Snowman, you will be missed.

A couple days ago, a true national treasure was lost. Jerry Reed Hubbard, better know professionally as Jerry Reed. Jerry Reed is a Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was know to work with many of the greatest musicians including the amazing Chet Atkins who produced for him and was known to take the stage with Jerry. Elvis Presley once decided to cover Jerry Reed's hit "Guitar Man" in 1967. During the recording session, Elvis had problems getting the sound he wanted and had his manager contact Jerry to see what the trick was. Jerry's response was simple, "Well,

if you want it to sound like that, you're going have to get me in there to play guitar, because these guys are straight pickers. I pick with my fingers and tune that guitar up all weird kind of ways."

Never just happy with being a one trick pony, Reed would dip into many different wells to whet his musical chops. From traditional country, to cajun, to rock and even bluegrass, Jerry could do it all. One such example is with his crossover hit "Amos Moses" which was not only a country hit, but hit #8 on the Pop charts as well and would be covered later by such bands as Primus. This would not be the last time that Jerry would taste success across the boards with his music. Songs such as "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)" and his his tribute album to Jim Croce would also bring him mainstream success. He would also find success later on with musical work in the movies.

Later in his career, Jerry Reed would become known as an actor as well. Possibly most known for his work on the screen and providing music for the movie "Smokey and the Bandit." In which he played Cledus "Snowman" Snow (from which I derived my old stage name, Cletus Snow) Bandit's Semi-truck driving buddy. Reed provided the movie's theme "East Bound and Down", which is almost as much a signature to the movie as Burt and the Trans Am itself. The song was a unique blend of Country, Bluegrass and Southern Rock. "East Bound and Down" reached #2 on the charts that on release and helped propel

"Smokey and the Bandit" into American culture. Reed would later go on to do work in cartoons and movies such as "Bat*21"(which he was exe producer on) and The Waterboy with Adam Sandler where he played the evil Coach Red.



Jerry Reed Hubbard died in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 1, 2008, of complications from emphysema. He will be missed and never forgotten by the true fans of music of all sorts. I leave you now with one last Breakdown son.