo for her
A very interesting story behind one of his biggest hits.
39. His wife Mary talks about his million sellers
He had 33 gold records in South Africa. When I was a kid in Rhodesia, he was as “big” as Elvis.
40. He talks about being mobbed at the airport near Johannesburg and the film “Kimberley Jim”
We have a copy of the film that we bought at his museum in Nashville.
41. Country singers talk about his drinking and his fighting
Hank Locklin tells an interesting story about how Jim was driving home in a storm, and he saw a man holding up his hand as a stop sign. He stopped, but he saw no man, but then he saw the bridge was down. I believe that must have been an angel warning him and sparing his life on that occasion.
42. His manager shares some secrets
Some interesting facts.
43. The plane crash
A lot of things I didn’t know. It was such a shock when I heard of his death. To me, he was like a father image. His songs were like a father giving advice to his son.
He came to Bulawayo, but I didn’t see him.
45. J.R. interview in Europe with museum pictures
As he is talking and singing, you can view the museum.
46. Mary showing the museum part 1
It brings back memories from 1983 when I went there.
47. Mary showing the museum part 2
She has an Elvis jump suit.
48. Mary showing the museum part 3
I took my family there in about 1995, and showed them “Big Blue.”
49. Mary Reeves – A lifetime with Jim
She writes about her happy life with her husband.
50. Mary’s voice – She talks to Larry Jordan – Author of “His Untold Story”
Apparently some people doubt that Larry knew Mary, so he recorded her telephone conversations.
We used to sing this one a lot when we were kids.
I only heard this song as I was doing this web page, but it feels real good. I hope he made it through the pearly gates. The person who loaded this one did a real good job with the art. Such lovely pictures.
Recently there has been a tremendous drought across the USA, and it makes me wonder about the laws of God. In the scriptures, God says that every seventh year, the ground it supposed to be left alone to rest, but I don’t think anybody obeys the laws of God. I think Jim does this song so nice.
“Across the bridge, there’s no more sorrow, across the bridge, there’s no more pain.” That song was such a blessing and inspiration to me. I loved it so much that I recorded it on a long playing album back in 1972.
One man told me that my singing was not worth listening to, and it hurt me real bad. Maybe God likes my singing, I don’t know. Thinking about it, I did sell a few thousand records, so maybe some people did like my singing.
To me, he sings this song of faith with way more sincerity than I have heard it in any church. I remember being in Botswana on holiday when I was a teenager, and wanted to learn to play the mouth organ. I had tried and failed so many times. One day I took the mouth organ and sat under a thorn tree, telling myself that I am not going to move from this place until I can play it. I tried to play “Have Thine own way Lord, have Thine own way, Thou art the potter, I am the clay.” After half an hour I could play it, and any other song too.
57. The flowers, the sunset, the trees
I love the sunsets. God used to talk to Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening.
58. In the garden
I met a preacher once, who claimed that Jim Reeves was anti church because of the song My Cathedral. Later on, thinking about it, Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Did that make Jesus anti church? Some people have weird ideas.
When I hear this song, my mind goes back to when I was a kid, and the house we were living in, and my parents bedroom. To me, songs paint pictures in my mind.
60. A beautiful life
A beautiful life, is about doing good deeds every day. I associate that song with a story I heard once about a pig and a hen walking around the perimeter fence of a farm. They saw a hobo sitting under a tree by the side of the road. The hen felt sorry for him and said to the pig: “He looks so hungry, let’s give him some breakfast.” “What do you have in mind?” said the pig. The hen replied, “Bacon and eggs.” The pig wasn’t impressed, and said “That’s easy for you to say, for you it’s an offering, for me it’s a sacrifice!”
61. May the good Lord bless and keep you
Beloved, I wish above all things, that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. That is one of my favorite Bible verses.
This song was written by George Beverly Shea, who used to sing at the Billy Graham meetings.
63. Suppertime
“Then winding down an old familiar pathway, I’d hear my mother call at set of sun.” That was so beautiful. When I was a little boy my mother had a rule that we had to be home before sunset. That song kind of takes me right back to my childhood, and the house we lived in, with all the memories that go with it.
64. The night watch
I remember as a teenager, lying in bed late one night, and hearing a song on the radio where Jim Reeves was singing: “Bright stars are watching the world as it sleeps, shepherds watch over the little white sheep, the lighthouse is shining for ships far at sea, as God keeps the night watch for you and for me.” That was so comforting. Many years later we were visiting relatives in Rhodesia when one night terrorists attacked a farm nearby. The farmer’s wife was screaming over the farmer’s radio “They are shootings at us, come and help us!” It was like a death scream from a movie, but it was for real. It was very scary. By God’s grace we have continue to live many years since then. Later on, in Germiston, South Africa, we would hear shooting coming down the street, and we would lie in bed praying that it wouldn’t come by us. God has kept the night watch.
65. God be with you
One day, lying in hospital with a cracked spine from a car accident, I thought of this song where he sang: “Smite death’s threatening wave before you, keep love’s banner floating o’er you.” I came very close to death in that car accident.
66. It is no secret
It is no secret what God can do, what He’s done for others, He can do for you.” That song has run through my mind for about the past 50 years, and many times has inspired me not to give up hope.
I also have a Gospel web site. If you want to check it out, go to: http://countrygospelandbible.com/