Goebel Leon Reeves (October 9, 1899 – January 26, 1959) was an American folk singer. His most famous song is "Hobo's Lullaby," which has been covered by numerous singers, notably Woody Guthrie, his son Arlo, Emmylou Harris, and Billy Bragg & Joe Turner.
Born in Sherman, Texas, Reeves grew up in Austin, a son of a shoe salesman. His father rose from selling shoes to becoming a member of the Texas State Legislature. His mother taught voice and piano. In 1917 he enlisted in the army as a bugler; he was wounded in frontline action. He was discharged and in 1921 adopted the life of a hobo, writing and singing songs as he travelled. He travelled to Italy as a merchant seaman in the mid-1920s and toured Europe.
He arrived in Galveston in 1929 and the first sound he heard was a Jimmie Rodgers record playing from a record store. Making records seemed like a good idea, so he swung up on the next fast freight for New York practicing yodels in the boxcar straw. Reeves walked into Long Island recording studio of the Gennett Record Co. and told George Keats, the manager, that he was an important recording artist from Texas.
His first recordings were issued as Goeble Reeves, but that was too mundane; at all later sessions for Gennett Records, Okeh Records and A.R.C he used a variety of pseudonyms including: The Texas Drifter; The Yodelling Wrangler; George Riley; Bert Knowles; The Broadway Wrangler; The Yodelling Rustler; Johnny Fay; The Broadway Rustler and Louie Acker.
Reeves' big break came in 1931. He was invited to join the clientele of a high-class New York restaurant and, clutching his guitar, in he went. Graham McNamee, an NBC announcer, introduced "The Singing Bum" to Rudy Vallée, who immediately placed Reeves on his network radio show. Reeves was a great success, and signed an NBC contract for "three and a half". Reeves, not being the world's greatest accountant, divided several meals into $3.50. But when he got his pay check he was shocked; the three and a half turned out to be $350. Frank Black of Brunswick laid out the red carpet and allowed Reeves to make some transcription material ("Radio Station H.O.B.O. calling…"). During this time (around 1932‑34), Reeves met such artists as Carson Robison, Vernon Dalhart and Frank Luther.
Through the 1930s he cut about 35 sides for various labels; they followed the Rodgers mold in their mix of freedom-of-the-road yodeling numbers, comic pieces (such as a mother-in-law joke parody of "St. James Infirmary"), and sentimental ballads, but Reeves specialized in reflective hobo-philosopher recitations that were quite distinct from Rodgers' hobo pieces. He composed virtually all of his own recorded material.
Heavy drinking and smoking took a toll on Reeves' once melodic voice. His last sessions were in 1938 for the McGregor Transcription Recording Co. of Hollywood, California. These were numerous but not of his usual high vocal standard. The last transcriptions for McGregor were poems read to a strumming guitar, just before he joined the Wobblies (the Industrial Workers of the World). In the 1940s, Reeves was semi-retired in Bell Gardens, a Los Angeles suburb. He lived completely alone, having lost touch with family and friends.
Goebel Reeves died in Long Beach Veterans Hospital, California, of a heart attack, aged 59, on 26 January 1959. He was buried in the Veterans’ Cemetery five days later.
(Edited from Wikipedia & AllMusic)