Eddie Reeves
| Eddie Reeves | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 17, 1939 Austin, Texas, United States |
| Genres | Rock, pop, adult contemporary |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, artist manager, publisher, record company executive, writer |
| Years active | 1950s–present |
| Labels | United Artist Music, ABC Records, Chappell Music, Warner Bros. |
| Associated acts | The Nighthawks, Jules and the Polar Bears, Slow Children |
Edward Benton "Eddie" Reeves (born November 17, 1939) is an American songwriter, recording artist, music publisher, artist manager, record company executive, and author. He wrote several hit songs including "All I Ever Need Is You", co-written with Jimmy Holiday and recorded by many artists including Ray Charles, Sonny & Cher, Ray Sanders, Andre Hazes,[1] Tom Jones, Sammi Smith, Chet Atkins & Jerry Reed and Kenny Rogers & Dottie West; "Rings", co-written with Alex Harvey and recorded by; Cymarron, Lobo, Reuben Howell, Leo Kottke, Twiggy, Tompall and The Glaser Brothers, Lonnie Mack (a vocal rendition from the guitar man of “Memphis” hit record fame), and other artists; "Don't Change on Me"' co-written with Jimmy Holiday and recorded by Ray Charles, B.B. King, Van Morrison (recorded for Warner Bros. but available only on an Italian bootleg album), and by Alan Jackson; "If You Wouldn't Be My Lady", co-written with Jimmy Holiday and recorded by both Ray Charles and Charlie Rich; and "It’s a Hang Up Baby", recorded by both Jerry Lee Lewis and Z.Z. Hill. The song was also performed on November 6, 1969 by Tom Jones with musical backing by the Moody Blues on his national television show, This Is Tom Jones.
BMI awarded Reeves and co-writer Harvey their Special Citation of Achievement for "Rings", having received over one million radio and television performances, making it one of the most performed songs from BMI's repertoire of over eight million songs.[2]
Reeves' songs are associated with three Grammy Award nominations: 1971 Pop Vocal Group - Sonny & Cher - "All I Ever Need Is You" lyrics; 1971 Best Country Vocal Performance - Duo or Group - Tompall & the Glaser Bros. - "Rings"; and 1973 Best Country Instrumental Performance - Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed - Me and Chet (album, which included "All I Ever Need Is You").
Early life
Born in Austin, Texas and raised in Amarillo, Texas, Reeves graduated Amarillo High School with honors and attended the University of Texas at Austin where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity.[3]
Career
He started singing, playing guitar and writing songs in high school in 1956 and formed the Nighthawks (original band by this name) in 1957 with high school friends Bob Venable, Mike Hinton and John Thompson. The band recorded two singles at Norman Petty’s studio in Clovis, New Mexico with only "When Sin Stops" b/w "All’a Your Love" commercially released by Hamilton Records (subsidiary of Dot Records) on November 17, 1958, Reeves' 19th birthday. After college, he returned to Amarillo where he worked for two years in his father’s retail building materials, residential construction, and real estate businesses.[3]
In 1964, Norman Petty hired Reeves as his New York representative and, the following year, Reeves was hired by United Artists Music where he signed an exclusive recording artist and songwriting contract. In 1968, United Artists sent him to Hollywood to set up a west coast office and during a total seven-year United Artist tenure he worked with Mac Davis, Jackie DeShannon, Jimmy Holiday, Sharon Sheeley, Delaney & Bonnie, Billy Ed Wheeler, Alex Harvey, Buddy Buie, Andy Kim, Paul Leka, Kenny Young, amongst others.[4]
In 1972, he signed an exclusive recording artist and songwriting contract with ABC Dunhill Records. After having no further success as a writer and recording artist, he accepted a job in 1974 as West Coast vice-president of Chappell Music, then the world's largest music publishing company. During his years at Chappell Music, he signed and helped launch the careers of Kim Carnes, the Sanford Townsend Band, Jules Shear and hired the young record producer Jim Ed Norman, with whom in later years he would share success with at Warner Bros. Records. In 1977, Reeves started his own music publishing and personal management company, working with Kim Carnes, Jules Shear (Jules and the Polar Bears) and Slow Children. In 1980, Reeves returned to his hometown of Amarillo, Texas, where he managed real estate properties for four years.
