“The Likes of Me” was written by Jerry Reed, the Atlanta-born guitarist, singer, songwriter and actor whose hits included “Guitar Man,” “Amos Moses” and “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot,” the last of which won a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. Reed recorded it on his RCA Victor album Better Things in Life (LSP-4147), released in March 1969, where it is the third track.
The lyric is addressed to a woman. As a storm rages outside, he asks whether she would do better to try taming the elements than to try to tame his soul, and tells her that a settled life — a nine-to-five job, a family, a baby boy on his knee — is not in the cards for a man like him. He is a restless soul who will follow the sunrise over the hill, and he warns her not to set her mind on changing him.
The Bluegrass Alliance included it on their 1970 American Heritage LP Newgrass (AH 10-30S), with Danny Jones singing lead, Lonnie Peerce on fiddle and tenor, Dan Crary on guitar and baritone, and Buddy Spurlock on banjo. Tony Rice recorded it in January 1983 at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California, for his Rounder album Cold on the Shoulder (Rounder 0183, 1984), singing lead and playing guitar with Sam Bush on mandolin, Béla Fleck on banjo, Vassar Clements on fiddle, Jerry Douglas on dobro and Todd Phillips on bass.
