Jimmy Reed was natural around Dunleith, Mississippi in 1925, learning the harmonica and guitar from Eddie Taylor, a close friend. When spending many years performing in the area, Reed moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1943 before being drafted into a United States Navy during World War II. Inside 1945, Reed was discharged & pull back to Mississippi for a brief period of time, marrying Mary "Mama" Reed prior to moving to Gary, Indiana to work at an Armour & Co. meat packing plant.

Per dawn of the 1950s, Reed had established himself as a popular local musician & joined a Gary Kings with John Brim, when well as swimming on the street using Willie Joe Duncan. Reed failed to benefit the locate Chess Records, but then signed sustaining Vee-Jay Records through Brim's drummer, Albert King. At Vee-Jay, Reed began swimming once again by owning Eddie Taylor & before long freed "You Don't Have To Go", his number one hit song. This was followed by an extended string of hits. Reed maintained his reputation, around spite of rampant alcoholism. For instance, his married woman experienced to help him remember a lyrics to his songs when performing. Around 1957, Reed developed epilepsy, though the disease wwhen non aright diagnosed for an extended instance, as Reed & doctors assumed it was delirium tremens.

Within spite of his many hits, Reed's personalized problems prevented him from either achieving a equivalent level of fame when additional popular blues creative person of the instance, though he experienced more hit songs than any others. Whenever Vee-Jay Records ceased operations, Reed's manager signed a locate the fledgling ABC-Bluesway label, but Reed was never take a breath to score a second hit.

Jimmy Reed died around 1976 two or three years short of his 51st birthday. He is interred within the Lincoln Cemetery in Worth, Illinois.

Around 1991 Jimmy Reed was inducted posthumously into a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A Rolling Stones have cited Reed as a major influence on their healthy, & one of a Stones' foremost recordings was their handle of Reed's "Honest I Do." His recording of "Big Boss Man" was voted one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

de:Jimmy Reed