View source for Jimmy Reed

{{Short description|American blues musician (1925–1976)}}
{{distinguish|Jim Reed (coach)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{use American English|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name                = Jimmy Reed 
| image               = Jimmy Reed Vee-Jay press photo.jpg
| caption             = 
| image_size          = 
| background          = solo_singer 
| birth_name          = Mathis James Reed 
| alias               = 
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1925|9|6}}
| birth_place         = [[Dunleith, Mississippi]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1976|8|29|1925|9|6}}
| death_place         = [[Oakland, California]], U.S.
| origin              = 
| instrument          = {{hlist|Guitar|vocals|harmonica}}
| genre               = Blues, [[electric blues]]
| occupation          = {{hlist|Musician|songwriter }}
| years_active        = 1940s–1976 
| label               = [[Vee-Jay Records|Vee-Jay]]
}}

'''Mathis James Reed''' (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976)<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|pages=2062/3}}</ref> was an American [[blues]] musician and songwriter. His particular style of [[electric blues]]<ref name="russell"/> was popular with a wide variety of audiences. Reed's songs such as  "Honest I Do" (1957), "[[Baby What You Want Me to Do]]" (1960), "[[Big Boss Man (song)|Big Boss Man]]" (1961), and "[[Bright Lights, Big City (song)|Bright Lights, Big City]]" (1961) appeared on both [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'' magazine's]] [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|R&B]] and [[Hot 100]] singles charts.<ref>
{{cite book
| last = Whitburn
| first = Joel
| author-link = Joel Whitburn
| title = Top R&B Singles 1942–1988
| year = 1988
| location = Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
| publisher = [[Record Research]]
| isbn = 0-89820-068-7
| pages = [https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whit/page/345 345–346]
| url = https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whit/page/345
}}</ref>

Reed influenced many other musicians, including [[Elvis Presley]], [[Hank Williams Jr.]], [[Bob Dylan]], [[Neil Young]], and [[the Rolling Stones]], who recorded his songs.<ref name="Koda"/> Music critic [[Cub Koda]] describes him as "perhaps the most influential bluesman of all," due to his easily accessible style.<ref name="Koda"/>

==Biography==
Reed was born in [[Dunleith, Mississippi]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mswritersandmusicians.com/mississippi-musicians/james-jimmy-mathis-reed|title=Biography of Jimmy Reed, Mississippi Rhythm and Blues Musician|website=Mswritersandmusicians.com|access-date=October 6, 2021}}</ref> He learned the harmonica and guitar from his friend [[Eddie Taylor]].<ref name=pc4/> After several years of [[busking]] and performing there, he moved to [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], in 1943.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> He was then drafted into the U.S. Navy and served in [[World War II]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/> He was discharged in 1945 and returned briefly to Mississippi,<ref name="LarkinGE"/> marrying his girlfriend, Mary (henceforth known as Mama Reed). Mama Reed would be an [[uncredited background singer]] on many of his recordings, notably the hits "[[Baby What You Want Me to Do]]", "[[Big Boss Man (song)|Big Boss Man]]" and "[[Bright Lights, Big City (song)|Bright Lights, Big City]]".<ref name=pc4>{{Pop Chronicles|4|3}}</ref> He then moved to [[Gary, Indiana]], to work at an [[Armour & Co.|Armour]] meat-packing plant.

{{quote box|quote="At his best—on Vee-Jay in the '50s—Reed sang with the languid self-assurance of a man who never ran for the bus because he wanted to spend the fare on a glass of wine, and the unindustrious shuffle rhythms of the Vee-Jay band ambled right along behind."|source=–''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]'' (1981)<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: R|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=R&bk=70|access-date=March 10, 2019|via=Robertchristgau.com}}</ref>|width=24%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}

By the 1950s, Reed had established himself as a popular musician. He joined the Gary Kings with [[John Brim]] and played on the street with Willie Joe Duncan.<ref name="Koda"/> Reed failed to gain a recording contract with [[Chess Records]], but signed with [[Vee-Jay Records]] through Brim's drummer, [[Albert King]].<ref name="LarkinGE"/> At Vee-Jay, Reed began playing again with Eddie Taylor and soon released "You Don't Have to Go",<ref name="LarkinGE"/> his first hit record.<ref name="Koda"/> It was followed by a long string of hit songs.

