Your classic song by a guy named Gary, Gerry, or Jerry of the day is “Amos Moses” by Jerry Reed. Released in October of 1970, it peaked in early 1971 at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #16 on the Hot Country Singles chart. It ended up selling more than a million copies, earning it the RIAA Gold certification, and was ranked as #28 on Billboard’s Year-End Hot Singles of 1971 list.
“Amos Moses” was written by Jerry Reed (under his real name of Jerry Hubbard) and produced by Nashville legend Chet Atkins. It represents a unique mix of country and rock that some dubbed Swamp Rock. It was Mr. Reed’s first hit of the ’70s, eclipsed only by the similar-sounding “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot,” which hit #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Country Singles chart later in 1971.
I have a slight personal connection to this song, after the fact. The drummer on “Amos Moses” was Nashville studio legend Larrie Londin. Larrie was a monster; in addition to his Nashville work, he also did some Motown recordings (which included uncredited work on Jr. Walker and the All-Stars’ “Shotgun”) and provided the drums on Steve Perry’s hit single, “Oh Sherrie.” In the early ’70s, Larrie was the featured clinician at the Percussive Arts Society International Conference (PASIC) convention in my home town of Indianapolis. Our Ben Davis High School jazz band was chosen to back him up in the main concert, which meant I got to spend some time with Larrie during rehearsals. He taught me the “three-legged dog” beat that he played on “Amos Moses,” which was really cool. It’s all upbeat hi-hat (pre-disco) with a slightly swung, swampy feel and a missing bass drum beat on the third beat of the measure that makes it sound like the way a three-legged dog would run. I still use that beat today.
(Larrie passed away in 1992, just 48 years old.)
Jerry Reed, also known as the Guitar Man, had a dual career as a musician and an actor. His musical career started way back in 1959 with the release of “Soldier’s Joy,” continued through the ’60s with country hits like “Guitar Man,” “Tupelo Mississippi Flash,” and “Are You From Dixie (‘Cause I’m from Dixie Too),” and lasted into the ’70s and ’80s, primarily with hits on the country charts. As an actor, he had parts, mainly comedic, in southern-flavored flicks like W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings, Gator, High Ballin’, and all three of the Smokey and the Bandit movies. Many of those films were with his friend and high-paid superstar actor Burt Reynolds.
Jerry Reed kept busy performing and acting through the end of the ’90s. He was a heavy smoker all his life and died of complications from emphysema in 2008, aged 71.
