John Anderson Praises Good Friend, 2017 Country Music Hall of Fame Inductee Jerry Reed
When Jerry Reed was announced as one of the Class of 2017 inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame, John Anderson was among those who were exceptionally proud of Reed's achievement. Anderson tells The Boot that he had been lobbying to get Reed -- a successful songwriter, singer and actor who wrote several of his own hits, including "When You're Hot, You're Hot" and "East Bound and Down" -- into the Hall of Fame for a while.
"I was one of the ones that kept stomping and telling the people that I knew that voted or were on the board -- I said, ‘You better get Jerry Reed in. You’re late,'" Anderson shared with The Boot and other reporters at a recent event. "Jerry Reed not only was one of the greatest songwriters, and probably one of the greatest songwriters ever in the world, [he] wasn’t too bad of a singer when it came to singing his stuff. But also, Jerry crossed that line and went to Hollywood, made movies.
"I was fortunate enough to be fishing buddies with Jerry Reed," Anderson adds (Reed died in 2008, at the age of 71). "Jerry was a wonderful person, and a great, great artist -- one of the greatest."
Anderson also has words of praise for another Class of 2017 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Alan Jackson. He and Reed will soon officially be added to the Hall of Fame, along with songwriter Don Schlitz.
"I had the chance to work many shows with Alan when he first got started," Anderson recalls. "Actually, I shouldn’t say 'getting started' -- he was pretty well established because I remember we were opening the shows. He started off with a bang."
The Country Music Hall of Fame's 2017 induction ceremony is scheduled to take place on Oct. 22.
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