Reed maintained his reputation despite his rampant alcoholism; his wife sometimes had to help him remember the lyrics to his songs while recording.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> In 1957, Reed developed [[epilepsy]], though the condition was not correctly diagnosed for a long time, as Reed and doctors assumed it was [[delirium tremens]].<ref name="Koda">{{cite web|author=Koda, Cub|author-link=Cub Koda|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jimmy-reed-mn0000076881/biography |title=Jimmy Reed: Biography |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=August 31, 2015}}</ref> When Vee-Jay Records closed, his manager signed a contract with the fledgling [[BluesWay Records|ABC-Bluesway]] label, but Reed never produced another hit.<ref name="LarkinGE"/>  In 1968, he toured Europe with the [[American Folk Blues Festival]].<ref name="russell">{{cite book
| first= Tony
| last= Russell
| year= 1997
| title= The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray
| publisher= Carlton Books
| location= Dubai
| pages= 76–77
| isbn= 1-85868-255-X}}</ref>

[[File:Grave of Mathis James Reed (1925–1976) at Lincoln Cemetery, Blue Island, IL.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Reed's grave at Lincoln Cemetery]]

Reed died of [[respiratory failure]] in 1976, in [[Oakland, California]],<ref name="LarkinGE"/><ref name="Dead">{{cite web|author=Doc Rock |url=http://thedeadrockstarsclub.com/1970.html |title=The 1970s |publisher=The Dead Rock Stars Club |access-date=2015-08-31}}</ref> eight days short of his 51st birthday. He is interred in the [[Lincoln Cemetery (Cook County)|Lincoln Cemetery]], in Blue Island, Illinois.  Reed was posthumously inducted into the [[Blues Hall of Fame]] in 1980,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blues.org/blues_hof_inductee/jimmy-reed/|title=Jimmy Reed|website=Blues.org|access-date=March 10, 2021}}</ref> and the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 1991.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/jimmy-reed|title=Jimmy Reed &#124; Rock & Roll Hall of Fame|website=Rockhall.com|access-date=March 10, 2021}}</ref>

==Influence==
The [[The Rolling Stones|Rolling Stones]] have cited Reed as a major influence on their sound, and their early set lists included Reed's songs "[[Ain't That Lovin' You Baby (Jimmy Reed song)|Ain't That Lovin' You Baby]]", "The Sun Is Shining" (played by the Stones at the 1969 [[Altamont Free Concert|Altamont concert]]), "Bright Lights, Big City", and "Shame, Shame, Shame". "[[Little by Little (The Rolling Stones song)|Little by Little]]", the [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] of their February 1964 UK hit single "[[Not Fade Away (song)|Not Fade Away]]" was a pastiche of "Shame, Shame, Shame". "Honest I Do" was included on their first album, [[The Rolling Stones (album)|''The Rolling Stones'']] (subtitled ''England's Newest Hit Makers'' in America), in 1964 (the U.S. edition also included "Little by Little").<ref>{{cite web|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|author-link=Richie Unterberger |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-rolling-stones-englands-newest-hit-makers-mw0000195499 |title='''The Rolling Stones (England's Newest Hit Makers)''{{snd}}Review|website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=January 10, 2016}}</ref> For their 2016 release, ''[[Blue & Lonesome (The Rolling Stones album)|Blue & Lonesome]]'', they recorded a version of Reed's "Little Rain".<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Fricke|first1=David|title=Review: The Rolling Stones Reinvigorate the Blues on ''Blue and Lonesome''|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/review-the-rolling-stones-blue-and-lonesome-w453332|access-date=December 13, 2016|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=December 13, 2016}}</ref>

