Jerry Reed Hubbard March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008, known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country singer, guitarist, composer, songwriter, and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included "Guitar Man", "U.S. Male", "A Thing Called Love", "Alabama Wild Man", "Amos Moses", "When You're Hot, You're Hot" (which garnered a Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male), "Ko-Ko Joe", "Lord, Mr. Ford", "East Bound and Down" (the theme song for the 1977 film Smokey and the Bandit, in which Reed co-starred), "The Bird", and "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)".
Reed was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. He was announced as an inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame in April 2017, and he was officially inducted by Bobby Bare on October 24.
Reed was born in Atlanta and was the second child of Robert and Cynthia Hubbard. Reed's grandparents lived in Rockmart and he visited them from time to time. As a small child running around strumming his guitar, he is quoted as saying, "I am gonna be a star. I'm gonna go to Nashville and be a star." Reed's parents separated four months after his birth; his sister and he spent seven years in foster homes or orphanages growing up. Reed was reunited with his mother and stepfather in 1944
Reed graduated from O'Keefe High School, an Atlanta city school. The O'Keefe building still exists today; it was sold to Georgia Tech and is now part of the university's campus. By high school, Reed was already writing and singing music, having learned to play the guitar as a child. At age 18, he was signed by publisher and record producer Bill Lowery to cut his first record, "If the Good Lord's Willing and the Creek Don't Rise".
At Capitol Records, Reed was promoted as a new "teenage sensation" after recording his own rockabilly composition, "When I Found You", in 1956. He recorded both country and rockabilly singles and found success as a songwriter when labelmate Gene Vincent covered his song "Crazy Legs" in 1958.
By 1958, Bill Lowery signed Reed to his company, National Recording Corporation. He recorded for NRC as both an artist and as a member of the staff band, which included Joe South and Ray Stevens, other NRC artists.
Reed married Priscilla "Prissy" Mitchell in 1959. They had two daughters, Seidina Ann Hubbard, born April 2, 1960, and Charlotte Elaine (Lottie) Zavala, born October 19, 1970. Mitchell was a member of folk group the Appalachians ("Bony Moronie", 1963), and with Roy Drusky was co-credited on the 1965 country number-one hit "Yes, Mr. Peters".
