A cancelled cheque, dated May 6 1960, drawn on the account of Jim Reeves Enterprises, signed with a fountain pen by Jim Reeves. It is made out to 'American Federation of Musicians Local 149' (was he paying his dues?) in the amount of $10.50. A rare and very desirable piece of country music memorabilia.

Born in Galloway, Texas, singer/songwriter Jim Reeves was one of the biggest country music stars of the 1950s and 60s. He enjoyed a string of chart-topping hits in America and was one of the few Western singers who became widely known in the non-European world, including Africa, India and Southeast Asia. To this day he is affectionately remembered in those parts.

At 1 p.m. on the afternoon of August 2nd 1964, radio stations across the United States announced to their shocked and stunned audiences that Jim Reeves had been killed in a plane crash. Many thousands of people turned out to pay their last respects to 'Gentleman Jim' at his funeral, which took place on August 4, 1964. The coffin, draped in flowers from respectful fans, was driven through the silent streets of Nashville and to Jim's final resting place near his home town of Carthage, Texas.

Two years later his record "Distant Drums" went to number one in the British singles chart and remained in pole position for a remarkable five weeks - beating off stiff competition from The Beatles - and remained in the UK charts for a staggering forty-five weeks as well as topping the US country music charts. Long after his death Jim continued to enjoy healthy record sales for both the old albums and a series of new ones. His widow, Mary, combined unreleased tracks with re-recorded previous releases (placing updated instrumentals alongside Reeves' original vocals) to produce a regular series of "new" albums.

He was elected posthumously to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1967, and in 1998 he was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in Carthage, Texas, where the Jim Reeves Memorial is located.