The [[The Yardbirds|Yardbirds]] recorded "I Ain't Got You" for the B-side of their second single "[[Good Morning, School Girl#Don and Bob/Yardbirds version|Good Morning Little Schoolgirl]]" with guitarist [[Eric Clapton]].<ref>"I Ain't Got You" was written by [[Clarence Carter]] and first recorded by [[Billy Boy Arnold]]</ref>  With [[Jeff Beck]], they recorded the Reed-inspired instrumental "Like Jimmy Reed Again", which was released on a reissue of their album ''[[Having a Rave Up]]''.<ref>{{cite web|first=Bruce |last=Eder |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/having-a-rave-up-mw0000334448 |title=The Yardbirds: ''Having a Rave Up''{{snd}}Review |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=January 10, 2016}}</ref>  [[The Animals]] considered Reed one of their main sources of inspiration and recorded versions of "I Ain't Got You" and "Bright Lights, Big City".<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-animals-mn0000751019/songs/all/3| title = The Animals: Songs| website = [[AllMusic]]| access-date = February 6, 2018| archive-date = February 7, 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180207005346/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-animals-mn0000751019/songs/all/3| url-status = dead}}</ref>  [[Van Morrison]]'s group [[Them (band)|Them]] covered "Bright Lights, Big City" and "Baby, What You Want Me to Do", both of which are on the album ''[[The Story of Them Featuring Van Morrison]]''.<ref>{{cite web|first=Jack |last=Rabid |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-story-of-them-featuring-van-morrison-mw0000031190 |title=''The Story of Them Featuring Van Morrison''{{snd}}Review|website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=January 10, 2016}}</ref>  "Big Boss Man", sung by [[Ron "Pigpen" McKernan]], was regularly performed by the [[Grateful Dead]] in the 1960s and early 1970s and appears on their live album ''[[Grateful Dead (album)|Grateful Dead]]''<ref>{{cite web|last=Planer|first=Lindsay|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/grateful-dead-skull-roses-mw0000190196 |title=''Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses)''{{snd}}Review |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=January 10, 2016}}</ref>

[[Elvis Presley]] recorded several of Reed's songs, having a hit with "Big Boss Man" in 1967 and recording several performances of "Baby, What You Want Me to Do" for his [[Elvis (1968 TV program)|1968 TV program]]. (Presley's 1964 hit "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby" is a different song from that recorded by Reed.) "Baby, What You Want Me to Do" was also covered by [[Wishbone Ash]] on their 1973 album ''[[Live Dates]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last= Eder|first=Bruce|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-dates-mw0000320711 |title=Wishbone Ash: ''Live Dates''{{snd}}Review |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=January 10, 2016}}</ref> [[Johnny Winter|Johnny]] and [[Edgar Winter]] performed it live in 1975 and included it on their album ''Together''.<ref>{{cite web|first=Michael B. |last=Smith |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/together-live-mw0000312590 |title=Johnny & Edgar Winter: ''Together – Live''{{snd}}Review |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=January 10, 2016}}</ref>  [[Omar Kent Dykes]] and [[Jimmie Vaughan]] released the album ''On the Jimmy Reed Highway'' as a tribute to Reed.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gilstrap |first=Andrew |url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/50066/omar-kent-dykes-and-jimmie-vaughan-on-the-jimmy-reed-highway/ |title=Album review |website=Popmatters.com |access-date=November 13, 2011}}</ref>  [[Bill Cosby]] covered four of Reed's songs, "Bright Lights, Big City", "Big Boss Man", "Hush Hush" and "Aw Shucks, Hush Your Mouth", for his 1967 album, ''[[Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ankeny |first= Jason |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/silver-throat-bill-cosby-sings-mw0000778034 |title=''Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings''{{snd}}Review |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=January 10, 2016}}</ref>

The [[Steve Miller Band]] covered five of Reed's songs: "You're So Fine" (originally recorded by Reed as "Honey, Where You Going?"), on the 1968 album ''[[Sailor (Steve Miller Band album)|Sailor]]'',<ref>{{cite web |last=Hanson |first=Amy |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sailor-mw0000689837 |title=Steve Miller Band: ''Sailor''{{snd}}Review |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=January 10, 2016}}</ref> and "I Wanna Be Loved (But by Only You)", "Big Boss Man", "Caress Me Baby" and "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby", on the 1986 album ''[[Living in the 20th Century]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/living-in-the-20th-century-mw0000190921 |title=Steve Miller Band: ''Living in the 20th Century'' {{snd}}Reviews |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=January 10, 2016}}</ref>

[[Bob Dylan]] paid tribute to Reed with the song "[[Goodbye Jimmy Reed]]" on his 2020 album ''[[Rough and Rowdy Ways]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bobdylan.com/songs/goodbye-jimmy-reed/ |title=Goodbye Jimmy Reed |website=www.bobdylan.com|access-date=June 3, 2023}}</ref>

