Although “Lil’ Jimi Reed” didn’t see her, he was told that Her Majesty the Queen of England was in the audience when he play recently at the coliseum in London.

If the Queen was in the audience, that was a great honor, Reed said.

“But I’m just as honored to play for the seniors here at the Troy Nutrition Center,” Reed said with a grin that spread across his face. “I love to play at senior centers and nursing homes. It’s always an honor.”

The Enterprise resident is a regular performer at 13 area senior centers and nursing homes, and he plays his heart out when he is there just as he does when he’s on the road.

“I grew up in rural Louisiana, across the street from a nightclub,” Reed said. “I loved to hear the sound of the guitars and pianos, and I really did love the jukebox. I’d pretend to play the guitar. Then, one day a man gave me a guitar made out of a cigar box. That got me started dreaming of becoming a famous musician.”

On his search for his place in the work-world, Reed, then 18 years old, decided to attend barber college in Little Rock, Ark. He continued to play and “sing the blues” in local clubs.

For a time, it seemed that Reed was destined to play juke joints and blues alleys. Then, one night he got the break that propelled him onto the stage and into the bright lights.

“I’d heard that Jimmy Reed was playing at the civic center and I went to hear him,” Reed said. “Lucky for me, Jimmy Reed got drunk and couldn’t sing. They put him out the back door and brought me in the front door. I don’t think anybody ever knew the difference.”

That night, Leon Adkins became Lil’ Jimi Reed, the “bluesman.”

Reed, retired from the United States Army in 1992 and “played the blues” everywhere he went.

Now, he’s playing the blues at home in Alabama and across the deep, blue ocean.

“I just got home from London about two weeks ago,” he said. “Over there, they love the blues, and I loved playing it for them. I had a great time.”

“I’ve got 14 concerts coming up in Spain and 14 in Ireland. I won’t be able to understand what those people are saying to me but they’ll be able to understand me. Everybody understands the blues.”

Reed said he’ll also do a concert tour in Russia soon. He already has 10 concert dates there.

“The blues gives you a good feeling,” he said. “There’s nothing better to do than sit and listen to the words of a blues song. That’s what the blues is all about. The words. I love people and I love singing the blues. I am a bluesman.”