Country Music Legend Jerry Reed Passes On

"Guitar Man" Jerry Reed died this past Sunday at the age of 71 from complications related to emphysema.  He had recently been cared for in a hospice, Country Music Television in Nashville reported. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Reed released more than 40 albums over a long career that started when he was just 18.  Reed was known for hits such as "When You're Hot, You're Hot" (for which he won a Grammy in 1971) and "Amos Moses".  He then went on to a successful acting career in the three Smokey and the Bandit movies. Sony BMG Nashville Chairman Joe Galante called Reed a larger-than-life personality. "Everything about Jerry was distinctive - his guitar playing, writing, voice and especially his sense of humour," Galante said.  "I was honoured to have worked with him." Reed's booking agent, Carrie Moore-Reed (not a relation), called the singer-songwriter "one of the greatest entertainers in the world". Elvis also covered Reed's "Guitar Man" during his iconic 1968 Comeback Special, and the star played in his trademark "claw-lick" style on the studio recording. In the mid-1970s, the singer teamed up with friend and actor Burt Reynolds, appearing in The Snowman, as well as his the Bandit series, where he played truck driver Cledus Snow. Reynolds later gave him a shiny black 1980 Trans Am like the one they used in the films. Modern audiences will also know him as the angry coach in Adam Sandler's comedy The Waterboy - but his main passion was music, and he continued touring into the 1990s. Singer-guitarist Brad Paisley said Reed was one of country music's most influential players. "Anyone who picks a country guitar knows of his mastery of the instrument - one of the most inspirational stylists in the history of country music, a complete master," Paisley said. "I'm in debt to him for paving the way for myself and the other guitarists of today."  No plans have been made for a public memorial service.  Reed is survived by his wife, Priscilla and his two daughters, Sedena and Lottie, and two grandchildren.