He attended Appalachian State College in Boone, N.C., and served in the Air Force, performing and writing songs while stationed at Travis Air Force Base in California. He was regarded as a rising singer-songwriter by the time he moved from California to Nashville in 1962.During his 40 years at the Opry, he was hailed as one of its best entertainers because of his comic timing. In addition to his music, he did impressions of stars such as Jimmy Stewart, Johnny Cash and Walter Brennan.

 His "Girl on the Billboard" sold a million copies and earned him the nickname of the Doodle-Oo-Doo-Doo Kid for the nonsense syllables that he sang with the song's guitar intro.  His other hits included "The Belles of Southern Bell," "Women Do Funny Things to Me," "Looking at the World Through a Windshield," "Good Time Charlie's," "Be Glad" and "The Philadelphia Fillies."

Reeves became a regular performer on the Opry in 1966, and performed for up to 1 million people a year on the long-running country show.

"I listened on the radio on Saturday nights and it was the ultimate," he said in 1988. "As a child, I told my daddy I was going to sing on the Opry one day. He said, 'Yeah,sure you are.' I kept my goal in mind and in '66 we achieved it."

"He was one of the best entertainers that ever came through the Opry, I think," said Kelso Herston, who signed Reeves to the United Artists label in the '60s and produced some of his early records, including "Girl on the Billboard."

"He was happy-go-lucky. He had a positive attitude and was a great person. A great friend."

"He epitomized the '60s country star, from the clothes to the demeanor to the hairdo to the guitar to the pointy-toed boots," said fellow Opry member Marty Stuart to The Tennessean. "And at a time when Nashville was known for 'twang,' he was the king of that."

"I first became aware of Del when he had a syndicated television show that I picked up in South and North Carolina as a kid," said singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale, who would later go on to duet with Mr. Reeves on a song called "Diesel, Diesel, Diesel." "I was so impressed by his voice but also impressed by the way he entertained. He was a real showman,"

Reeves said he turned to impressions and light material early in his career.

"I couldn't really sell a ballad," he said. "It had to be material on the lighter side. Under this clown's face, there's a serious guy. But I never got to show it because I got tagged as that clown. I've been clowning as long as I can remember."

In the late 1960s, Reeves had his own syndicated TV show, "The Del Reeves Country Carnival." He also appeared in several movies, including "Sam Whiskey," starring Burt Reynolds and Clint Walker.