Posted by Larry Jordan on October 10, 2014, 11:21 pm
The photo below (taken earlier tonight) will no doubt surprise a few people -- especially long-term followers of this Fan Forum. Because John Rex Reeves (one of Jim's nephews) and I haven't always seen eye to eye.
But as the years have rolled on, and various events unfolded, we found ourselves increasingly in agreement on a number of matters. Unfortunately, some individuals on the Reeves scene whom Julie and I once trusted proved to have feet of clay, and so our perceptions have changed.
I'm on the road at the moment for the next few days but wanted to post this picture and pay tribute to John, whom I got to hear perform in person for the first time. As I told him afterward, now that I've heard him, I can discern some of that Jim Reeves resonance in his voice, and I noticed his vibrato was nice and controlled and restrained -- a hallmark of his uncle Jim's smooth delivery.
John is also one heck of a guitar player. He had anticipated singing to backing tracks but the venue he performed at tonight did not have the right audio set-up, so he had to do his whole show with just him and his guitar -- like Jim sometimes had to do.
I must say it was one of the most intimate shows I've ever witnessed, as the philosopher in John came out. Those of you who have read my book, "Jim Reeves: His Untold Story," have seen quotes I've used from him. Both he and his uncle were into philosophy and without getting preachy, John made some pithy observations about the music scene today, family, love, growing older, etc. Profound.
It's been said many times that when Jim Reeves sang, you could have heard a pin drop; the audience was so quiet and attentive. The same could be said for when John Rex was on the stage.
It was an informal evening as if he was in your living room and I was very impressed.
We also had a very interesting conversation afterward. And I enjoyed meeting John's lovely wife of 53 years, Neva (who took our photo).
Re: John Rex Reeves
Posted by Doris Gath on October 11, 2014, 8:40 am, in reply to "John Rex Reeves"
I am so glad that you two guys are finally friends and seeing eye-to-eye. I like both of you and have been "caught in the middle", so to speak. I also adore Neva. John Rex is a terrific performer and person, just like his uncle. I have seen him perform both in Carthage and at Sandstone, MN on Midwest Country. You are right, people are quiet and mesmerized while performing, then when he's done they explode.
Thanks for the message and picture, Larry. It is good to see you two shaking hands!
Always for Jim, Doris
Re: John Rex Reeves
Posted by Larry Jordan on October 11, 2014, 9:57 am, in reply to "Re: John Rex Reeves" Edited by board administrator October 11, 2014, 12:18 pm
I am happy about that too. Last night was not the first time we have had long conversations, but it was the first time we met.
In comparing notes over the months, we discovered that there were some people lying to us about each other and I believe that was designed to foster misunderstandings. Once we cleared the air we found we were on the same page basically, and of course he and I were both on the BBC twice talking about his uncle Jim.
I appreciate his straight-forwardness and candor about subjects of mutual interest, and completely agree with his assessment of various situations.
In my opinion, what's happened to the Reeves estate is a terrible tragedy as it was badly mishandled by a vengeful, vituperative individual who was so short sighted it has basically wiped out the estate and only enriched the lawyers. Just because she couldn't get her hands on Jim's memorabilia, his niece "pursued justice" and somehow got Mary's estate to pay for it! (I still don't understand how that happened). But she stood idly by while that memorabilia was scattered to the winds. If she couldn't have it, she apparently wanted it to be destroyed -- which she fully knew would be the net result of it being so widely dispersed and the more important items falling into the hands of the hoarders.
(However, by virtue of my personally spending tens of thousands of dollars, I was able to rescue scores of previously unreleased recordings, which I have proceeded to issue on CD and share with the fans. The reason I am the target of a handful of sick minded individuals is they greedily wanted to lay claim to this material and lock it all up for bragging rights, and they hate me because I have made it available to the fans).
