JERRY REED : When You're Hot, You're Hot (1971)

R.I.P. 1937 - 2008

Jerry Reed, whose roles in three "Smokey and the Bandit" Southern comedy films opposite Burt Reynolds often overshadowed his gifts as a prolific country singer-songwriter and virtuoso guitarist, died Monday Aug. 31 at his home outside Nashville of complications from emphysema. He was 71."He was still recording right up until he couldn't any more," his booking agent, Carrie Moore-Reed, who is not related, said Tuesday. "He had been ill for some time."

Reed gained widespread fame as Reynolds' wisecracking foil starting with "W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings" in 1975, followed the next year by "Gator" and then, in 1977, the first of three "Smokey and the Bandit" movies in which he played Cledus "Snowman" Snow. In his last major film role, he played a harsh football coach in the 1998 Adam Sandler comedy "The Waterboy."

But before he made the jump to Hollywood he had established himself as one of the most sought-after guitarists in Nashville, a songwriter who wrote hits for Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Brenda Lee and many others. He became a regular presence on the pop and country charts in the '70s and '80s with humorous hits including "When You're Hot, You're Hot," "Amos Moses," "East Bound and Down" and "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)."

This novelty country song was quite a hit for Reed. Mainly because of how goofy and catchy it is! But he DID win a Grammy for it that year for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.

Song : "When You're Hot, You're Hot"
From the LP "When You're Hot, You're Hot" (RCA Victor) 1971

Get it here : When You're Hot, You're Hot