"Another one of my favourites is by Jody Reynolds, a sort of teen anguish ballad, but one with a happy ending, and some lovely guitar playing as well." [1]
Jody Reynolds (December 3, 1932 – November 7, 2008) was an American rock and roll singer, guitarist, and songwriter whose song "Endless Sleep" was a major U.S. top-ten hit in the summer of 1958. (It failed to reach the UK charts until 1979, and then only at the lower end of the top 75: the UK hit version in 1958 was by Marty Wilde.) His follow-up single, "Fire of Love", peaked at only No. 66 on the Billboard chart, but the song went on to become a blues-punk classic after being covered by the MC5 and the Gun Club.
Col. Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager, signed Reynolds to his Boxcar Publishing Co., thinking Presley might be interested in some of his songs, though Presley died in 1977 before recording any of them. Reynolds included one of the songs he'd written for Presley, "Yesterday and Today", on a 1978 album.
Reynolds was a regular on the "oldies" circuit and a successful businessman in the U.S. Southwest. Beginning in the 1980s several compilations of his music were issued in the U.S. and Europe, and he enjoyed modest acclaim as a pioneer of rockabilly music.
In 1999 Reynolds was honoured with both a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, California, and induction into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Links to Peel[]
Endless Sleep was number 48 in John Peel's Record Box (it featured Al Casey on guitar). John played the record consistently over the years but neglected to include it in the Peelenium, and does not appear to have spun any of Reynolds' other material.
Festive Fifty Entries[]
- None
Sessions[]
- None
Other Shows Played[]
- 1982
- 07 August 1982: 'Endless Sleep'
- 17 November 1982: 'Endless Sleep'
- 1984
- 25 June 1984: 'Endless Sleep (LP - Endless Sleep)' (Tru-Gems)
- 1990
- 02 December 1990: 'Endless Sleep' (Single) Demon
- 1994
- 18 February 1994: Endless Sleep (CD - The Golden Age Of American Rock N Roll Vol 3) Ace
- 26 February 1994 (BFBS): Endless Sleep (CD - The Golden Age Of American Rock N Roll Vol 3) Ace
- 1998
- 26 August 1998: Endless Sleep (unknown release) (JP: 'And you all thought it all started with Twin Peaks. Not even close.')
- 1999
- 23 June 1999: Endless Sleep (7") London
- June 1999 (FSK): Endless Sleep (7") Demon
- 2003
- 19 June 2003: 'Endless Sleep (LP- Originals Still The Greatest Vol 1, 1957-60)' (K Tel)