“Gentleman Jim’s” songs and Force’s Request are completely intertwined for me, forever. Philip Neelam, in his amazing voice, reading out messages from Captain so-and-so to his fiancée and Gentleman Cadet such-and-such missing a certain someone, would be followed by the country music guitar and warm baritone of Jim Reeves, tales of love and loss and fun and regret. Jim Reeves’ voice always felt like that extra warm blanket one could pull around oneself during the cold Delhi winter, while the rod heater desperately tried to keep the chill out of our bedrooms. Philip Neelam introduced me, and I’m sure loads of you out there, to dozens of Jim Reeves classics – like “I Love You Because” – a beautiful love song that in a single line paints a picture of a love so deep, unconditional and uncomplicated that it still gives me goosebumps. I never knew Jim’s version was a cover till recently. Originally released by Leon Payne in 1949, it’s been covered by some of the greatest singers of all time – Elvis, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, the BeeGees – but  Jim Reeve’s cover has become the definitive version for me and I frankly, is better than the original! I His version is true to the original, but his silky baritone gives it a depth of emotion – reminds me of the song from the movie Sujata (jalte hain jiske liye….)

Jim Reeves’ most famous song has to be “He’ll Have To Go”. It was the closest he ever got to #1 on the Billboard charts, getting to #2 on the Pop charts. Written by the song writing couple Joe and Audrey Allison the song’s scene setting came from a time that they were talking to each other on the phone, but Audrey’s soft voice couldn’t be heard because of the background noise around her. Joe asked her to put her lips close to the phone…et voila, inspiration for a mega hit! Jim’s version wasn’t the first either – but the way he sang it, with that deep velvety voice that almost caresses you over the radio, the song just took off!  BTW, a year later the very same Audrey Allison also wrote “He’ll Have To Stay” as an answer to “He’ll Have To Go” and scored a minor hit with Jeanne Black singing it (remember Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean” / Lydia Mudock’s “Superstar”?). You should find it on YouTube and listen to it – it’s a pretty decent song!

Somehow, I always liked “Rosa Rio”. I must have heard it when I was 13 –  a young cowboy’s unrequited love for a rich rancher’s daughter, never having the courage to tell her of his feelings and riding away into the night with a heart full of regret. This was also around the time I was reading Oliver Strange’s Sudden, JT Edson and Louis L’Amour with their tales of cowboys out in open country swirling around my head, and this song just fit right in. (I can now confess, that I did practice my fast draw in front of the mirror – I think I could have been the 142^nd fastest gun in the west!) The fact that the song was based in Argentina was something I just bleeped over!

And this one is one of my particular favourites (I just might have stolen the title line and used it on the night I got married 😁). Sadly, this was one his last hits while he was alive, released in the US in Jan ’64. In July ’64, flying his own plane, he died tragically when his plane crashed.  When he died he left behind a huge catalogue of unreleased songs which, true to his wishes, his wife Mary released over almost 20 years after his death. He even scored #1 hits on the US Country Charts with songs like “Distant Drums” and “Am I That Easy To Forget”

Reeves was from a family of Texan sharecroppers. His first guitar was from some lady’s backyard where it was out lying in the rain for days – Jim bartered it for some pears he stole from a neighbour’s tree. The cook in a nearby camp helped him repair it and taught Jim how to play. A natural, he started playing in a band on radio when he was only 12, but his heart was really not in music… it was in baseball! He played professional baseball for St. Louis Cardinals till he got hurt and decided he had to find another career. He became a radio jockey and a show host and over a period of time, he also started hosting a hit show where he would bring on loads of acts. His big break came when one of the acts didn’t show up and Jim decided to step in – and the world changed for not just him but for music lovers all over the world, from India and Sri Lanka to South Africa, UK, Australia…and Denmark and Norway. Yup, some of his most fanatical fan base was/is in Norway where he has scored a long list of number ones and there’s a statue of him in Copenhagen!