Jim Reeves was a country star who had so much more to contribute to music before he was tragically killed in a plane crash. A native of Texas, Reeves’ career in music began in the ’50s with his first song, “Mexican Joe,” becoming a country hit. Open to different musical stylings, his 1959 song, “He’ll Have to Go,” had a pop sound that made its way to No. 2 on the Billboard Music charts. Describing Reeves’ knack for conquering different genres, historian Larry Jordan shared to Billboard, “When he became successful, and he had the freedom to experiment, he began gravitating toward the pop world. He was uniquely in his own category, and as a vocalist was in a league with the best crooners of the twentieth century like Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Buddy Clark — who was his idol. He was in that league.”
Sadly, Reeves died during the most successful period of his life. The star was flying his single-engine plane from Arkansas bound for Nashville, Tennessee, when it crashed on July 31, 1964. Reeves’ pianist, Dean Manuel, who was also on board, died in the crash. The biography, “Jim Reeves: His Untold Story,” written by Jordan, explained that Reeves was caught in a heavy storm and lost visual reference. As a result, he crashed just south of Music City.
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Despite his death, his music still lived years later, with Reeves’ song, “The Image of Me,” making its way to the Billboard charts in 1984.
