Among Reeves’ most successful posthumous hits (he died July 1964), this “Distant Drums” recording began life as a sparsely arranged 1961 demo, produced for the writer Cindy Walker and not considered for release at the time. Eventually issued in early 1966 with the additional overdubbed orchestral backing, the single became the ninth of Reeves’ eleven Billboard Country chart-toppers and also spent five weeks at #1 in the UK, where releases of his ‘new’ singles continued to enjoy favor into the 1970s.
Pop Chart Peaks: Record World 43, Billboard 45, Cash Box 55 - C&W Peak: 1 - UK Peak: 1
Transferred from mono single RCA Victor 47-8789 - Distant Drums (Cindy Walker) by Jim Reeves, produced by Chet Atkins
THE 1966 HITS ARCHIVE - Here in one place, a comprehensive collection of ‘pop’ best-sellers and songs which made an impact that were either released or enjoyed a major chunk of their popularity within the calendar year 1966 (some were recorded in 1965)