==Discography==
===Singles===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Single (A-side, B-side)<br /><small>Both sides from same album except where indicated</small> !! <small>[[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|U.S.<br />R&B]]<br/><ref name="whitburnr&b">{{cite book |title= Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=1996 |publisher=Record Research |page=369}}</ref></small> !! <small>[[Billboard Hot 100|U.S.]]<br/><ref>{{cite book|first=Joel|last=Whitburn|year=2003|title=Top Pop Singles 1955–2002|publisher=Record Research|location=Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin|isbn=0-89820-155-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whitbur/page/564 564]|url=https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whitbur/page/564}}</ref></small> || Album
|-
| 1953 || "High and Lonesome"<br /><small>b/w "Roll and Rhumba" (from ''I'm Jimmy Reed'') </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left"|''The Legend – The Man''
|-
| 1954 || "Jimmie's Boogie"<br /><small>b/w "I Found My Baby" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left"|Non-album tracks
|-
| rowspan="3"|1955 || "You Don't Have to Go"<br /><small>b/w "Boogie in the Dark" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|5 || style="text-align:center;"|— || align="left"|''I'm Jimmy Reed''
|-
| "I'm Gonna Ruin You"<br /><small>b/w "Pretty Thing" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left" rowspan="2"|Non-album tracks
|-
| "I Don't Go for That"<br /><small>b/w "She Don't Want Me No More" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|12 || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| rowspan="4"|1956 || "[[Ain't That Lovin' You Baby (Jimmy Reed song)|Ain't That Lovin' You Baby]]"<br /><small>b/w "Baby, Don't Say That No More" (from ''History of Jimmy Reed'') </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|3 || style="text-align:center;"|— || align="left" rowspan="2"|''I'm Jimmy Reed'' 
|-
| "Can't Stand to See You Go"<br /><small>b/w "Rockin' with Reed" (from ''Rockin' with Reed'') </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|10 || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| "I Love You Baby"<br /><small>b/w "My First Plea" (from ''I'm Jimmy Reed'') </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|13 || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left"|Non-album track
|-
| "You've Got Me Dizzy"<br /><small>b/w "Honey Don't Let Me Go" (non-album track) </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|3 || style="text-align:center;"|— || align="left" rowspan="2"|''I'm Jimmy Reed'' 
|-
| rowspan="4"|1957 || "Little Rain" / || style="text-align:center;"|7 || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| "Honey, Where You Going?" || style="text-align:center;"|10 || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left"|Non-album track
|-
| "The Sun Is Shining"<br /><small>b/w "Baby, What's on Your Mind" (from ''Rockin' with Reed'') </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|12 || style="text-align:center;"|65 ||align="left"|''The Best of Jimmy Reed''
|-
| "Honest I Do"<br /><small>b/w "Signals of Love" (non-album track) </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|4 || style="text-align:center;"|32 || align="left" rowspan="3"|''I'm Jimmy Reed'' 
|-
| rowspan="4"|1958 || "You're Something Else"<br /><small>b/w "A String to Your Heart" (from ''Rockin' with Reed'') </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| "You Got Me Crying"<br /><small>b/w "Go On to School" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| "I'm Gonna Get My Baby"<br /><small>b/w "Odds and Ends" (from ''Jimmy Reed with More of the Best'') </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|5|| style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left"|Non-album track
|-
| "Down in Virginia"<br /><small>b/w "I Know It's a Sin" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|93 || align="left"|''Rockin' with Reed''
|-
| rowspan="3"|1959 || "I Told You Baby"<br /><small>b/w "Ends and Odds" (from ''Rockin' with Reed'') </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|19 || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left"|''Blues Is My Business''
|-
| "[[Take Out Some Insurance]]"<br /><small>b/w "You Know I Love You" (from ''History of Jimmy Reed'') </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left" rowspan="2"|''Rockin' with Reed''
|-
| "Going to New York"<br /><small>b/w "I Wanna Be Loved" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| rowspan="3"|1960 || "[[Baby What You Want Me to Do]]"<br /><small>b/w "Caress Me Baby" (from ''Rockin' with Reed'') </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|10 || style="text-align:center;"|37 ||align="left" rowspan="3"|''Found Love''
|-