I still feel the sale of the Reeves estate to Ed Gregory needed to be challenged. Everything about this transaction stunk to high heaven. Tom Perryman, whom a Holland webmaster has so ignorantly embraced for so many years, is the one who bragged to me personally that he put the deal together with Ed Gregory, and claimed "it was the best thing to happen to Jim and Mary in many years." But Tom was just afraid he was going to be cut out of the deal. He'd hitched his wagon to Reeves years earlier. Other webmasters and people who write liner notes for Abbott retreads may be gullible enough to believe Perryman's stories, but anyone who truly knows this guy takes him with a giant grain of salt, and is aware of the role he played in the destruction of the Reeves estate.
Even though I believe the initial litigation was warranted in challenging the sale of the Reeves estate, I feel that a settlement with Terry Davis could have been accomplished years ago before all the protracted court battles and legal fees. Basically all that's been accomplished is Mary will be moved to Carthage...EVENTUALLY.
Realistically speaking, what's left of the Reeves estate? Much of his catalog has fallen into public domain, plus Jim's legacy has been drastically harmed by all the discord. In retrospect, I believe John Rex was wise to stay out of it, once a losing legal course was charted. He has quietly pursued his own career and pays tribute to his uncle Jim by touring literally around the world.
The irony is that he was much closer to his uncle Jim (by virtue of being older) than his noise-making younger cousin, who was very young when Jim Reeves died and couldn't converse with you intelligently about any aspect of his repertoire because as of a few years ago at least, she owned none of it. Visitors to her home were shocked she didn't have a single Reeves recording.
And let the record show that despite the Rev. Bill White's shameless self-promotion as Jim's "nephew," (which he stopped being when his aunt remarried in 1969), the only TRUE nephew -- blood relative -- of Jim Reeves who is pursuing a singing career is John Rex Reeves. White relinquished his aunt's security interests by signing everything over to bank fraud felon Ed Gregory before he paid for it. That is a prosecutable action. People go to prison for lesser offenses. What ultimately happened is that -- as a direct and FORESEEABLE consequence of White's actions -- Gregory then proceeded to rip off Mary and other creditors for tens of millions of dollars and then file bankruptcy. Had White bothered to investigate the background of Mr. and Mrs. Gregory, he would have known that both husband and wife had been CONVICTED on five counts of bank fraud, but received pardons from President Clinton after Ed put one of Hillary Clinton's brothers, Tony Rodham, on the payroll -- and then couldn't explain to Congress what Rodham did to earn that money. This according to The New York Times.
Much more could be said but I'll save that for the second edition of my book. By then more things will have taken place on the Reeves front.
As they say, "it ain't over until the fat lady sings."
Re: John Rex Reeves
Posted by Shevanthi Perera on October 11, 2014, 1:55 pm, in reply to "Re: John Rex Reeves"
Thanks for the update Larry. What happened to the Reeves' Estate is indeed a terrible tragedy. Hard to comprehend as to why some of the members of the Reeves' clan acted the way they did. It is a shame beyond any measure.
Thank you for your part in personally rescuing Jim's precious recordings, restoring them and ultimately sharing them with us. Thank you for opening this door and giving us this chance to hear our favorite artist in an exquisite new way.
You look wonderful in the photo. It was nice to see the handshake!
Re: John Rex Reeves
Posted by Mike Slater on October 11, 2014, 3:02 pm, in reply to "Re: John Rex Reeves"
I would like to join everyone else here in wishing you a very Happy Birthday, Larry! I didn't realize your Birthday was co close to mine, which was on the 8th! I think it's a beautiful thing that you and John Rex are getting along so well now. There are a certain group of people out there that could take some lessons from the two of you as far as trying to be kind to one another! Many happy returns, Larry, and as always, thanks for all that you, Julie and Sara have done-and continue to do---to bring so much happiness to Jim's fans with your fabulous book and outstanding Voicemasters releases!
Re: John Rex Reeves
Posted by Mike Slater on October 11, 2014, 3:10 pm, in reply to "Re: John Rex Reeves"
Forgot to mention what a nice picture that is of you and John Rex! I also didn't realize that this was the first time the two of you had ever met. That's wonderful!