Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed (September 6 1925 - August 29 1976 blank">IMDb biography details - accessed December 2007 ) was an _American blues singer notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries. His lazy, slack-jawed singing, piercing harmonica and hypnotic guitar patterns were one of the blues most easily identifiable sounds in the 1950s and 1960s.

Jimmy Reed was born on September 6, 1925, in Dunleith, Mississippi. He was a blues singer and songwriter who played the guitar and harmonica. When he sang, he would slur his words. He produced a series of hits in the 50’s that made him the most successful blues singer of the era. Reed sang in church and played the guitar with his friend Eddie Taylor. He left school in 1939 in search of work. He found a job farming around Duncan and Meltonia, Mississippi.Jackie Myers, SHS However, between 1943