Jerry Reed Is Dead (It’s Alright With Me If You Like Grits, Oogie Boogie Boogie)

We lost one of the great guitar players, comedians, and all-around entertainers this week when Jerry Reed Hubbard passed away due to complications from emphysema.

Like most every kid of my generation, I loved the Smokey & The Bandit series as a kid, and grew to love the music of Jerry Reed as an adult. Jerry was one of a handful of larger than life personalities that epitomized for me, the decade I was born and grew up in, the 1970s.

A friend of mine put it best when he said, “…if his picking weren’t enough, he can effortlessly become Waylon Jennings, Ray Price, or whoever he wants to be. If you’re not a Jerry Reed fan, it’s only because you haven’t heard enough.”

As each year passes, another couple of icons from my formative years passes away. I guess that’s what happens when you get older.