OurBiography

Jerry Reed was an American musician and actor best known for his Grammy hit “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot,” and for the film Smokey and the Bandit.

Synopsis

Jerry Reed was an American musician and actor born on March 20, 1937, in Atlanta, Georgia. Named Jerry Reed Hubbard, he learned to play the guitar at age 8 and signed his first recording contract at age 17. He moved to Nashville in the mid-1960s, but it wasn’t until the next decade that he rose to prominence. Reed won a Grammy for his song "When You're Hot, You're Hot," and gained even more fame with his hits "East Bound and Down" and "The Bird." Reed met with reasonable success in film, acting opposite Burt Reynolds in the film Smokey and the Bandit (1977) and The Waterboy with Adam Sandler (1998). Reed died on September 1, 2008, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Early Life

Jerry Reed Hubbard was born on March 20, 1937, in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents divorced in the first year after his birth. Reed learned to play guitar at age 8 when his mother bought him a $7 guitar and showed him how to play a G-chord. He dropped out of high school to tour with Ernest Tubb and the Texas Troubadours and Faron Young.

Music and Film Career

At 17, Reed signed his first recording contract, with Capitol Records. After a serious of flops, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. Reed landed in Nashville in the mid-1960s. A gifted guitarist, he got his big break as a songwriter when he was invited by Elvis Presley's recording producer to play his distinctive "claw-style" guitar licks on Reed's song "Guitar Man." In the 1970s and early 1980s, Reed had a string of hits that included "When You're Hot, You're Hot" (which won a Grammy in 1972), "East Bound and Down" and "The Bird."

Reed was also known for his comedic roles in the films Smokey and the Bandit (1977) with Burt Reynolds and The Waterboy with Adam Sandler (1998).

Death and Legacy

Reed had quadruple bypass surgery in June 1999, according to The Associated Press. Reed died September 1, 2008, in Nashville, Tennessee, of complications from emphysema. He is survived by his wife Priscilla "Prissy" Mitchell and their two daughters.