Co-starred in all three of the Smokey and the Bandit films; the first, which premiered in 1977, landed Reed a No. 2 hit with the soundtrack’s “East Bound and Down”
American country music singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter, as well as an 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 blockbuster 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.
Reed was tracked down to play on an Elvis Presley Nashville session. Elvis was recording the Reed song Guitar Man. Jerry said; I finally told him, ‘Well, if you want it to sound like that, you’re going have to get me in there to play guitar, because these guys [you’re using in the studio] are straight pickers. I pick with my fingers and tune that guitar up all weird kind of ways. The song was a hit.
Reed passed away in 2008