Great job Larry. I enjoyed your interview very much. I was blown away to hear Arne sing "The Voice". Image that song on the charts during 1965 and maybe even being premiered on Jim's NBC Weekly Variety Show. I am curious to know what other songs were being considered for Jim's next recording session. Was it going to be an album or songs for future singles release(s) ? It is urban myth that Jim was going to record a song called Angel & The Kid ? I know that one album was in the can that became the Jim Reeves Way in '65 - some of songs were held back and became Singles - This Is It, Is It Really Over and I Won't Come In While He's There. Too Bad that Jim & RCA did not resolve their difference as you noted in your book - it ended up losing out on another album for the fans.
Thanks,
John
Re: Larry's Interview
Posted by Larry Jordan on August 8, 2014, 1:37 pm, in reply to "Larry's Interview"
In October 1964 Jim had tentative plans to travel to Germany to record an album there all in the German language.
Jim told his friend Ted Staples that the next single to be released would be "I Won't Come In While He's There," which seemed to be a personal favorite of his that he was very much looking forward to having RCA release. Of course, that's not what they ended up doing.
The album Jim recorded at his last two sessions on July 2, 1964 (between which he penned a personal letter to his young ladyfriend, Judy Ford, in Texas -- which I reproduce in my book -- making plans to see her), was to have been entitled "This Is It." But in light of the tragedy, it was renamed "The JIm Reeves Way."
One of the worst albums RCA put out soon after Jim's death was "Up Through the Years." It had songs like "Jimbo Jenkins" and "Tweedle O'Twill." Give me a break. THOSE are not the songs that were representative of this great singer's talents. Whomever chose those tracks was an idiot. But RCA had a history of foiling Jim's success, such as they did when they didn't have enough prime material in the can and "He'll Have To Go" hit big. They scrambled to throw something together, and as I explain in my book, at the very peak of the single's popularity they released an album in which they grossly misrepresented Jim (whom many people were discovering for the first time), by issuing an album that largely featured his old singing style!
They followed that with dispatching arranger Marty Gold down from New York to orchestrate half of the "Intimate Jim Reeves" album. As Anita Kerr told me, this man didn't understand her group at all, and forced the women to sing some very high register, annoying echos to Jim's lines. I removed this when I stripped down and overdubbed some of the tracks from that LP.
You can hear the new, improved versions on "The Great Jim Reeves" 8 CD set, featuring 170+ tracks (including 92 overdubs). As fans have noted here and in other reviews elsewhere, the clarity and richness we have achieved on Jim's voice is unbelievable.
You should listen to some samples at the link below and order now. This is a LIMITED PRESSING and there is no guarantee of how long it will remain available. And that's the truth.
Posted by John Savoie on August 8, 2014, 3:07 pm, in reply to "Re: Larry's Interview"
Funny that you mention the "Intimate Jim Reeves". I also agree that the strings were a bit much. Some wonderful songs on that album and yes I do intend on purchasing the new collection in the next few weeks. I also felt that " I Missed Me" would of been a better follow -up to He'll Have To Go" rather than I'm Getting Better. Too bad you were not around the handle the RCA material during the later part of the 1960's - you would of been the world's youngest producer - LOL. I never understood why Jim passed on In The Misty Moonlight as a single. When I hear Jerry Wallace or the Dean Martin version - they just do not measure up to Jim's version. If RCA targeted the song towards the A/C market - it would of been a smash hit - considering the success that Roger Miller was beginning to enjoy on A/C side of the charts.