East bound and down.... posted by arimathea at 3:39 PM on September 2, 2008
Way bummed to hear this. Jerry made some great music and seemed to always have fun doing it. His best-of is a regular listen at the Slack household and can always put a smile on my face. I love his goofy story songs, but he was also a solid conventional songwriter and a hell of a guitar picker. He wrote and recorded "Guitar Man", which Elvis recorded soon after.
And as much as I loved him in the Smokey and the Bandit movies, as an actor, I'll always remember him as Bama McCall. posted by Slack-a-gogo at 3:40 PM on September 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
R.I.P. That sumbitch sure could pick. posted by Ber at 3:44 PM on September 2, 2008
Also, check out this great performance of "Wabash Cannonball" from the Porter Wagoner show.
As I was looking for some Jerry Reed stuff for a FPP I got caught up watching a lot of Reed performances and chillmost beat me to the punch. posted by Slack-a-gogo at 3:49 PM on September 2, 2008
I don't like country music, but I always made an exception for Jerry.
"It's me they're after! They don't even know Cletus Snow exists!"
"Oh, they don't? Well, I tell you what we're gonna do, we just gonna introduce 'em to the boy! So move over good buddy because the Snow Man is coming through."
I used to work in a bowling alley. They would lower projection screens over the lanes for football games, so that people could watch, drink, and bowl. One night, I was left pretty much on my own (there were some folks working concessions and a girl in the bar, but no one else behind the control desk). So I started flipping through the channels after the game was over (fun to do when you have a dozen projection screens at your whim). Because it's always on TBS, I found Smokey and the Bandit playing and OMG did the house go wild. Most of the sports crowd had taken off, and that left a few families and some teenagers. I tell you what, that movie just about brought everyone together and it was all I could do not to get on the PA and start singing, "Eeeeastbound and dowwwwwn, loaded up and truckin'!" When that line about Cletus introducing himself came up, there was a cheer as his semi plowed through the blockade. Really powerful stuff, and it definitely turned a horrible late Sunday shift into the high point of the week.
Jerry, next time I mime at a trucker to sound his horn, that blast's for you, good buddy. posted by Eideteker at 4:17 PM on September 2, 2008 [8 favorites]
That Wabash Cannonball link is seriously awesome. Thanks. posted by Nick Verstayne at 4:19 PM on September 2, 2008
See, they had a *long* way to go and a *short* time to get there. And it was this, they said couldn’t be done. Not vise versa.
Once I realized that, it made the movie a lot more enjoyable.
You see, they needed the fast car to distract the police who might otherwise chase the truck which would inhibit the high velocity the truck must travel at in order to reach the destination within a short period of time.
I think many viewers miss this nuance of the film.
and .
(Amos Moses is just a damn havin’ fun tune) posted by Smedleyman at 4:22 PM on September 2, 2008
Aw, damn. Met him once at the El Paso rodeo when I was a kid. He was there performing, and I was infatuated with Smokey and the Bandit. Nice guy, to a kid who couldn't even stammer a "hello," much less shake his hand.
I asked him if that truck from the movie was his. He laughed and told me the truck cost more than he did.
I'm gonna' miss that son of a truck drivin' mother. posted by blixco at 4:27 PM on September 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
Anyone remember his film Hot Stuff? (It was a surprisingly enjoyable movie.) posted by jca at 5:09 PM on September 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
.
We'll miss him (and Fred, too).
FRED! Get back in the truck! posted by gcbv at 5:14 PM on September 2, 2008
jca - yeah! ...with Dom Deluise. I forgot all about that movie. It was on non-stop on HBO in the 80's. I swear that I must have seen Hot Stuff over 50 times! posted by horsemuth at 5:26 PM on September 2, 2008
I'm sorry he's dead, and I can admit that some of his music was good...but East Bound and Down is the most gawdawful strong earworm. Just try getting through a normal day's work with that stuck in your head. posted by dilettante at 5:29 PM on September 2, 2008
Amos Moses is an amazing song (if you haven't heard it, check out the link above.) The best country funk song EVAH. Covered by Primus, too. posted by msalt at 5:37 PM on September 2, 2008
I will never forget seeing a Smokey and the Bandit I & II double-feature at the local movie theatre when I was about 12. How my mom let my little brother and me go to that show I'll never know but it was the second greatest movie experience of my young life (#1 was Star Wars, of course).
Hell, I had the original S&tB soundtrack on vinyl even before that.
Starts about 10 seconds in. posted by Joey Bagels at 6:17 PM on September 2, 2008
This is terrible. So long, Jerry. posted by popechunk at 6:21 PM on September 2, 2008
Back in the mid-70s, he released a version of Stars and Stripes Forever that pretty much defined how that song should be played. There was a drum kit in there, but the rest was all guitars: thundering bass turned up to 11, tandem guitars playing the main melody, piccolo counterpoint played way up on the neck, awesome. We would crank that sucker up and scream, "Cowboys kick Sousa ass!" I've been looking for a non-vinyl copy for years, but no luck. The version he released just a few years ago is nice, but really pales in comparison to the original.
