Jerry Reed in the Southern Quote

Shortly after he was born in Atlanta Georgia in 1937, his parents separated. Jerry and his sister would spend the next seven years in foster homes and orphanages before his mother remarried. Together with her new husband, Jerry’s mom reclaimed her kids. The unit was shaky, each nursing wounds that would take time to heal. To ease everyone’s stress, little Jerry picked up a guitar and began entertaining the blended new family.

By the age of eighteen, he was good enough at singing and playing that guitar to sign a record contract with producer named Bill Lowery. “If the Good Lord’s Willing and the Creeks Don’t Rise” garnered modest success, as did his follow-up singles. After a two-year tenure in the military, Jerry moved to Nashville to pursue his songwriting goals. He soon became a popular session and back up guitarist, even notching his first songwriting hit with an Elvis Presley release called, “Guitar Man”. Soon, Jerry would write and record his own Elvis tribute. “Tupelo Mississippi Flash” became his first Top 20 hit as a solo artist. Jerry has since enjoyed success as both singer and songwriter but he is perhaps best remembered for his Grammy award-winning novelty song, “When you’re Hot, You’re Hot”.

During the seventies Jerry Reed also scored big as an actor, appearing in a couple of movies with fellow southerner Burt Reynolds. The storyline followed “Smoky and the Bandit”. Burt was the bandit, Jackie Gleason the sheriff (or Smokey) on their trail, and Jerry the wise-cracking sidekick. Jerry even wrote the theme song in one sitting. “East Bound and Down” became one of his biggest hits!

In today’s Southern Quote we offer wannabe entertainers some advice from the self-professed cotton mill boy known as The Guitar Man on how to make it in the industry. Jerry Reed once said,

“Pray for intestinal fortitude, work hard, and keep the faith. Oh, and pray for good luck, you’re gonna need it.” — Jerry Reed