In 1984, Reeves was hired by Jim Ed Norman as General Manager of Warner Bros. Records where he spent sixteen years — the last ten as Executive Vice President and General Manager, until retiring in 1999 at age 60. While at Warner Bros., Reeves shared in the success of launching and developing the careers of Faith Hill, Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam, Travis Tritt, Little Texas, Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, David Ball, and Take 6; whilst promoting the continued success of Hank Williams, Jr., Emmylou Harris, John Anderson, and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
Books
In 2000, Reeves moved to Winnipeg, Canada, and started the process of compiling his songwriting catalog of over 100 songs, as well as beginning work on his collection of writings from notes he had been keeping since 1972. Reeves stated, "My writing is mostly from a spoken-word inner voice and sometimes spoken word makes poor written word. My struggle to succeed in writing something worth reading has on occasion caused me to state my occupation as 'word wrestler.'" When Sin Stops, a collection of life stories and other thoughts, was privately published for friends and family and is currently being revised for possible commercial publication.[5]
Personal life
Reeves has three children — Marc, Natalie, and Sophie — and he currently resides in Houston, Texas with his wife, the singer-songwriter, Lena Shammas Reeves.
Discography
| Year | Artist | Title | S-Single A-Album |
Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | Country | R&B/Soul | AC | UK | Canada | ||||||
| 1966 | Willows | My Kinda Guy | S | - | - | - | - | - | 15 | - | (#2 Canadian content) |
| 1970 | Ray Charles | Love Country Style “Don’t Change On Me” | A | 155 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1971 | Ray Charles | Don’t Change On Me | S | 36 | - | 13 | 22 | - | - | - | |
| 1971 | Ray Charles | Volcanic Action Of My Soul “All I Ever Need Is You” | A | 52 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1971 | Cymarron | Rings | S | 17 | - | - | 6 | - | 41 | - | #9 – Canadian AC |
| 1971 | Tompall & the Glaser Bros. | Rings | S | - | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1971 | Sonny & Cher | All I Ever Need Is You | S | 7 | - | - | 1 | 8 | 10 | - | 5 Weeks at #1 on AC Chart |
| 1971 | Sonny & Cher | All I Ever Need Is You | A | 14 | - | - | - | - | 7 | Gold | |
| 1971 | Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed | Me & Chet “All I Ever Need Is You” | A | - | 24 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1971 | Ray Sanders | All I Ever Need Is You | S | - | 18 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1972 | Tompall & the Glaser Bros. | Rings & Things "Rings" | A | - | 33 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1972 | Ray Charles | Through the Eyes of Love “If You Wouldn’t Be My Lady” | A | 186 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1973 | Charlie Rich | Behind Closed Doors “If You Wouldn’t Be My Lady” | A | 8 | 1 | - | - | - | 4 | 4X Platinum | |
| 1974 | Lobo | Rings | S | 43 | - | - | 8 | - | 30 | - | |
| 1974 | Reuben Howell | Rings | S | 86 | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1977 | Sammi Smith | Mixed Emotions “All I Ever Need Is You” | A | - | 47 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1977 | Twiggy | Please Get My Name Right "Rings" | A | - | - | - | - | 35 | - | - | |
| 1979 | Kenny Rogers & Dottie West | All I Ever Need Is You | S | 102 | 1 | - | 38 | - | - | - | |
| 1979 | Kenny Rogers & Dottie West | Classics “All I Ever Need Is You” | A | 82 | 3 | - | - | - | 60 | Platinum | |
| 1984 | Andre Hazes | All I Ever Need Is You | S | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | #1 in the Netherlands Dutch title: “Ik meen ‘t” |
| 1984 | Kenny Rogers & Dottie West | Duets “All I Ever Need Is You” | A | 85 | 43 | - | - | - | 64 | Platinum | |
| 1988 | Kenny Rogers | Greatest Hits “All I Ever Need Is You” | A | - | 66 | - | - | - | - | Gold | |
| 2006 | Alan Jackson | Like Red on a Rose “Don’t Change On Me” | A | 4 | 1 | - | - | 177 | 8 | Gold | |
References
- ↑ Steffen Hung. "André Hazes - Ik meen 't". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
- ↑ "BMI Million-Airs: 1 Million M - R". Chartts.tripod.com. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
- 1 2 "Eddie Reeves". 60sgaragebands.com. Retrieved 2013-08-10.
- ↑ "Eddie Reeves: Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts.com. 1996-08-20. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
- ↑ Notes from interview with Eddie Reeves, October 6, 2011