James Travis Reeves

 James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923 – July 31, 1964)

Reeves was a country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville sound (a mixture of older country-style music with elements of popular music).He had success early on in his career with hits such as "I Love You" (a duet with Ginny Wright), "Mexican Joe", and "Bimbo" which reached Number 1 on the U.S. Country Charts in 1954. Reeves became known as a crooner because of his light yet rich baritone voice. Because of his vocal style, he was also considered a talented artist because of his versatility in crossing the music charts. He appealed to audiences that weren't necessarily country/western. His catalog of songs such as "Adios Amigo", "Welcome to My World", and "Am I Losing You?" demonstrated this appeal. Many of his Christmas songs have become perennial favorites including "C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S","Blue Christmas" and "An Old Christmas Card". Reeves is also responsible for popularizing many gospel songs, including "We Thank Thee", "Take My Hand, Precious Lord", "Across The Bridge", "Where We'll Never Grow Old". He was given the name Gentleman Jim, an apt description of Jim Reeves both on stage and off. Reeves died on July 31, 1964, when the plane he was on crashed near Nashville Tennessee. Reeves was 40 years old, he is interred at Jim Reeves Memorial Park in Carthage, Texas.