Larry, I was reading parts of the book again at random, and one of my favorite chapters was the one dealing with Jim being in Texas at the time of the Kennedy assassination. I had never known that Jim was in Dallas at the same time as the President, and I thought it was wonderful of Jim that he handled the performances he was to do there with such care and respect during this time of grief. Jim even told the people at one performance that they could get their money back at the door after one performance. How many other entertainers would be this considerate of their fans? I was also very surprised to find out that Jim opened his show the day after the assassination with "Distant Drums". I don't know why, but I never would have guessed that Jim had ever performed this song live. I had always assumed that after he recorded the demo and gave it to Cindy Walker as a present, that he pretty much forgot about it after that...
Leo Jackson confirmed they did indeed perform songs like "Distant Drums" even though they hadn't been released, because Jim liked to gauge audience reaction.
If you had been able to attend a Reeves performance, the kind you'd want to go to would be a DANCE. Because Jim would entertain requests from the audience. Leo said he also relaxed more, because not all the pressure was on him. When people were dancing and chatting with each other, Reeves felt all eyes weren't on him, so he loosened up a bit. But think of hearing him sing your favorite song, even one he never recorded. Leo also marveled that when they'd be on the bus traveling to their various shows, Reeves and the Blue Boys would sing a lot of songs that they never recorded and Jim never missed a note. Even if he didn't know all the words to a song, he'd at least hum parts of it and never sang off key. He was a class act.
Jim didn't always take requests. The week he spent at the Flame Cafe in Minneapolis in February 1964, Elmer and I were there every night. One night a heckler was yelling "I wanna hold your hand". Jim said "I only sing my songs, that is a Beatles song". After 3 or 4 yells from this heckler Jim responded with "Hold your own hand". He got a big hand from all of us. That shut the heckler up! He was a great entertainer, nobody better ever. Doris
Larry and Doris, thank you for both your replies. I've always regret the fact that I was born a little too late to ever get to see Jim in person. I was only about 12 years old when Jim died. My mother and older brother were present at the Carnegie Hall concert, and I've always been envious of them! I remember my Mom being dissapointed though that Jim didn't sing as many songs as Patsy, Marty and the others in the show. You confirmed this in your book, Larry, although I never knew why until you mentioned that the audience applauded so much between each number that the show ran overtime, leaving a less time for Jim to do anymore than three songs. A real shame. Doris, I got a big kick out of the story about Jim and the Beatles song. That was really funny!
on March 14, 2014, 12:48 pm