JIM REEVES-FOUR WALLS/I KNOW AND YOU KNOW-OZ RCA1957 NM

	A$		23
	$		15

JIM REEVES  -  7" 45 SINGLE  

AUSTRALIAN PRESSING 1957 MONO ("NEW ORTHO-PHONIC HIGH FIDELITY")  

IN ORIGINAL RCA PAPER SLEEVE (SEE SCAN) & PLASTIC INNER SLEEVE

 + ORIG. "H. A. LANDIS & SONS", 40 PARK STREET, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA,   RECORD BAR PAPER BAG/SLEEVE, WITH 'PHONE Nos. MA 5845 & MA 1818  

TRACK LISTING : 

Four Walls  - MARVIN MOORE / GEORGE CAMPBELL 1957

I Know And You Know - RED SEVINE (SOVINE) / JIM REEVES 

LABEL  -  RCA, BLACK (LIGHTNING BOLT LOGO)

CATALOGUE  #  10275 (US = 47-6874)

RECORD  IS  IN NEAR MINT CONDITION, HAVING BEEN PROTECTED INSIDE ORIG. POLY LINER & PAPER SLEEVE (INSIDE PAPER SLEEVE / BAG) FOR LAST 40+ YEARS

LABELS - FEW VERY MINOR SPINDLE MARKS;  VERY MINOR WEAR AROUND HOLE 

ORIGINAL RCA SLEEVE IS IN VG+ CONDITION - FEW VERY MINOR FOXING SPOTS;  VERY MINOR CREASES / WEAR

SUPERB  1950'S  /  AUSTRALIAN PRESSING  /  JIM REEVES  /  MARVIN MOORE  /  GEORGE CAMPBELL  /  RED SEVINE/SOVINE /  RCA  /  45 SINGLE  /  H. A. LANDIS  /  COLLECTABLE  IN  EXTREMELY  NICE  SHAPE  AFTER 53 YEARS

JIM REEVES :

b. James Travis Reeves, 20 August 1923, Galloway, Texas, USA, d. 31 July 1964. (Reeves' plaque in the Country Music Hall Of Fame mistakenly gives his date of birth as 1924.) Reeves' father died when he was 10 months old and his mother was left to raise nine children on the family farm.

Although only aged five, Reeves was entranced when a brother brought home a gramophone and a Jimmie Rodgers record, 'Blue Yodel No. 5'. When aged nine, he traded stolen pears for an old guitar he saw in a neighbour's yard. A cook for an oil company showed him the basic chords and when aged 12, he appeared on a radio show in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Because of his athletic abilities, he won a scholarship to the University of Texas. However, he was shy, largely because of a stammer, which he managed to correct while at university. (Reeves' records are known for perfect diction and delivery.)

His first singing work was with Moon Mullican's band in Beaumont, Texas and he worked as an announcer and singing disc jockey at KGRI in Henderson for several years. (Reeves bought the station in 1959.) He recorded two singles for a chain store's label in 1949. In November 1952 Reeves moved to KWKH in Shreveport, where his duties included hosting the Louisiana Hayride.

He stood in as a performer when Hank Williams failed to show and was signed immediately to Abbott Records.

In 1953, Reeves received gold discs for two high-voiced, country novelties, 'Mexican Joe' and 'Bimbo'. In 1955 he joined the Grand Ole Opry and started recording for RCA in Nashville, having his first hit with a song based on the 'railroad, steamboat' game, 'Yonder Comes A Sucker'.

Chet Atkins considered 'Four Walls' a 'girl's song', but Reeves persisted and used the song to change his approach to singing. He pitched his voice lower and sang close to the microphone, thus creating a warm ballad style which was far removed from his hillbilly recordings. 'Four Walls' became an enormous US success in 1957, crossing over to the pop market and becoming a template for his future work.

From then on, Atkins recorded Reeves as a mellow balladeer, giving him some pop standards and replacing fiddles and steel guitar by piano and strings. (Exceptions include an album of narrations, Tall Tales And Short Tempers.) Reeves had already swapped his western outfit for a suit and tie, and, in keeping with his hit 'Blue Boy', his group, the Wagonmasters, became the Blue Boys.

He always included a religious section in his stage show and also sang 'Danny Boy' to acknowledge his Irish ancestry.

'He'll Have To Go', topped the US country charts for 14 weeks and made number 2 in the US pop charts. In this memorable song Reeves conveyed an implausible lyric with conviction, and it has now become a country standard.

A gooey novelty, 'But You Love Me Daddy', recorded at the same session with Steve,the nine-year-old son of bass player Bob Moore, was a UK Top 20 hit 10 years later.

Having established a commercial format, 'Gentleman Jim' had success with 'You're The Only Good Thing', 'Adios Amigo', 'Welcome To My World' (UK number 6) and 'Guilty', which features French horns and oboes.

His records often had exceptional longevity; 'I Love You Because" (number 5) and I Won't Forget You' (number 3) were on the UK charts for 39 and 25 weeks, respectively.

He became enormously popular in South Africa, recording in Afrikaans, and making a light-hearted film there, Kimberley Jim, which became a local success.

Reeves did not like flying but after being a passenger in a South African plane which developed engine trouble, he obtained his own daytime pilot's license. On 31 July 1964 pilot Reeves and his pianist/manager, Dean Manuel, died when their single-engine plane ran into difficulties during a storm and crashed into dense woods outside Nashville. The bodies were not found until 2 August despite 500 people, including fellow country singers, being involved in the search.

Reeves was buried in a specially-landscaped area by the side of Highway 79 in Texas, and his collie, Cheyenne, was buried at his feet in 1967.

Reeves continued to have hits with such ironic titles as 'This World Is Not My Home' and the self-penned 'Is It Really Over?'. Although Reeves had not recorded 'Distant Drums' officially - the song had gone to Roy Orbison, he had made a demo for songwriter Cindy Walker. Accompaniment was added and, in 1966, 'Distant Drums' became Reeves' first UK number 1.

He had around 80 unreleased tracks and his widow followed a brilliant, if uncharitable, marketing policy whereby unheard material would be placed alongside previously issued tracks to make a new album. Sometimes existing tracks were remastered and duets were constructed with Deborah Allen and the late Patsy Cline. Reeves became a best-selling album artist to such an extent that 40 Golden Greats topped the album charts in 1975. Both the Blue Boys and his nephew John Rex Reeves have toured with tribute concerts.

Although much of Jim Reeves' catalogue is available, surprisingly there is still no biography of Reeves, who was the first crossover star.

Reeves' relaxed style has influenced Don Williams and Daniel O'Donnell but the combination of pop balladry and country music is more demanding than it appears, and Reeves remains its father figure. "  ....  THE GUINNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POPULAR MUSIC 1992

"Four Walls"

"is a country song by Marvin Moore and George Campbell, published in 1957.

Jim Reeves' recording is the best known; it has been recorded by other artists, including Bing Crosby and Willie Nelson. Ronnie Milsap recorded a version for a tribute album to Reeves in 1981, featuring ten songs previously made hits by Reeves both before and after his death.

Milsap's album title was derived from the opening line of "Four Walls", "Out where the bright lights are glowing." "

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POSTAGE : PADDED ENVELOPE + PROTECTIVE PACKING - HAPPY  TO  COMBINE  POSTAGE  FOR  MULTIPLE  PURCHASES

The singles / EP's we are now listing are all from 1 collection. Some have been played, by a fastidious collector, but because they have been stored in poly liners / inside their original sleeves, inside another outer bag/sleeve, for the last 40+ years, they are still in amazing condition for their vintage.