Jim Reese (musician)
| Jim Reese | |
|---|---|
Jim Reese performing "I Fought the Law" on Hullabaloo.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Gordon Reese, Jr. |
| Born | December 7, 1941 |
| Origin | El Paso, Texas, United States |
| Died | October 26, 1991 (aged 49) Lufkin, Texas |
| Genres |
Rock Pop |
| Instruments | Guitar, piano, backing vocals, bass |
| Years active | 1958–1966 |
| Labels | Yucca Records Exeter Records Donna Records Mustang Records Liberty Records |
| Associated acts | The Bobby Fuller Four |
| Notable instruments | |
| Gibson ES-335 | |
James Gordon Reese, Jr., simply known as Jim Reese, (7 December 1941 - 26 October 1991) was a longtime member of the famed rock and roll band, The Bobby Fuller Four. Being virtuosic at a variety of instruments, he is perhaps best known for his guitar work (both lead and rhythm). He provided backing vocals and rhythm guitar to the Bobby Fuller Four's greatest hit, "I Fought the Law."
While always aspiring to be a guitarist in a band, Reese was initially turned down by the Rock Kings, a local El Paso band, before joining the Counts in April 1958. At this point, Reese was playing piano with the group, and was featured on their first release, "Thunder," in October 1958 (Reese and The Bobby Fuller Four would later cover this track as "Thunder Reef"). For their next release in 1959, "Child of Fortune," Reese switched to rhythm guitar.
Over time and with changing lineups, Reese broke away and headed his own band, the Embers, after internal arguments within The Counts caused band members to become polarized. The Embers saw the return of former Counts bands mates Googie Dirmeyer, and Jerry Bright. Originally under the name the Royal Lancers for two years, the group evolved, and Reese soon found his calling with lead guitar, quickly becoming one of the most distinguished rock guitarists in El Paso. Notable members of the Embers included Howard Steele on bass, Dalton Powell on piano, and Bobby Fuller on drums.
By 1961, Fuller sought to head his own band, and recorded his first single, featuring him on vocals and guitar for the first time, while backed by Reese the Embers, was released as "You're in Love" in November 1961 (recorded in Fuller's parent's living room on a Viking recorder). The single became a regional hit, peaking at #1 at KELP. Fuller later left the Embers to start his own band.
Fuller quickly achieved success through independently recorded and released singles. He first contacted Reese to play with the band in 1962, where he remained until 1963, when Fuller began playing with a different set of musicians (Billy Webb on guitar, and Larry Thompson on drums). When Fuller got more serious about getting the band a deal with Del-Fi Records in late 1964, Reese re-joined the band at Fuller personally asked him and Powell. For the rest of this period, Fuller and Reese switched off playing lead and rhythm guitar. By the end of the year, the band made the move to California.
This time around, Bob Keane, head of Del-Fi records saw great potential in the band, and signed them to his label. The band put out their initial release on Del-Fi's Donna label before releasing on Mustang Records, started up by Keane with Fuller's group specifically in mind.
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