Franklin Delano Reeves (July 14, 1933 – January 1, 2007) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer, best known for his "girl-watching"

novelty songs A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

of the 1960s including "

Girl on the Billboard "Girl on the Billboard" is a 1965 single released by American country music singer Del Reeves. The novelty song was Reeves' fourth entry on the U.S. country chart and his only No. 1 single. "Girl on the Billboard" spent two weeks at No. 1 and a tot ...

" and "The Belles of Southern Bell". He is also known for his 1968

trucker A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

's anthem, "Looking at the World Through a Windshield", which demonstrated he was capable of more than just novelty songs. He became one of the most successful male

country singer Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

s of the 1960s.

Early life

Reeves was born in Sparta, North Carolina, United States, the youngest of 11 children. He was named after U.S. President

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. While his older brothers served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Reeves learned how to play their musical instruments. By age 12, Reeves began performing on the ''Merry Go Round Show'' on local radio station

WPAQ WPAQ is an Americana, and Bluegrass-formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Mount Airy, North Carolina, serving the Piedmont of North Carolina and the Southside and Southwestern sections of Virginia. WPAQ is owned and operated by WPAQ Rad ...

. After high school, Reeves briefly attended Appalachian State College (now University). He later enlisted in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

, stationed at

Travis Air Force Base Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, in Solano County, Californi ...

Fairfield, California Fairfield is a city in and the county seat of Solano County, California, in the North Bay sub-region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is generally considered the midpoint between the cities of San Francisco and Sacramento, approximately fro ...

Music career

1950s

After completing his military service, Reeves began performing regularly on

Chester Smith Chester Smith (March 29, 1930 – August 8, 2008) was a country-western musician and business entrepreneur. Early life and radio career Smith was born in Durant, Oklahoma, on March 29, 1930. He and his family relocated to Tranquility, Californ ...

's radio show on

Modesto Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

station KTRB around 1955. Reeves made his first

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

recordings with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

from 1957 to 1958. In 1958, Reeves began hosting a television variety show on Stockton station

KOVR KOVR (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Stockton, California, United States, broadcasting the CBS network to the Sacramento area. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside CW affiliate K ...

1960s–2000s

In 1961, Reeves signed with

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

and recorded the song that would become his first charting single, "Be Quiet Mind". Moving to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

in 1962, Reeves and wife Ellen Schiell co-wrote "Sing a Little Song of Heartache", a top five hit for Rose Maddox that year. After stints with

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

in 1963 and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

in 1964, Reeves signed with

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, ...

. Reeves became known as "The Doodle-Oo-Doo-Doo Kid" for the sound effect he added to his songs. Under United Artists, he had his first number-one hit with "The Girl on the Billboard" in 1965. His follow-up, "The Belles of the Southern Bell", made the country top five. His success continued throughout the rest of the 1960s. Songs that became hits during this time are "Be Glad" and "Good Time Charlie's". In the late 1960s, he appeared in several Hollywood films, including a starring role in ''Cottonpickin' Chickenpickers'', and a supporting role in

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...

' first big movie ''

Sam Whiskey ''Sam Whiskey'' is a 1969 American Western comedy film directed in DeLuxe Color by Arnold Laven and starring Burt Reynolds, Angie Dickinson, Clint Walker and Ossie Davis. "Way ahead of its time," said Reynolds of the film. "I was playing light ...

''. In the 1970s, he released a series of duets with

Bobby Goldsboro Robert Charles Goldsboro (born January 18, 1941) is an American pop and country singer and songwriter. He had a string of pop and country hits in the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature No. 1 hit "Honey", which sold over 1 million copies in ...

and

Penny DeHaven Penny DeHaven (born Charlotte DeHaven; May 17, 1948 – February 23, 2014) was an American country and gospel music singer. At the beginning of her career, she recorded as Penny Starr. She was born in Winchester, Virginia, United States, she ...

. He also returned to television, hosting the syndicated TV program, ''Del Reeves' Country Carnival''. His last big hit was "The Philadelphia Fillies". His career declined in the mid-1970s, and then started to slowly move away from country music, although he recorded some duets with

Billie Jo Spears Billie Jo Spears (born Billie Joe Moore; January 14, 1938 – December 14, 2011) was an American country music singer. She reached the top 10 of the country music chart five times between 1969 and 1977, her biggest being " Blanket on the Ground", ...

in 1976. He had hit songs on the country chart most years until 1982. In 1979, Reeves left his musical career to pursue a career as a music executive; he would eventually help

Billy Ray Cyrus Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, and is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and ...

score his first major record deal. He continued to record in the 1980s on a reduced scale for smaller labels.

Discography

Albums

Singles

* ^APeaked at No. 96 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 31 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Top Singles chart in Canada.

Music videos

Personal life

Reeves married Ellen Schiell in 1956 at the

Stanislaus County , image_skyline = , image_caption = Images, from top down, left to right: Modesto Arch, Knights Ferry's General Store, a view of the Tuolumne River from Waterford , image_flag = , i ...

fair in California; they had three children. Reeves died of

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...

on January 1, 2007 at his home in

Centerville, Tennessee Centerville is a town in Hickman County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,489 as of the 2020 Census. It is the county seat and the only incorporated town in Hickman County. It is best known for being the hometown of American comed ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeves, Del 1933 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American singers American country singer-songwriters Country musicians from North Carolina Deaths from emphysema Grand Ole Opry members People from Alleghany County, North Carolina United Artists Records artists Capitol Records artists Columbia Records artists Decca Records artists Reprise Records artists Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee People from Centerville, Tennessee Singer-songwriters from North Carolina Singer-songwriters from Tennessee