Amos Moses - Jerry Reed (1970) 7/22/21

By 1970, Jerry Reed had been kicking around the country music scene for a decade or so and was gaining quite a reputation for his extraordinary guitar work...and his sense of humor.

He also had a thick--but endearing--Southern accent from growing up in the Atlanta area. (His charm later led to appearances in movies like 1977's "Smokey & The Bandit.") All of these things combined to make today's "Great Song of the '70s" a lot of fun--and yet--it surprised a lot of people!

Why? Because not only was "Amos Moses" Jerry's first Top 10 hit on Billboard's Hot 100, (#8)...it actually charted higher than it did on the Country Chart (#16)! In Canada it went to #2 on the Top 40, and didn't make the Country Chart at all!

This wasn't a crossover country-pop hybrid like you might hear during the '70s from the likes of Anne Murray or Charlie Rich. It was flat out COUNTRY with a little Cajun spice thrown in.

In fact, it was SO country, Jerry's accent created some misheard lyrics!

For example, many people (including me) thought Jerry was singing "Tippy Toe, Louisiana," when the actual lyric was "Thibodaux, Louisiana (pronounced TIB-a-doe.)

Another misheard lyric was the name of Amos' dad. Is it Doc Millsap? Or is it Duck Bill Sam? Both make sense in a "Cajun" context, but Jerry never clarified which was which--and sometimes would sing it both ways in concert.

Anyway, if Jerry wasn't on the average radio listener's radar before, "Amos Moses, certainly put him there...and primed everyone for his next release: "When You're Hot, You're Hot," which we highlighted back on 5/3/20. You can read about it here: (https://www.facebook.com/MichaelCuuuk/posts/174177584055697).

"Amos Moses." a "Great Song of 1970," and a Cajun kick-start to Jerry Reed's popularity!