Biography

Jimmy Eaves was born in a small town that does not even exist anymore, Eaves, Oklahoma. He also lived in a town called Poolville, where his great uncle, Jim Eaves home steaded land during teh Oklahoma Land Rush.

Jimmy got his first guitar (a Gene Autry guitar) when he was just about seven years old. There was an old gentleman who lived nearby that taught him to play the basic chords on the guitar. He began performin at several churches in the area. Jimmy also would take his guitar to school and perform for his classmates and teachers.

Hank Williams was his idol, but he loved all artists that are considered "hillbilly" singers. He appeared on a TV show in Lawton, Oklahoma called "The Southwest Jamboree" and also a television show called "The Dixie Boy Jordan Show" in Wichita Falls, Texas at the age of 14.

In January 1955, he enlisted in the Navy. He served the first half of his servicein Pensacola, Florida, the second half in Atsugi, Japan. He was discharged from the Navy in 1958.

But things were not so good when he returned home in 1958. He picked cotton and worked in the oil fields to pay the bills. He formed a small band and they played "The Davis Barn Dance" in Davis, Oklahoma. They would play for one-half the door money and needless to say, the band didn't last too long. He moved to Fort Worth, Texas in 1960. There he attended trade school at night and worked at a steel mill and auto repair shop in the day timne. He performed on the "Cowtown Hoe Down" in Fort Worth, Texas and numerous clubs in Oklahoma and Texas.

When the legendary Panther Hall opened in the early 1960's, he performed on some of the live television shows from Panther Hall that aired over Channel 11, KTVT in Fort Worth.

Jimmy and his wife Jenny (whom he married in 1956) recorded their first 45rpm record on the Panther label in the early 1960s. (No mention is made of what songs were on that recording, however.) Their oldest son Jimmy Lee, Jr. was about three years old when Jimmy decided to quit the music business. He became a "Fort Worth Fire Fighter" in 1965. Another son, David Lee was born in 1969. Jimmy did not perform for about 20 years. Everyone knew he really missed performing during that time.

After his children were grown, he started his musical career again. He formed a band in the late 1980s and called it the "Pure Country Band". He recorded his first cassette tape in 1990. A tribute to Hank Williams, Sr., it was called "Jimmy Eaves Sings the Hits of Hank Williams". He was also performing in the Fort Worth Stockyards at a club called "The Longhorn Saloon" for about six years. Other CDs followed; one in 1997 entitled "Jimmy Eaves Sings Pure Country" and another in 1999 entitled "Bringing Back Memories".

In May of 2001, Jimmy and Frankie Miller released a country gospel CD called "Frankie Miller and Jimmy Eaves Singing Gospel Music the Country Way". Jimmy says it was a pleasure to work with such a talented person as Frankie Miller, "The Black Land Farmer" and they also tour together on most shows. They have performed with many country acts such as Johnny Bush, Darrell McCall, Willie Nelson, Claude Gray, Floyd Tillman, Tilmon Frank and others over the past few years. Jimmy and Frankie were guests on "The Midnight Jamboree" at the Troubadour Theater in Nashville, Tennessee with Darrell and Mona McCall also at the original "Ernest Tubb Record Shop" on Broadway in Nashville, Tennessee with host George Hamilton IV.

Jimmy's work in television continues to this day. Frankie and Jimmy also host a country show in the Fort Worth Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas. The show has been on for over three years and special guests have included Johnny Bush, Billy Walker, Bill Mack, Darrell McCall and other great folks. They say sometimes it looks like a DJ convention