Jerry Reed

Jerry Reed Hubbard was born on March 20, 1937 in Atlanta, Georgia, the second child of Robert and Cynthia Hubbard. After his parents split when he was only four months old, Reed spent much of his childhood in foster homes before reuniting with his mother and step‑father in 1944. By the time he graduated from O'Keefe High School he was already a proficient guitarist, writing songs and performing locally, and at age eighteen he recorded his first single “If the Good Lord’s Willing and the Creek Don’t Rise” for Bill Lowery. His early recordings for Capitol and the National Recording Corporation blended rockabilly with country, and his composition “Crazy Legs” was covered by Gene Vincent in 1958, giving him his first national exposure. Reed’s breakthrough arrived when Elvis Presley recorded Reed’s self‑penned “Guitar Man” in 1967, after Reed himself was called to the studio to play the distinctive finger‑style intro that Elvis wanted to mimic. This collaboration cemented Reed’s reputation as a masterful finger‑picking guitarist and opened doors to further songwriting successes, including “A Thing Called Love,” later a hit for Johnny Cash, and the novelty classic “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot,” which earned him a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male.

Beyond his recording career, Reed became a beloved film star, most famously co‑starring with Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit (1977) and delivering the chart‑topping theme “East Bound and Down.” He appeared in a string of movies such as W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1974), The Waterboy (1998), and even served as executive producer and screenwriter for Bat21* (1988). A two‑time CMA Instrumentalist of the Year (1970, 1971) and multiple Grammy winner, Reed was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and, posthumously, the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017. He died in Nashville on September 1, 2008, from complications of emphysema, leaving behind his wife Priscilla Mitchell and two daughters.