| "Found Love"<br /><small>b/w "Where Can You Be" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|16 || style="text-align:center;"|88
|-
| "Hush-Hush"<br /><small>b/w "Going by the River", Part 2 </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|18 || style="text-align:center;"|75
|-
| rowspan="3"|1961 || "Close Together"<br /><small>b/w "Laughing At the Blues" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|12 || style="text-align:center;"|68 ||align="left"|''Now Appearing''
|-
| "[[Big Boss Man (song)|Big Boss Man]]"<br /><small>b/w "I'm a Love You" (from ''Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall'') </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|13 || style="text-align:center;"|78 ||align="left"|''Found Love''
|-
| "[[Bright Lights, Big City (song)|Bright Lights, Big City]]"<br /><small>b/w "I'm Mr. Luck" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|3 || style="text-align:center;"|58 ||align="left" rowspan="2"|''Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall''
|-
| rowspan="4"|1962 || "Aw Shucks, Hush Your Mouth"<br /><small>b/w "Baby What's Wrong" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|93
|-
| "Good Lover"<br /><small>b/w "Tell Me You Love Me" (from ''Jimmy Reed At Carnegie Hall'') </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|77 ||align="left" rowspan="3"|''Just Jimmy Reed''
|-
| "Too Much"<br /><small>b/w "I'll Change My Style" (non-album track) </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| "Oh John"<br /><small>b/w "Let's Get Together" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| rowspan="3"|1963 || "Shame, Shame, Shame"<br /><small>b/w "There'll Be a Day" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|52 ||align="left" rowspan="2"|''T'aint No Big Thing but He Is''
|-
| "Mary Mary"<br /><small>b/w "I'm Gonna Help You" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| "Outskirts of Town"<br /><small>b/w "St. Louis Blues" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left"|''Jimmy Reed Sings the Best of the Blues''
|-
| rowspan="4"|1964 || "Help Yourself"<br /><small>b/w "Heading for a Fall" (non-album track) </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left"|''Jimmy Reed at Soul City''
|-
| "Down in Mississippi"<br /><small>b/w "Oh John" (from ''Just Jimmy Reed'') </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left"|''Jimmy Reed with More of the Best''
|-
| "I'm Going Upside Your Head"<br /><small>b/w "The Devil's Shoestring", Part 2  </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left" rowspan="3"|''Jimmy Reed at Soul City''
|-
| "I Wanna Be Loved"<br /><small>b/w "A New Leaf" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| rowspan="2"|1965 ||"Left Handed Woman"<br /><small>b/w "I'm The Man Down There" (from ''History of Jimmy Reed'') </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| "When Girls Do It"<br /><small>b/w "Don't Think I'm Through" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left"|Non-album tracks
|-
| rowspan=3"|1966 || "Knockin' at Your Door"<br /><small>b/w "Dedication to Sonny Boy Williamson" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|39 || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left" rowspan="2"|''Soulin'''
|-
| "Cousin Peaches"<br /><small>b/w "Crazy 'Bout Oklahoma" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| "Got Nowhere to Go"<br /><small>b/w "Two Ways to Skin (A Cat)" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left" rowspan="2"|''The New Jimmy Reed Album''
|-
| rowspan="3"|1967 ||"I Wanna Know"<br /><small>b/w "Two Heads Better Than One" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| "Don't Press Your Luck Woman"<br /><small>b/w "Feel Like I Want to Ramble" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left" rowspan="2"|''Soulin'''
|-
| "Crazy About Oklahoma"<br /><small>b/w "Buy Me a Hound Dog" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| 1968 || "My Baby Told Me"<br /><small>b/w "Peepin 'n Hidin" (from ''Soulin''') </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— || align="left"|''Big Boss Man''
|-
| 1969 || "Don't Light My Fire"<br /><small>b/w "The Judge Should Know" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left"|''Down in Virginia''
|-
| rowspan="2"|1970 || "Hard Walkin' Hanna", Part 1<br /><small>b/w "Hard Walkin' Hanna", Part 2 </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left" rowspan="3"|''As Jimmy Is''
|-
| "Crying Blind"<br /><small>b/w "Christmas Present Blues" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| rowspan="2"|1971 || "Big Legged Woman"<br /><small>b/w "Funky Funky Soul" </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|—
|-
| "Cold Chills"<br /><small>b/w "You're Just a Womper Stomper"  </small>|| style="text-align:center;"|— || style="text-align:center;"|— ||align="left"|''Let the Bossman Speak!''
|-
|}

