July 31, 1964 - Jim Reeves / Dean Manuel - Killed in Plane Crash
The Kentucky Wizard
near Nashville. His pianist, Dean Manuel, also was killed.
From Wikipedia:
Reeves died when the small aircraft he was piloting crashed during a
thunderstorm near Nashville, Tennessee. His business partner and manager
Dean Manuel (who was also the pianist in Reeves' backing group) was also
killed in the crash. On July 31, 1964 Reeves and Manuel left Batesville,
Arkansas en route to Nashville, having just secured a deal on some property.
While flying over Brentwood, they encountered a violent thunderstorm which
proved more than a match for the tiny, single-engined Beechcraft 'Debonair'
aircraft. The plane faded from the radar screens at around 17:02, and all
radio contact with the craft was lost.
One of the major causes of the crash was deemed to have been that the small
airplane had become caught in the centre of the thunderstorm and that Reeves
had become disoriented by "pilot's vertigo", which would have resulted in
him not realizing in which direction the plane was travelling, be it up,
down, left or right.
Both Reeves and the pilot of Patsy Cline's ill-fated plane were trained by
the same instructor.
Controversy over his death
It is now understood that Reeves was, in fact, flying the plane upside down
and he assumed he was raising the craft some distance in an attempt to clear
the path of the storm. Of course, this disastrously (and fatally) resulted
in him taking the airplane downward and straight to the ground. This would
have explained why, when the wreckage was eventually found some 42 hours
later, the engine and nose of the plane were buried deep in the ground.
On the morning of August 2, 1964, after an agonizing and intense search
(aided by such people as Chet Atkins, Eddy Arnold, Stonewall Jackson and
Ernest Tubb) the bodies of Jim Reeves and Dean Manuel were found amongst the
wreckage of the shattered plane. At 13:00 that afternoon, radio stations
across the United States announced to their shocked and stunned audiences
that Jim Reeves had been killed in a plane crash. In what can only be
described as sad irony, riding high in the UK singles chart at the time was
I Won't Forget You. The song later became a top ten hit in the United
States.
Many thousands of people turned out to pay their last respects to Jim Reeves
at his funeral, which took place on August 4, 1964. The coffin, draped in
flowers from respectful fans, was driven through the silent streets of
Nashville and to Jim's final resting place near his home town of Carthage,
Texas.
--
Never argue with an idiot; they'll drag you down to their level and beat you
with experience.
© The Wiz ®
«¤»¥«¤»¥«¤»
Bill Schenley
FROM: The Panola Watchman (August 4th 1964) ~
By James Smith
The body of Travis (Jim) Reeves returned to Panola County Tuesday
afternoon just before dusk, to be buried in a site that will become a
memorial. The site is a two-acre plot located one-half miles east of
Carthage on the south side of U.S. Highway 79 near the Liberty Chapel
Baptist Church.
Double funeral services were held for the well-known country music
singer from Panola County and his companion, Dean Manuel at 2 p.m.
Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee.The two men were found dead in the
wreckage of a private single engine plane 10 miles south of Nashville.
Manuel was Reeves' piano player and road manager and they were
returning to their homes in Nashville from a business trip to
Batesville, Arkansas.
In an interview with Ray Baker, manager for Reeves, he told the
Watchman of the accident as near as possible. The plane in which they
were flying was rented from a Nashville airport and piloted by Reeves.
He frequently flew on business trips and was a good pilot, related
Baker. Less than ten minutes from their destination, Reeves radioed to
the airport that they were flying in an extremely heavy thunder and
rainstorm. The airport control tower later checked with Reeves-asking
if he had passed through the storm.
The answer was negative.
Further attempts were made to contact the Reeves flight by radio-and
all proved negative. The plane was reported down at 5 p.m. Friday,
July 31. The light aircraft crashed in a wooded area about 100 feet
behind a house just off U.S. Highway 31. A Tennessee highway
patrolman reported that residents of the house were away at the time
of the crash. More than 700 volunteer searchers, Civil Defense workers
and police combed a 20-square-mile area for two days. Many of the
searchers were Reeves' friends and associates in the country music
business. They included guitarist Chet Atkins and singer Eddy Arnold,
Stonewall Jackson and Ernest Tubb.
Marty Robins, a close friend of Reeves and also an entertainer, lived
within a short distance of where the plane crashed and heard the roar
of an airplane engine Friday evening and then a loud thud.as if it had
plunged into the ground. When he heard of the accident and searching
operations, he notified authorities of what he heard and informed them
the direction in which he thought the wreckage might be located. The
wreckage was located at 1 p.m. Sunday and the engine of the plane was
partly buried and it was reported by Tennessee highway patrolmen that
it looked as if someone had gone out and dumped some debris and trash.
Reeves' body was identified from a driver's license taken from the
wreckage.
The governor of Tennessee, Frank Clements was a personal friend of Jim
Reeves and provided a four-engine U.S. Air Force Strato-Cruiser plane
from the National Guard to transport his body, family and associates
from Nashville to Shreveport. Hawthorn Funeral Home ambulance
transferred the body from Shreveport to Carthage Tuesday evening.
Baker said that Reeves had experienced a phenomenal growth in
popularity in the United States and Europe during the past ten years.
Several polls had recently been taken in England, Holland and other
European countries that placed Jim Reeves as the number one favorite
singer of country music. The big friendly smile and rich baritone
voice of Jim Reeves will be a memory in the hearts of several million
people for a long time. Panola County will always cherish his memory
as one of her finest gentlemen.
