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Jim Reeves was an American country singer who gained international recognition for his pioneering of the "Nashville Sound", a sub-genre of American country music popular in the late 1950s. Originating from a small rural community in Texas, Reeves played semi-professional baseball before finding his way into the music industry as a DJ and then performer. His big break came through Sleepy La Beef whose late arrival for a performance on the popular Louisiana Hayride allowed Reeves to take the stage and kick-start his career. Originally mimicking the standard American country style, Reeves soon set himself apart through his lower pitch and use of violins, and from this the Nashville Sound arose. He scored his greatest hit with "He'll Have to Go", which achieved success on both the pop and country charts, staying on Billboard's Hot C&W Sides for a remarkable 14 consecutive weeks. Following these achievements in the US, Reeves toured both South Africa and Europe, visiting the UK and Ireland in 1963, where he made a number of appearances on television and radio programmes. His career was dramatically cut short when in 1964 the plane he was travelling in crashed in Brentwood, Tennessee. Reeves was elected posthumously to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1967 and the Texas Music Hall of Fame in 1998.
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