Goebel Reeves

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Goebel Leon Reeves (born October 9, 1899 in Sherman , Texas , † January 26, 1959 in Long Beach , California ) was an American country and folk singer . He was one of the leading early exponents of Blue Yodeling and recorded about 88 songs between 1929 and 1935.

Life

Reeves grew up as the son of a Texas government official in Austin , so he came from the American middle class, which he himself rather shied away from: He lived most of his life as a hobo - and often performed under a corresponding stage name: The Texas Drifter. The way of life of the underprivileged fascinated him from an early age, he was drawn to the world of people who mainly traveled through the country on freight trains. So Jimmie Rodgers , who was only two years his senior, became his role model. Reeves claimed to have taught Rodgers how to yodel - and in fact, most of all, Reeves could convey the sadness of yodelling like no other.

His musical talent came from his mother, who taught him to play the piano and sing. In 1917 Reeves joined the army and was shot in Europe during World War I. In 1921 he was retired and decided to earn his living as a vagabond by singing. After a short stay in the merchant navy, he made his first recordings in 1929. Now he has appeared as a Texas Drifter , as George Riley, the Yodeling Rustler or as The Broadway Wrangler . His hobo life took him to all parts of the States and as far as Canada; occasionally he would record a few songs or appear on radio stations. In 1938 he made his last recordings for a Hollywood studio - however, it was primarily recitations and poems. Shortly thereafter, in the late 1930s, Reeves returned to the merchant marine. He spent some time in Japan. During the Second World War was on the move in matters of troop entertainment; The Japanese he had acquired in the meantime finally brought him a job with the US government: He helped out in resettlement camps in which Americans of Japanese origin were interned. In 1959, Goebel Reeves died in a veterans hospital in California.

music

Goebel Reeves was under the influence of Jimmie Rodgers and also sounded very much like the Singing Brakeman : Reeves practically always yodelled and sang about vagabonds, streets and freight trains. Of his own songs, Hobo's Lullaby in the version by Woody Guthrie was best known; his son Arlo , Danny Kyle , Emmylou Harris , Joan Baez and some others also recorded the song. Other well-known songs were The Wayward Son , The Drifter and The Tramp's Mother . In 1994 the German label Bear Family released the CD Hobo's Lullaby - and with it all 26 songs that Goebel Reeves recorded in his life on a single CD.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tony Russell, Country Music Records, A Discography, Oxford University Press 2004
  2. ↑ Biography on allmusic.com
  3. ↑ Biography on allmusic.com
  4. ^ Biography of Reeves from The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Reeves, Goebel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Reeves, Goebel Leon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American country and folk singer
DATE OF BIRTH October 9, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Sherman , Texas
DATE OF DEATH January 26, 1959
Place of death Long Beach , California