Line from movie inspired Anderson to write hit song
This week in 1960: Britain launched their first nuclear-powered sub; The United States and Canada agreed to build a hydroelectric plant on The Columbia River; The U.S. placed an embargo on goods to Cuba; and a singer from Galloway, Texas, had his 29th hit record.
A lot of song ideas come from lines in movies, and according to Bill Anderson—Jim Reeves 1960 hit, “I Missed Me” was one of those tunes.
Anderson said, “That line was in a movie I was watching—I think it was a Jerry Lewis movie—I’m not sure—and I don’t remember the name of it but the guy in the movie said “I missed me being at your house last night” and again that songwriter’s antenna was flopping around. You know—to one person it’s a line in a movie and to somebody else, it’s a title for a song. So “I Missed Me” came from that line in that movie.”
Jim Reeves’ RCA Victor single “I Missed Me” entered the country music charts Oct. 31, 1960, and peaked at No, 3—where it stayed for three weeks.
It was his 29th charted song and was on the charts for 25 weeks.
Jim Reeves placed 80 songs on the country music charts between 1953 and 1984—including duets with Ginny Wright and with Dottie West—plus electronically produced duets with Patsy Cline and with Deborah Allen.
Reeves joined The Grand Ole Opry in 1955 and was inducted into The Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1967.
Reeves died in a plane crash in 1964.