A TRIBUTE TO JERRY REED
BY TRUCKER/POET/ARTIST TREVOR HARDWICK
I can still visualize the fun-loving character, Cledus Snow, in the Smokey and the Bandit movies, played by Jerry Reed. Tall and slender with sideburns, an insulated vest and a well worn trucker cap, he perfectly and humorously personified the American pop-culture view of what a truck driver was. He also made many appearances on Hee Haw and in 1979 played a Miami police detective who goes undercover (with Suzanne Pleshette) to bust the city’s many fencers and thieves. As a singer, he had a string of hits through the 1970s and early 1980s. He was also known for his song writing abilities, penning hits for Elvis, Johnny Cash, Brenda Lee, Tom Jones, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole and the Oak Ridge Boys. I grew up listening to cassette tapes of Jerry Reed’s unbelievable guitar pickin’ music. Songs like Amos Moses, East Bound and Down, Lord Mr. Ford and others are timeless classics that still get me singing along and tapping the wheel with the volume cranked up. Sadly, Jerry Reed passed away on September 2nd at the age of 71. He will be missed by many. This poem includes lines from some of my favorite songs. I wrote this in honor of Jerry Reed.
PEACE BOUND & DOWN
By Trucker/Poet Trevor Hardwick
I heard the news the other day
Jerry Reed has passed away
Another legend gone too soon
Bound for heaven, pickin’ tunes
I bet you’re having so much fun
Making music with the Son
I pray the angels get to know
The one and only “Cledus Snow”
“A foot like lead and nerves like steel
Goin’ up to glory ridin’ 18-wheels”
You entertained us through the years
Haulin’ loads of bootleg beer
And, Jerry, I can almost bet
You’re up there pluckin’ strings with Chet
It saddens me, you had to go
Though I’m someone you didn’t know
From radio and movie sets
To speaking out for wounded vets
You set a goal, and kept on tryin’
And now you’re heaven bound and flyin’
A trucking icon, yes indeed
We’re gonna miss you, Jerry Reed
So, go and reunite with “Fred”
“Buford-T” and “Big Burdette”
The Bandit days were so much fun
And now you’ve takin’ one last run
So go on, walk that Golden Stair
Because you’ve “got a long way to go
And a short time to get there!”