Link: Jim Reeves: His Untold Story
Along with posting a copy of the article from the laughably proclaimed "David Bussey scrapbooks," Den Dulk (or was it Bussey himself with his British spellings?), goes on to claim "This report is amazing when one considers that neither of the 2 Reeves biographies made any mention of this fact. The 'Untold Story' quoted chapter & verse in over 350 references in the book to stories on Jim's piloting, flying, licensing and training, AND YET IGNORED THIS REVELATION."
Fans, this is AN OUTRIGHT LIE. It's another truly pathetic attempt to smear my book and me. It just shows you the utter desperation that Den Dulk and David Bussey feel toward trying to discredit my 672 page book, "Jim Reeves: His Untold Story."
For those of you who have the book, simply turn to page 525. You will see that I wrote:
"The last week in November, a report appeared in Music Reporter magazine quoting Jim as explaining 'why he is in an advanced course on how to fly an airplane.' He told the publication 'I frequently hire a commercial plane to get from one place to another, and generally it is piloted by someone whom I have never seen before or know nothing about. I just want to be prepared to land the plane in case something should happen to the pilot while we're airborne.' It concluded 'Reeves believes by early 1964, he'll be experienced enough at the controls, etc. to make it feasible and practical to buy a plane. During the interim he's been soloing here and yon.'"
I then go on to report in my book that "One of Jim's charter pilots, Bill Larson, explained that Reeves took instructions so that he could fly the more complex Cessna 206, which had a variable pitch propellor and cowl flaps, which meant the plane was sleeker, flew at a higher speed and had a longer range. In fact, color slides taken of Jim and Mary over the Christmas holiday at the airport a few weeks later showed them with a 206. Once he had mastered the more sophisticated plane (which Jim was renting from Colemill Flying Service), a salesman for a rival company, Fred Bunyan, began trying to interest him in buying a Beechcraft Debonair. In fact, Fred even ordered a new Beech for Nashville just so he could put Jim in it, and the plane was completed December 30th. Bill Larson laughed, 'Fred would never order a plane unless he had a customer in mind; that was to be Jim's plane, although he may not have known it.' Reeves was familiar with the Beech because he had flown aboard the Beechcraft Bonanza that Minnie Pearl's husband, Henry Cannon, had piloted. Mary, however, later denied her spouse had any serious intention of buying an airplane."
So there you have it. Not only did I NOT ignore the story in the Music Reporter magazine, I cited it in my book and then explained the context. Case closed.
I really wish on more than one level these two bozos hadn't posted an attack that could so easily be discredited because I laughed so hard it hurt after my recent surgery.
I suppose the nonsense will continue throughout 2014 with more ridiculous and FALSE claims, but as I've noted before, Den Dulk NEVER, EVER amends his misstatements and lies. He leaves them on his site for unsuspecting fans to see in the future. You can scroll down his page and see scores of false stories that have previously been discredited. For him to continue to leave them online is irresponsible in the extreme and should convince fans everywhere that neither his site nor he as webmaster are trustworthy in any sense. Den Dulk and Bussey simply make stuff up. They are truly astonishing in their brazenness. They are counting on swaying uninformed fans and those who have only a casual understanding of Jim's life.
Once again David Bussey has demonstrated that he has not even thoroughly read my book, yet he is unrelenting in his attacks on it. He was smearing it in public print before it even came off press. His continued recklessness and dishonesty certainly undermine whatever remnants of credibility he had left as a former Reeves fan club head whom Mary Reeves abandoned.
If you haven't bought my book as yet, click the link below. You may be surprised by the thoroughness with which I write about Jim Reeves' life on virtually a day by day basis, with massive documentation in the form of interviews and even Jim's private diaries.
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