My Top 21 Jim Reeves Songs: Waltzing On Top of the World (#8)

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Back on July 31st, the 52nd anniversary of the death of Jim Reeves, I began counting down my 21 favorite songs by my all-time favorite singer. The countdown will conclude next Saturday, August 20, which is the 93rd anniversary of Jim's birth. Here's the next song on the list. #8: Waltzing On Top of the World You might notice something a little different here with the vocals. Way back when I mentioned that Reeves' early recordings were sung in a higher range than his normal baritone voice because his producer at the time, Fabor Robison, didn't think country fans wanted a singer with a deep voice. (Consider that this was about the same time that one of the biggest singers in America was the rather deep-voiced Tennessee Ernie Ford!) This was country era Jim Reeves, complete with fiddles (which disappeared from his recordings shortly after this 1955 session). In 1962 Reeves re-recorded this song, much slower, omitting two verses, and with "strings" and background vocals instead of fiddles and steel guitar. The voice sounds great, but I hate that version. It shows what overproduction can do to a great song. Waltzing On Top of the World Written by Jim Reeves and Al Courtney From Have I Told You Lately That I Love You, 1964 The original 1955 country recording: