Like a Moth to a Flame: The Jim Reeves Story [With Includes Six-Song CD]

I was reluctant to write a review about this book because there were so many comments by Jim Reeves fans that depicted this book as a horrible distortion of the real Jim Reeves. Well, I have read many articles about Jim Reeves and I have come to the same conclusion that the author, Michael Streissguth, concludes in this book. Jim was a very talented singer, performer, business man, and yet like so many other celebrities, he had his other side of life.Jim, at times, could be arrogant, obnoxious, mean and downright vulgar when dealing with other people. There is no bigger fan of Jim Reeves than I, but this book did not make me hate him or even diminision my love for the man and his music.The author did an excellent job of describing how talented, loved and respected Jim was and yet at the same time he pointed out his weakness in dealing with his peers.This is an excellent book for fans of Jim and no one will appreciate him less because the author told the entire story of this wonderful singer and performer.Bill Comer of Orlando, Florida

Professor Michael Streissguth's biography is an eye-opener and a valuable service to Jim Reeves fans. It contains the detailed information that might be of interest for reference purposes, as well as revealing the human side of Jim Reeves, both his failings like infidelity or explosions of temper, and his strengths, like protecting innocent people from victimisation and his undoubted generosity. It is good to have a biography written by a university academic, who is trained to evaluate evidence impartially. An especially interesting aspect of the book is its assessment of how Jim's career might have progressed had he lived, something which few people have tried to do. Another revealing aspect of the book is an answer to the puzzle of the apparent difference in the two styles of Jim Reeves, the later 'mellow' style and the earlier, high-pitched style, as can be seen in the two versions of the song 'Dear Hearts and Gentle People', for example. After reading Professor Streissguth's book, readers will know the answer to the mystery! A distinctive feature of the book is an accompanying CD, which contains a good sample of some of Jim Reeves' best songs, and will therefore provide a good introduction to readers who are new to his music. Jim Reeves recorded hundreds of songs, of course, and every reader will have his or her favourite few, but I think that it might be good to have a larger of number of songs with the CD in the next edition, hopefully including some of the following: Dear Hearts and Gentle People (later 'mellow' version), The Blizzard, Guilty, one or two religious songs (e.g. We Thank Thee, My Cathedral), one or two Afrikaans numbers (e.g. Tahiti, My Blinde Hart), and even one of the rare numbers mixing English and Afrikaans lines (e.g. The Old Kalahari, I'm Crying Again). The reviewer would also suggest some improvements to the main text. Some incident seem a bit doubtful as they stand, and could do with some filling in, where they seem at variance with Jim's general character. Another matter that could be improved is the detailed information which comes a little too thick and fast at times, and furthermore assumes readers to already have a good knowledge of country music. Hopefully such details will be more carefully selected, and their significance explained more fully, in the next edition, for which the reviewer wishes Professor Streissguth well.

I feel this book is a great tribute to Jim Reeves. Although he had a perfect voice, he wasn't a perfect human being. Being a devoted fan, I would've liked to think so. However,that is not so.I think no less of my idol,because of the written truth. My opinion of Jim was already formed before I ever read anything about him. Mike Streissguth did a fantastic research and chose to share his knowledge with Jim's public. It is a great book and I, for one will cherish it along with Jim's memory and unique voice. Thanks Mike!! As Ever-Patricia Moore

Jim Reeves could sing it all: country, pop, Christmas music and gospel. His inexplicably appealing voice drew people by droves into record shops and live performances in America and around the world. At the time of his death in 1964, Jim had the number one country music album in America and he had become the first international country music superstar.In a new biography by Michael Streissguth (actually, the only Reeves biography to date), Jim's musical career is told from his childhood in East Texas when he would sing while working in the cotton fields to his appearances on network television and in the concert halls of Europe. Much information about Jim's boyhood days came from his two surviving sisters. And in surprising detail, Streissguth writes of Jim's tremendously promising but ultimately disappointing baseball career. One potentially controversial aspect of the book is the author's telling of what might be called the dark side of Jim's personality. ! So many people have bought in to the "Gentleman Jim" public relations image of the man for so long, that learning of anything which contradicts that image might be considered near heresy. While, to many people he was indeed Gentleman Jim, he could also display what Streissguth calls an "ungraciousness". This ungraciousness could manifest itself in many ways: Jim being sarcastic with his bass player, yelling at a recording engineer, or refusing to perform because the piano was not in tune. These and worse incidents of ungraciousness are in the book . Streissguth generally presents a balanced account of Jim Reeves life and career by showing two sides of the same coin. There were some apparent contradictions in his life. He could be Gentleman Jim, but he had a hot temper. He didn't pay his band members much of a salary, but he donated his time and money to charitable causes and individuals down on their luck. He was a married man and he was a woman! chaser. He was one of the best singers ever in any catego! ry of music, yet his self doubt once caused him to tell his band members that he couldn't sing.Michael Streissguth is a good writer. Of course, he's helped in this case by the many dramatic events of Jim's life. But the same events told by a lesser talent could be less easily visualized by the reader.You can just see Jim on the mound and hear the crowd as he strikes out another batter. You can look out the window and see the ice on the wings of that rickety old airplane over South Africa. And there's that scene in the recording studio with the revolver... There will be some hard core fans who are disappointed with this book because it doesn't tell everything about Jim Reeves.They will wonder , "Where's the Carnegie Hall concert? What about the time Jim was emcee for a radiothon for the Tennessee Cerebral Palsy Floundation? What about this tour and that television show? Some would be satisfied with nothing less than an unabridged encyclopedia of his entire life!

I have read this wonderful book on Jim Reeves and learned a great deal. The author is a clear writer, and his research on Reeves' baseball career adds a whole new dimension to the life story of this wonderful singer. I recommend LIKE A MOTH TO A FLAME to anyone who has ever been curious about a singer who has been dead for three decades and yet still is always with us. Congratulations to the author!