Jerry Reed, who was famous as Burt Reynolds’ partner in “Smokey and the Bandit,” died Monday at his home outside Nashville of complications from emphysema, at the age of 71.

Reed gained fame in Hollywood due to his role in “W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings” in 1975, then in “Gator” in 1976, and then in the first of the three “Smokey and the Bandit” movies, where he played Cledus “Snowman” Snow.

His last important role was that of the hateful football coach in the 1998 comedy starring Adam Sandler: “The Waterboy.”

But before gaining glory through acting, Reed already was considered one of the best guitarists in Nashville and also a popular songwriter, who had written songs for Elvis Presley and other important singers including Tom Jones, Johnny Cash, Brenda Lee, Nat King Cole, the Oak Ridge Boys and Dean Martin. For Presley, Reed wrote “U.S. Male” and “Guitar Man”, both in 1968, and for Johnny Cash he wrote “A Thing Called Love” in 1972.

The Grammy Award-winning country guitarist was voted instrumentalist of the year in 1970 by the Country Music Association.

Reed won three Grammies: one for “When You're Hot, You're Hot” in 1971, one together with Chet Atkins for their collaboration “Me and Jerry,” and another one, with Atkins as well, for “Sneakin' Around,” in 1992.

“I'm proud of the songs, I'm proud of things that I did with Chet (Atkins), I'm proud that I played guitar and was accepted by musicians and guitar players,” the musician told the Associated Press in 1992.

However, no matter how attached he was to his music, Reed declared that growing up he had admired comedians as much as musicians, and that he hoped to emulate them in his own career. He also confessed that the movies he was in prolonged his stardom more than his top music hits did.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Reed learned to play guitar at age 8, when his mother bought him a $2 guitar and showed him how to play a G-chord. He later dropped out of high school so he could tour with Ernest Tubb and Faron Young, and at the age of 17 he signed his first recording contract with Capitol Records.

He released his first record at the age of 18, and 40 albums more, over his long career.

Reed used to say that his motivation for everything he did was money, but, as Nashville’s Tennessean said, the country singer’s health was in decline in recent years, but his attitude was getting better and better.

He told the newspaper last year that all that he’d ever done, for 50 years, was to “take, take, take.” So he decided it was time to start giving, but he realized he was way behind, like the rest of us.

Reed is survived by his wife, Priscilla; two daughters, Sedena and Lottie, and two grandchildren. There are no plans for a public memorial service, his booking agent Carrie Moore-Reed (not related to him) said.