"The Guitar Man," singer Jerry Reed dies at 71

Singer and actor Jerry Reed, best known as "The Guitar Man" of country music, is seen in this undated handout

Sept. 3 -- "The Guitar Man" actor and singer Jerry Reed died from complications from emphysema at the age of 71, according to media reports Wednesday.

Called a larger-than-life personality by Sony BMG Nashville Chairman Joe Galante, Reed died in Nashville, Tennessee, Monday.

Reed was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and released more than 40 albums over a long career. He switched his career from writing hit songs like "When You're Hot, You're Hot" to major acting roles in Hollywood.

At age 8 Reed learned to play guitar and he dropped out of high school to tour with Ernest Tubb and Faron Young.

At 17, he signed his first recording contract with Capitol Records.

Reed first established himself as a songwriter. Elvis Presley recorded two of his songs in 1968, "U.S. Male" and "Guitar Man."

As a singer in the 1970s and early 1980s, Reed's hits included "Amos Moses," "When You're Hot, You're Hot," "East Bound and Down," "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)" and "The Bird."

In the mid-1970s, Reed teamed up with friend and actor Burt Reynolds and appeared in the three "Smokey and the Bandit" movies as Reynolds' truck-driving sidekick "The Snowman." He also wrote the hit song "East Bound and Down" from the first movie.

Reed later played Coach Red Beaulieu in the 1998 movie "The Waterboy" with Adam Sandler.

Reed won two Grammys in the early 1970s and another in 1992 for the album "Sneakin' Around."

(Agencies)