Home

To my fellow Jerry Reed Fans:

Back in 1967, my Dad began telling me about a guy named Jerry Reed who he said was the most amazing guitar player he’d ever heard. One evening he called me in to watch Jerry perform on television. Needless to say, I was blown away. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes and heard with my own ears, I wouldn’t have believed any one man could play so much guitar at one time. But it wasn’t just the fact he could play fast, it was so musical, soulful, laced with genius and totally original! It was a combination of country, R&B, jazz and gospel. From that moment, I was an absolute Jerry Reed fan and I knew I had to learn to play like “Jerry”.

About every six months, RCA would release a new Reed album (thanks to RCA’s head honcho Chet Atkins) and I would be in the front of the line to get my copy. I couldn’t wait to put the needle down in those grooves and hear the latest funky rhythm poppin’ off that Baldwin gut string guitar, perfectly interwoven with great songs and terrific vocals. I would ask myself, “Where does he get these incredible ideas?” Jerry’s lyrics and perspective on life are so positive and his music just makes you feel good! While his novelty songs were his biggest hits, the depth of his immense talent is not fully realized until you go deeper into his amazing body of work.

“When You’re Hot, You’re Hot” certainly described Jerry when he blasted onto the music scene in the late sixties. He was the “Captain of Cool” in the 1970’s and the guy all of the other guitar players in Nashville were chasing. But Nashville wasn’t the only place that Jerry’s awesome guitar ability was being noticed. Guitarists like Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits), French Guitarist Marcel Dadi and pop superstar Glen Campbell were impacted as well. Chet Atkins was Jerry’s biggest influence, but Jerry also wound up influencing Chet (now that’s saying something)! Chet once said, “Jerry Reed is one of the most imitated guitar players in the world.” Jerry’s innovative techniques literally impacted the way the instrument is played. A new generation of guitar players were tapping in as well (Steve Wariner, Brent Mason, Ricky Skaggs, Keith Urban, Eric Johnson, Thom Bresh, Tommy Emmanuel…the list goes on and on).

Recording this project has been a dream of mine for many years. I figured it was time to jump head first into the deep end and just do it! Together with my buddy and co-producer Rodney Ingle, we booked a few of our friends who just happen to be some of Nashville’s legendary session players. When they heard it was a tribute album to Jerry Reed they said, “We’re there!” Have mercy…did they ever play great! They don’t call ‘em the A-Team for nothing. David Hungate said, “This was great fun for us! We’re all Jerry Reed alumni.” Another great thrill was getting to play with Brent Mason (a fellow student of “Reedology” and guitar legend in his own right)!

These instrumentals are all Jerry Reed classics! The most difficult decision was trying to narrow down the selections and still include tunes that would represent the diversity of his compositions. I guess these are my personal favorites. As Rodney and I started brainstorming this project, it was my desire to make this sound as much like a Jerry Reed album as possible. We did take a few liberties with some of the arrangements and production, while keeping the integrity of Jerry’s guitar performances as close as possible. After all, there’s only one Jerry Reed! It’s hard to improve perfection when it comes to his original ideas.

They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery…it is with the most sincere heart that I recorded this project as a tribute to my six-string hero, “The Guitar Man” himself, Jerry Reed. Jerry, I hope I made you proud! Sonnnnnn!

Darrell