Thursday 26 November 2009

Cravings of a weak body and mind

Coming back from Madurai has left me fatigued and sick. All I do is curl up and sleep and drink hot water at regular intervals. But sometimes when one is sick, strange cravings occur which need to be satiated at the very outset. And guess what was my craving: JIM REVEES' Christmas songs. I so much wanted to listen to his songs and see his pictures. So here I am writing a blog post as well as watching the gentleman croon on You tube.




Jim Reeves is not Jim Reeves alone. The very mention of Jim Reeves brings a mish-mash of memories which include childhood, Christmas, love and many others. I remember my mother playing records of Jim Reeves. It was a huge disc and the pin had to be set at the right place otherwise there would be screeching noise. The very process of the setting the pin is a lovely memory. Every Christmas had us playing his songs and the season's flavour starts right from the first week of December. Well there were the other songs like 'Welcome to my world,' 'Bimbo,' 'Mexicali Rose' and others which would play during the rest of the year.

Jim Reeves never failed to continue being with our family. After the record player, it was the cassettes. We had plenty of those small rectangular cassettes (my God, I am talking as if it was a hundred years ago) which we played and played resulting in the voice of the singer becoming funny and coarse. Then we reverted to CDs which we purchased and still have them. But the days of the record was the most unforgettable for it was a ritual to bring the player and set it for the raptures to unfold. The records used to be kept in a safe corner of the shelf safe from any damage.

Punctuating all this was the radio which played/plays Jim Reeves quite frequently. Again I owe this to my mother who tuned into All Asia Service broadcast from Ceylon (now Sri-lanka) and listen to the deep-baritoned Raj who played Jim Reeves almost everyday. I tune into radio stations even now and request Jim Reeves but my mother has ceased listening to it.

I introduced Jim Reeves to many of my friends and made them glued to his deep voice. Jim Reeves is one of the singers who became quite famous in India and Sri-lanka. When I think of the tragic death he confronted, I am quite overwhelmed.

The world misses Gentleman Jim!!!

Now for some Jim Reeves trivia: His favourite poem which hung on the wall in his office and featured in several Jim Reeves books:


The Indispensable Man 
by Saxon White Kessinger
 
Sometime when you’re feeling important, 
Sometime when your ego’s in bloom, 
Sometimes when you take it for granted 
You’re the best qualified in the room. 
Sometimes when you feel that your going 
Would leave an unfillable hole, 
Just follow these simple instructions 
And see how they humble your soul. 
Take a bucket and fill it with water, 
Put your hand in it up to your wrist, 
Pull it out and the hole that’s remaining 
Is a measure of how you’ll be missed. 
You can splash all you wish when you enter, 
You may stir up the water galore, 
But stop, and you’ll find that in no time 
It looks quiet the same as before. 
The moral in this quaint example 
Is do just the best that you can, 
Be proud of yourself, but remember--- 
There’s no indispensable man.



Picture courtesy: http://www.johnrexreeves.com/jim02.jpg
The poem courtesy: http://johnrexreeves.com/poem.html

14 comments:

  1. Two years ago I bought my dad a Jim Reeves CD. It was meant for his car as we had to do away with all the cassette tapes. He's my dad's favorite too! Bless you and family

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  2. "There's a heartache following me...."

    "I'm five year old child is a dirty disgrace, but u love me daddy...."

    "Put ur sweet lip... a little closer to the phone..."

    I love this man, the whole family does, my parents are crazy abt this guy, and my mom was pleasantly surprised to find her husband's fascination for her fav singer's songs, b/c he had so many cassettes of his n the collection was huge...

    We always sleep to Good Night Irene Good night..

    I think I was listening to Jim Gentleman Reeves from the time I was conceived, thru all my years and now...:)))

    It's a pleasure:))

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  3. My God! Everyone is associated with Gentleman Jim in some way and that makes me feel so connected with each of your lives. Glad to be a part of your memories and life.

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  4. Changed template, changed photo, u there drinking a cup of coffee from that transparent cup of urs,...

    Good Night n sleep tight
    Ashes

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  5. Yes Ashes.Was getting a bit monotonous so I thought I'd tweak it and ended up changing my picture, the template, the 'about me' column. How is it? Okay??

    You take great care too.

    Warm weekend filled with joy,
    Susan

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  6. I too like the rich voice of Jim,
    In the misty moonlight still haunts me.

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  7. Govind: Not many people I know seem to not like him. I remember only one English man telling me that "That American's voice is so very common. We English have seen better singers." Thanks for dropping by.

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  8. Nostalgia....
    Jim Reeves=school days in winters before the Christmas vacations, record player=my dad insisting on playing it once in every blue moon, lest it got spoilt by neglect, and yes I haven't seen a cassette- you know that square transparent plastic with spools of brown tape inside..in quite some years now....

    Ah! The memories... :)

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  9. Jim Reeves and Cliff Richard are my Mom's favorites and so spent most of my childhood singing along to their songs. Bimbo, Mexican Joe, Gypsy Feet and Billy Bayou were some of the foot tapping songs but where Jim Reeves came into his element were the slower numbers like "I never Pass there anymore", "He'll have to go", "Put your sweet lips", "There's a heartache following me, and my all time favourites - "Take my hand, Precious Lord" and "This World is not my Home". Thanks a lot for this wonderful flashback :)

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  10. Ashley: Everyone one of us are associated to Jim Reeves' songs in some way. Am so glad that you also have a memory to render.

    Dreamer: Thanks for dropping by. I like his slow numbers as well as the Gospel ones. 'The world is not my home' is one of my favourites too.

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  11. When I hear Jim Reeves I am being transported to my dancing days. Oh how beautiful a slow-fox felt at the I love you because.

    Thanks for another time to reminisce.

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  12. Elizabeth:

    Through you, I am getting to revisit my older posts and what joy it is!

    Jim Reeves is Jim Reeves and we never tire of listening to him. I am glad that so many people relate to Jim and his songs. Nostalgia is the key word while talking of gentleman Jim :)

    Thanks so much for coming by here, dear Elizabeth.

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