Del Reeves(1932-2007)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Country singer/songwriter Franklin Delano Reeves was born on July 14,
1932 in Sparta, North Carolina. The youngest of eleven children, Reeves
learned how to play guitar with his mother's help (he borrowed his
brothers' instruments while they were serving in World War II) and was
a local radio star at age twelve. Del attended Appalachian State
College in Boone, North Carolina and served in the Air Force, where he
wrote and performed songs while stationed at Travis Air Force Base in
California. He then became a regular on "The Chester Smith Show" from
1958 to 1961. Reeves signed with Capitol Records in 1954 and recorded
songs for Decca Records, Reprise Records, and Columbia Records
throughout the 50's. Del moved to Nashville, Tennessee in the early
60's, signed up with United Artists Records, and scored his first hit
song with "Be Quiet Mind" in 1961. Reeves and his wife formed a
professional songwriting duo; they penned songs for such established
country singers as Carl Smith, Sheb Wooley, Rose Maddox, and Roy
Drusky. In 1965 Del had his biggest and most beloved smash success with
the delightful trucker's country tune "Girl on the Billboard," which
soared all the way to #1 on the country radio charts and sold a million
copies. The follow-up song "The Belles of Southern Bell" was a Top 5
country radio hit. Reeves' other hit songs include "Women Do Funny
Things to Me," "A Dime At a Time," "Looking At the World Through a
Windshield," his signature number "Good Time Charlie's," "Be Glad," and
"The Philadelphia Fillies." Del became a regular performer at the Grand
Ole Opry in 1966 and was well regarded as a great entertainer thanks to
his deft comic timing, positive attitude, and amusing impressions of
such stars as Jimmy Stewart, Walter Brennan, and Johnny Cash. He hosted
his own syndicated TV program called "Del Reeves' Country Carnival" in
the late 60's. Moreover, Reeves also acted in the movies "Sam Whiskey,"
"Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers," "Second Fiddle to a Steal Guitar," "The
Gold Guitar," and "Forty Acre Feud." In the early to mid 70's Del
recorded duets with Bobby Goldsboro, Penny DeHaven, and Billie Jo
Spears. After his career waned in the mid 70's, Reeves became a music
executive in 1979 and helped to promote the career of country singer
Billy Ray Cyrus in the early 90's. Del Reeves died at age 74 from
emphysema on January 1, 2007.