===Albums===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|- "
!rowspan="2" | Year
!rowspan="2" | Album
! colspan="1" | Peak chart positions
|-
! width="100" | <small>[[Billboard Top LPs|US 200]]<br/><ref name="Whitburn">{{cite book | last = Whitburn | first = Joel | title = Top LPs, 1955–1972 | year = 1973 | publisher = Record Research | page = 122 | url = https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstoplp00whit/page/122/mode/2up | access-date = 2025-07-10}}</ref></small> 
|-
| 1958
| ''[[I'm Jimmy Reed]]''
| —
|-
| 1959
| '' 'Rockin' with Reed''
| —
|-
| rowspan="2" |1960 
| ''Found Love''
| —
|-
| ''Now Appearing''
| —
|-
| 1961
| ''[[Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall]]'' [2LP]
| 46
|-
|1962
| ''Just Jimmy Reed''
| 100
|-
|rowspan="3" | 1963
| ''T'ain't No Big Thing but He Is...Jimmy Reed''
| —
|-
| ''Jimmy Reed Sings the Best of the Blues''
| —
|-
|''Jimmy Reed Plays 12 String Guitar Blues''
| —
|-
|1964
| ''Jimmy Reed with More of the Best''
| —
|-
| rowspan="2" |1967
| ''[[The New Jimmy Reed Album]]''
| —
|-
| ''[[Soulin']]''
| —
|-
| 1968
| ''[[Big Boss Man (Jimmy Reed album)|Big Boss Man]]''
| —
|-
| 1969
| ''[[Down in Virginia]]''
| —
|-
| 1970
| ''As Jimmy Is'' (AKA ''Hard Walking Hanna'')
| —
|-
| 1971
| ''Let the Bossman Speak!'' (AKA ''Cold Chills'')
| —
|-
| 1973
| ''[[I Ain't from Chicago]]'' 
| —
|-
| 1974
| ''Blues is My Business''
| —
|-
|}
====Compilation Albums====
{| class="wikitable"
|- "
!Year
!Album
|-
|1962
| ''The Best of Jimmy Reed''
|-
|1964
| ''Jimmy Reed at Soul City''
|-
| 1965
| ''The Legend – The Man''
|-
| 1972
| ''History of Jimmy Reed'' [2LP]
|-
| 1976
| ''Jimmy Reed is Back''
|-
| 1980
| ''Upside Your Head'' ([[Charly Records|Charly]] CRB-1003)
|-
| rowspan="2"|1981
| ''High and Lonesome'' (Charly CRB-1013)
|-
| ''Got Me Dizzy'' (Charly CRB-1028)
|-
| 1985
| ''I'm the Man Down There'' (Charly CRB-1082)
|-
| 1993
| ''Speak the Lyrics to Me, Mama Reed'' (Vee Jay NVD2-705)
|}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jimmy-reed-mn0000076881/discography|title=Jimmy Reed &#124; Album Discography|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=March 10, 2021}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Blues harp]]
*[[List of blues musicians]]
*[[List of people from Mississippi]]
*[[List of people with epilepsy]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.bluesharp.ca/legends/jreed.html Webpage with detailed biography and photographs]
* [https://www.wirz.de/music/reedjim.htm Illustrated Jimmy Reed discography]

{{Jimmy Reed}}
{{1991 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Jimmy}}
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:1976 deaths]]
[[Category:American blues singers]]
[[Category:American blues guitarists]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Indiana]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Mississippi]]
[[Category:Blues revival musicians]]
[[Category:American street performers]]
[[Category:Electric blues musicians]]
[[Category:Harmonica blues musicians]]
[[Category:Musicians from Gary, Indiana]]
[[Category:People from Washington County, Mississippi]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Mississippi]]
[[Category:People with epilepsy]]
[[Category:Vee-Jay Records artists]]
[[Category:Deaths from respiratory failure in the United States]]
[[Category:Writers from Gary, Indiana]]
[[Category:American blues harmonica players]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:American male guitarists]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Navy sailors]]
[[Category:African-American guitarists]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American male singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American male singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:African-American United States Navy personnel]]
[[Category:African Americans in World War II]]
[[Category:Singers from Indiana]]
[[Category:Singers from Mississippi]]