James
"Jimmy" Mathis Reed
The Mississippi Writers and Musicians Project of Starkville High School
James
"Jimmy" Mathis Reed
'Baby, What You Want Me To Do' (covered by Elvis Presley)-1960
'Honest I Do' (covered by Aretha Franklin and the Rolling Stones)-1961
'Knocking At Your Door'-1966
'You Don't Have To Go'- 1955
'You've Got Me Dizzy'- 1956
'Ain't That Lovin You Baby'- 1955
'Bright Lights Big City'-1956
'I'm Gonna Get My Baby'- 1957
'Honest I Do'- 1958
Albums
'I'm Jimmy Reed'- 1958 
'Rocking With Reed'- 1959
'Found Love'-1960
'Now Appearing'-1960
'At Carnegie Hall'-1961
'Just Jimmy Reed'-1962
'I Ain't No Big Thing...But He Is!'- 1963
'The Best Of The Blues'-1963
'The 12-String Guitar Blues'- 1963
'Jimmy Reed At Soul City'- 1964
'The Legend, The Man'- 1965
'The New Jimmy Reed Album'- 1967
'Soulin'- 1967
'Big Boss Man'- 1968
'Down In Virginia'- 1969
'As Jimmy Is!'-1970
Jimmy Reed was born on September 6, 1925, in
Dunleith,
Mississippi. He was a blues singer and songwriter who played the guitar
and harmonica. When he sang, he would slur his words. He produced a series
of hits in the 50's that made him the most successful blues singer of the
era. Reed sang in church and played the guitar with his friend Eddie Taylor.
He left school in 1939 in search of work. He found a job farming
around Duncan and Meltonia, Mississippi.
However, between 1943 and 1944 he left the south to head to Chicago to find a job because there were more job opportunities available there due to the war. He was drafted into U.S. Navy while there. In 1945 he was discharged and returned home to Mississippi briefly before once more traveling to the Chicago area. While working in the steel mills, Reed spent his leisure time with a friend named Willie Joe Duncan, who played the one-string guitar, or Diddley-bow. He also re-established contact with Eddie Taylor, who had moved north to try his luck. The two played together; Reed on guitar, harp, and vocals, and Taylor on guitar.
Jimmy finally got the break he had been hoping
for in 1953 when he secured a recording contract with VeeJay Records. Finally,
he got his first hit in 1955 called "You Don't Have To Go."
From then on, his success was incredible. "You Don't
Have to Go," was followed by "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby," "You Got
Me Dizzy," "Honest I Do," "Baby What Do You Want
Me to Do," "Big Boss Man," and "Bright Lights, Big City."
Much of his success can be credited to his friend Eddie Taylor, who played
on most of his sessions, and his wife, Mama Reed, who wrote many of his
songs and even sat behind him in the studio reciting his lyrics into his
forgetful ear as he sang. His hits appealed to blacks and whites.
Many of his blues songs were even adopted by white R&B groups during
the early 60's. He was the first of the Chicago electric bluesmen
to break through to the pop/rock market. Reed had fourteen
hits for Vee Jay on the R&B charts between 1955 and 1966.
Reed was an epileptic and this fact, plus his fascination for the bottle, constantly undermined his work. In the early 60's he visited Europe, but it was obvious that he was not well. Reed often appeared on stage drunk. Jimmy Reed died on August 29, 1976 in Oakland California, because of respiratory failure. He was buried in Chicago. He was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. Steve Miller, The Rolling Stones, Pretty Things, and Grateful Dead acknowledge a considerable debt to him. Jimmy Reed was an important figure who influenced many artists.
1925- Jimmy Reed was born in Dunleith, Mississippi
1939- Jimmy left school in search of work.
1943- Reed left the south for Chicago. 
1944- Served in the U.S. Navy.
1945- Jimmy was discharged from the Navy.
1953- Got his first contract with VeeJay Records.
1955- His first hit took off. ('You Don't Have To Go')
1970's- Performed concerts and recorded in California.
1976- Reed died in California
Clarke, Donald. The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Penguin Group, London, England. 1989.
Larkin, Collin. The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Guinness Publishing, New York. 1995.
Williams, Michael. African American Encyclopedia. Marshall Cavendish Corporation, New York. 1993.
Reed was inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
Jimmy Reed was one of the most influential bluesmen of the post-World War II period.
Jimmy Reed's
tools for the blues were a Harmonica, Guitar and his pleading, boasting,
chuckling or threatening
voice. Reed's simple but evocative sound of walking bass lines mixed
with high and slow harp did develop that
unique, stacatto style.
Audio of Jimmy Reed playing "You Don't Have to Go" using Quicktime 3.
Twelve of Reed's recordings "crossed over" to the Billboard Pop 100 during this same period, making him one of the biggest selling bluesmen of all time.
Hear an audio sound clip of "Big Boss Man."
Jimmy Reed was the first of the Chicago electric bluesmen to break through to the pop/rock market. The easy-going singer, harpist and rhythm guitarist (kinda boring guitarist, actually) had 14 hits for Chess Records' competitors Vee Jay on the R&B charts between 1955 and 1966. Among the best-known of his recordings include "Bright Lights."
Words to "Ain't That Lovin' You"
Info on Chess Records
beginning and archives.
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