Biography
Jim Reeves employed The Blue Boys as his touring ensemble, which featured an ever-changing roster of musicians. What began as the Wagon Masters underwent a name change in 1958 to The Blue Boys, inspired by Reeves’ successful track ‘Blue Boy’, in order to distinguish it from Porter Wagoner’s outfit amid Nashville’s music scene. The group’s early members included Billy Harlan handling bass duties, Royce Morgan on guitar, Jimmy Day playing steel guitar, and Pee Wee Kershaw on drums. Although Leo Jackson had previously served as Reeves’ primary guitarist, military obligations kept him away during the band’s rebranding, prompting Morgan to fill in temporarily. Roughly twelve months afterward, Reeves reconfigured the lineup through various iterations that incorporated James Kirkland, Henri Strzelecki, Mel Rogers, Bobby Dyson, and Roy Aldridge at different points, ultimately settling on Leo Jackson taking lead guitar, Dean Manuel at the piano, Bud Logan providing bass and vocals, and Jimmy Orr behind the drums. Following the tragic plane crash on 31 July 1964 that claimed both Reeves and Manuel, Bunky Keels assumed piano responsibilities as the ensemble persisted until its dissolution in 1968. During the latter part of the 1960s, they cut four albums under the RCA Victor Records banner and scored chart entries with ‘My Cup Runneth Over’ in 1967 along with ‘I’m Not Ready Yet’ two years later, credited to The Blue Boys featuring Bud Logan. Logan went on to secure additional hits in 1973 and 1974 through collaborations with Wilma Burgess on the Shannon label owned by Mary Reeves, specifically ‘Wake Me Into Love’ and ‘The Best Day Of The Rest Of My Life’. Eventually, Jackson and Keels transitioned into session work while Logan established himself as a prominent record producer.