For some reason, I've had Amos Moses stuck in my head for the past week. It looks now like it'll be there for a while longer, but that's not such a bad thing. posted by joaquim at 7:25 PM on September 2, 2008
Too bad it wasn't an alligator down in the swamp, lawd, that did him in.
Jerry Reed's cover of "Goodnight, Irene" was one of my father's very favorite songs, and I have fond memories of singing along to it with him. Dad would also start singing it right before he'd run the table on me while shooting pool...
Bye, Jerry. I didn't think to miss you until you were gone.
I'll have to add him to the 'dead American country artists whose songs I cover' pile. posted by chuckdarwin at 2:43 AM on September 3, 2008
I was reminded of the Amos Moses song when I read the story of Devin Funck. posted by Darned account name at 3:23 AM on September 3, 2008
See, they had a *long* way to go and a *short* time to get there. And it was this, they said couldn’t be done. Not vise versa.
Once I realized that, it made the movie a lot more enjoyable.
You see, they needed the fast car to distract the police who might otherwise chase the truck which would inhibit the high velocity the truck must travel at in order to reach the destination within a short period of time.
I think many viewers miss this nuance of the film.
DAMMIT, Smedleyman! I saw that movie in the theater as a teenager, and I guess the plot was just over my head. So whenever it showed up on TBS, I'd watch it again, year after year, trying to unravel the plot. I just could never do it. I had 2001: A Space Odyssey and Kim Ki-duk’s The Isle (Seom) figured out years ago, thanks to the plethora of books and articles written about them. But Smokey and the Bandit... for some reason, there were no interpretive articles, shot-by-shot explanatory books, or websites explaining the plot. Even IMDB was no help. It's as if the opacity of the plot prevented people from even trying to figure it out.
But, now, thanks to you I get it! I'll have to put it on my Netflix queue and check it out again with fresh eyes. Hopefully, after watching it a few times, with your fresh interpretation, it will seem like more than just a random series of images. Whoa, there's the police chasing Burt Reynolds! Wait! Who's that guy in the truck! What's that mysterious cargo? Why are they going so fast? What is a "Smokey"? Why all the flashing lights? Why is that Honeymooners guy there, and The Flying Nun? Thanks God you came along. The pieces are clicking into place. Until it shows up in my mailbox, I'll just keep repeating: Long way, short time. Long way, short time. Long way, short time. Long time, short... DAMMIT!
--------
RIP, Jerry Reed. posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 5:03 AM on September 3, 2008 [1 favorite]
Once you're done with that, Fuzzy, you may be ready to tackle the enigma that is The Cannonball Run. "The only rule is there are no rules" is one of the most beloved yet uncrackable koans in modern cinema. posted by Spatch at 5:14 AM on September 3, 2008
Once you're done with that, Fuzzy, you may be ready to tackle the enigma that is The Cannonball Run. "The only rule is there are no rules" is one of the most beloved yet uncrackable koans in modern cinema.
Yeah, I saw that too, but I keep getting it mixed up with The Gumball Rally, leaving me doubly confused! posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 6:00 AM on September 3, 2008
One my early guitar idols, but I never could play like him.
If anyone can find a video of Tim Wilson's "I Married a Woman Who Talks Like Jerry Reed" I promise I'll watch it. Really and truly.
S'long, you ol' hillbilly posted by Bixby23 at 8:28 AM on September 3, 2008
I like a few of Jerry's tunes (like "When You're Hot, You're Hot"), but I loved "Amos Moses"! During the required square dancing in high school (you know, for Sadie Hawkins day), in order to apease people who tired of all square dancing (as if!), they would play a couple "bonus" songs (and taught us the dances to) - "Montego Bay" and "Amos Moses". Good times.
“But Smokey and the Bandit... for some reason, there were no interpretive articles, shot-by-shot explanatory books, or websites explaining the plot.”
I believe The Society for Cinema and Media Studies has a piece titled “Jean-Luc Godard and the existential roots of Ursidae predation set against themes of banditry and the symbolism of the Kenworth W900A short-frame semi truck.”
Pretty good read.
Also - those things they’re talking into in the car? Radios! They’re actually talking to each other. It really puts a sort of narrative to the film.
S’funny. I don’t consider myself liking country music. But I like Jerry Reed. I like Johnny Cash. I like Patsy Cline.
Apparently (as I was schooled by a country boy) I don’t like the new stuff that passes as country.
I get what they’re trying to do with all the glitz and looking like they’re having fun.
But Reed struck me as the sort of guy actually having fun, and that was infectious. Even for a guy like me who has two folders on my mp3 player: Metal and other. posted by Smedleyman at 4:15 PM on September 3, 2008
Most of his music was humorous, but he had his serious side, as well.
A poet, no, no I’m not a poet
But if I were, and if I had every word in the world at my command
My poem would still be I love you posted by Dorri732 at 9:35 AM on September 4, 2008
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posted by Nick Verstayne at 3:29 PM on September 2, 2008