Elton John once played his songs in smoky English pubs to win over crowds, and in South Africa he outsold Elvis Presley himself. Jim Reeves, the velvet-voiced Texas balladeer known as Gentleman Jim, became one of country music's most improbable global superstars and a defining architect of the 1960s Nashville Sound.

From novelty-act beginnings to the close-mic crooning that crossed over to pop radio, Reeves swapped harsh steel guitar and fiddle twang for lush strings and smooth background vocals — then died in his prime, leaving producers to engineer new hits from his master tapes for decades. His story raises haunting questions about who recorded music really belongs to.

• "Four Walls" topped the country chart and crossed over to number 11 on pop radio

• "He'll Have to Go" ruled the country charts for 14 straight  ...