WHY DID JERRY REED HOLD ON TO A BEAT-UP SEVEN-DOLLAR GUITAR FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE WHEN HE COULD HAVE OWNED THE MOST EXPENSIVE INSTRUMENTS IN THE WORLD? FOR YEARS, EVEN HIS CLOSEST FRIENDS COULDN’T UNDERSTAND—UNTIL HIS DAUGHTER FINALLY REVEALED THE HEARTBREAKING STORY THAT BEGAN IN 1944, WHEN A MOTHER’S SIMPLE GIFT CHANGED THE COURSE OF COUNTRY MUSIC FOREVER. BEFORE THE AWARDS, BEFORE ELVIS PRESLEY SOUGHT HIM OUT, BEFORE HE BECAME ONE OF THE GREATEST GUITAR PLAYERS OF HIS GENERATION, THERE WAS ONLY A LONELY LITTLE BOY, A SECONDHAND GUITAR THAT COST JUST SEVEN DOLLARS, AND TWO CHORDS TAUGHT WITH LOVE. WHAT THAT HUMBLE MOMENT MEANT TO JERRY REED EXPLAINS WHY HE NEVER LET SUCCESS ERASE HIS PAST—AND WHY HIS DAUGHTER’S EMOTIONAL WORDS CONTINUE TO MOVE FANS WHO BELIEVE THE GREATEST LEGACIES ARE BUILT NOT ON FAME, BUT ON GRATITUDE, FAMILY, AND THE PEOPLE WHO BELIEVED IN US FIRST.
When people think of Jerry Reed, they often picture one of the greatest guitar players...