---
Hundreds Attend Funeral Services Held In Etex For Jim Reeves
FROM: The Shreveport Times (August 6th 1964) ~
By Tommy Yates, Assistant State Editor
Country music singer Jim Reeves was returned to the red hills of his
permanent home yesterday and the velvet-voiced singer drew his last
packed house as some of the greats and near greats of the hillbilly
field wiped tears from their eyes. Silent hundreds filed past his
casket in the Hawthorn Funeral Home of Carthage all morning prior to
the 3 p.m. funeral services for the singer who was killed last Friday
in an airplane crash near Nashville, Tenn.
Burial was in a private cemetery near Carthage where the 39-year-old
singer once roamed the red hills of East Texas. The grave and memorial
site is located just off the highway between Carthage and Shreveport.
Gentleman Jim's friends from throughout Texas and the musical world
were here for the services and burial of the farm boy who sang and
strummed his way to the top of the nation's country and popular record
lists in 11 tuneful years.
The 400-seat Central Baptist Church, extra rooms and hallways were
filled for the services. Extra chairs were placed in the aisles and
halls, and those who could not find seats stood in the rear of the
auditorium or outside the building. The estimated audience of 800 was
silent throughout the 20-minute service. No songs were sung and only
two organ selections were played: "The Old Rugged Cross," and "What a
Friend We Have in Jesus." The casket was surrounded by huge floral
wreaths, one shaped like a harp, another like a guitar, one like a
baseball and several like a musical note.
Another wreath made of orchid asters and orchid doty mums was placed
behind the casket in memory of his 1942 graduation class at Carthage
High School. A color photograph of the smooth-voiced singer rested at
the head of the casket, which was covered with yellow carnations and
bronze mums.
Dr. V. L. McKee, pastor of the church, paid tribute to the
sophisticated styled country singer, who picked up the nickname of
"Gentleman Jim" as a boy. Dr. McKee said, "His good name did not
begin with his fame. It began when he was a small boy growing up here
in this community.. He was a gentleman as a boy and a gentleman as a
man. That is about as fine a tribute that could be paid to any
citizen." His nickname followed him throughout his career because,
"He always had a minute to stop and talk," said Bill Deaton of San
Antonio, who handled Reeves' engagements in Texas.
Deaton was among hundreds of Reeves' business associates and relatives
who attended the services. Reeves' widow, whom he has been married to
for 16 years was present along with his brothers and sisters. The
Reeves had no children. Reeves' mother of DeBerry was not able to
attend because of illness. Also present was Dick O'Shoughnessy, one
of the supporting stars in Jim's hit movie, "Kimberly Jim" which was
recently filmed in South Africa and scheduled to be released soon.
Other musicians present were Dewey Groom of Dallas, Ed McLemore of the
Big D Jamboree, Horace Logan, who was in charge of the Louisiana
Hayride when Jim first rose to fame, Bobby Garrett, a former member of
Reeves' band, Ray Baker, his business manager, and Cindy Walker, who
wrote many of Jim's songs.
Reeves' popularity was not limited to the United States. His song, "I
Love You Because," currently ranked in the top five songs in
Scandinavian countries and Ireland. His songs have made the top of
the hit list for the past five years in South Africa, where he learned
to sing to the people in their own language. Considered a standout as
far as an individual is concerned to those close to him, Reeves and
his wife were recently in San Antonio looking for a ranch to buy. He
flew to San Antonio in the same plane in which he died only days
later.
---
Photos from crash-site:
http://johnrexreeves.com/end1.html
http://johnrexreeves.com/end2.html
(Eddy Arnold, in white hat, IDing the body)
J.D. Baldwin
>
> He frequently flew on business trips and was a good pilot, related
> Baker.
"Good pilot" is contradicted by the NTSB finding:
TYPE OF ACCIDENT
COLLISION WITH GROUND/WATER: UNCONTROLLED
PHASE OF OPERATION
IN FLIGHT: UNCONTROLLED DESCENT
PROBABLE CAUSE(S)
PILOT IN COMMAND - CONTINUED VFR FLIGHT INTO ADVERSE WEATHER
CONDITIONS
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=79493&key=0
--
_+_ From the catapult of |If anyone disagrees with any statement I make, I
_|70|___:)=}- J.D. Baldwin |am quite prepared not only to retract it, but also
\ / bal...@panix.com|to deny under oath that I ever made it. -T. Lehrer
***~~~~-----------------------------------------------------------------------
KF Raizor
"J.D. Baldwin" <INVALID...@example.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:f8nnf0$rtg$1...@reader2.panix.com...
>
> In the previous article, Bill Schenley <stra...@ma.rr.com> wrote:
>> Reeves Dies In Air Crash
>>
>> [...]
>>
>> He frequently flew on business trips and was a good pilot, related
>> Baker.
>
> "Good pilot" is contradicted by the NTSB finding:
>
> TYPE OF ACCIDENT
> COLLISION WITH GROUND/WATER: UNCONTROLLED
> PHASE OF OPERATION
> IN FLIGHT: UNCONTROLLED DESCENT
> PROBABLE CAUSE(S)
> PILOT IN COMMAND - CONTINUED VFR FLIGHT INTO ADVERSE WEATHER
> CONDITIONS
>
> http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=79493&key=0
Well, "good drivers" can make a mistake. The difference is, of course, when
a good driver makes a mistake he/she stands a much better chance of
surviving it than if a good pilot makes a mistake.
--
Things get complicated
When you get past 18.
--Statler Brothers