Jimmie Rodgers
James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as the "Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive yodeling. Rodgers was known as "The Singing Brakeman" and "America's Blue Yodeler". He has been cited as an inspiration by many artists, and he has been inducted into multiple halls of fame.
This article is about the country singer. For the pop singer, see Jimmie Rodgers (pop singer). For other people with similar names, see James Rogers.
Jimmie Rodgers
May 26, 1933 (aged 35)
- Singer-songwriter
- musician
- performer
1910–1933
-
Stella Kelly(m. 1917; div. 1919)
-
Carrie Williamson(m. 1920)
- Vocals
- acoustic guitar
- banjo
Originally from Meridian, Mississippi, Rodgers was the son of railroad worker Aaron Rodgers. During his early childhood, the family moved according to the needs of his father's employment, or Rodgers' own poor health. As a teenager, he was musically influenced by the diverse vaudeville shows that he often attended. At the age of 13, Rodgers won a local singing contest, and then traveled through the Southern United States with a medicine show. After his father took him back home to Meridian, Rodgers dropped out of school and joined the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, starting as a waterboy on his father's gang. He eventually became a brakeman, among other functions he performed. During his time working with different railroad companies, the singer further developed his musical style; he was influenced by the gandy dancers and their impromptu blues performances. Rodgers was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1924. By 1927, he stopped working for the railroad as a result of his health and decided to focus on his music career.
In 1927, Rodgers joined the Tenneva Ramblers band, who at the time were working at a radio station. After the band was fired from their spot, they worked in different resorts in the Blue Ridge Mountains. There, Rodgers became aware of the field recordings that Victor Talking Machine Company's engineer Ralph Peer was to undertake in Bristol, Tennessee. During what later became known as the Bristol sessions, Rodgers recorded solo, as he was deserted by his band after a disagreement. A second session with Rodgers was later arranged in Camden, New Jersey, at the singer's own insistence; that session produced "Blue Yodel No. 1 (T for Texas)". The song became a success, propelling Rodgers to national fame and beginning his recording career with the label, during which he produced over 100 songs.
Legacy[edit]
Influence[edit]
Rodgers is considered the "Father of Country Music".[104][105] The Country Music Hall of Fame inducted Rodgers among the inaugural class of 1961. According to the Hall of Fame, Rodgers "brought to the emerging genre of 'hillbilly music' a distinctive, colorful personality and a rousing vocal style" that "created and defined the role of the singing star in country music".[104] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Rodgers as an early influence with the class of 1986. Rodgers was inducted by Jerry Wexler, as the Hall of Fame determined that the genre "owes an immeasurable debt" to the singer, and that, despite being a country music singer, "his fusion of blues, Appalachian ballads and spirituals was an early framework for rock and roll" that influenced "everyone from Bob Dylan to Lynyrd Skynyrd".[105] The Blues Hall of Fame wrote about Rodgers induction: "His reworkings of the blues not only helped popularize the music with white audiences but were also performed by many singers from the African American community that produced the blues that inspired Rodgers in the first place".[106] Rodgers was the first artist inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 for his influence in artists of "every genre" through music that "fused hillbilly, gospel, blues, jazz, pop and mountain folk music into timeless American standards".[107] That same year, he was inducted to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The entry on Rodgers remarked on his "undying" influence on multiple generations of musicians.[108] He was also inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame in 1993 and 2018 respectively.[109][110]
For Encyclopædia Britannica, Rodgers' legacy made him "one of the principal figures in the emergence of the country and western style of popular music".[111] Rolling Stone magazine placed Rodgers at number 11 on its 100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time list,[112] and at number 88 on their 200 Greatest Singers of All Time list.[113] Allmusic has described Rodgers as "the first nationally known star of country music", noted his influence on later musicians and declared that the singer "affected the history of country music by making it a viable, commercially popular medium".[114]
Country singers Gene Autry and Jimmie Davis, as well as western swing singer Tommy Duncan, were heavily influenced by Rodgers. Autry, Davis and Duncan recorded multiple songs of his repertoire, including yodeling tracks, until they changed their styles to avoid being deemed imitators.[115][116] As a teenager, Hank Snow heard Rodgers' "Moonlight and Skies" on the radio. Snow started to imitate Rodgers' guitar playing and singing style, and he would later credit him as his one major influence.[117] "Moonlight and Skies" was one of his most popular songs in many parts of the country.[118] Ernest Tubb also considered Rodgers to be his greatest influence. Early in his career, Tubb kept a picture of Rodgers, which at one point became worn out. He then decided to call Rodgers' widow to obtain a new copy. Carrie Rodgers invited him and his family to her home. Eventually, she decided to help Tubb with his career: they recorded a duet of the tribute song "We Miss Him When the Evening Shadows Fall" and Carrie presented Tubb with Rodgers' guitar as a gift.[119] Robert Johnson's step-sister, Annye, remembered Rodgers as their favorite country singer. Johnson played "Waiting for a Train" and imitated Rodgers' yodel.[120] Other artists that have acknowledged influence by Rodgers include Lefty Frizzell,[121] Roy Rogers, Eddy Arnold,[51] Jerry Lee Lewis,[122] Johnny Cash,[123] Willie Nelson,[107] Merle Haggard,[124] Bob Dylan,[125] George Harrison,[126] Lynyrd Skynyrd,[105] John Fahey,[127] and Alison Krauss.[107] Rodgers' appearance on The Singing Brakeman is considered one of the first music videos.[128][129]
In South Africa, Rodgers' records were distributed by Regal Zonophone Records.[130] In his autobiography, Down Second Avenue, writer Es'kia Mphahlele described about his memories of young men bringing gramophones and Rodgers' records from Pretoria, and how his music could be heard on Christmas Day throughout his village.[131] Rodgers' records sold particularly well in Durban, a city mostly populated by the Zulu. In 1930, singers Griffiths Motsieloa and Ignatius Monare recorded their version of a blue yodel in Zulu language, entitled "Aubuti Nkikho", in London. In 1932, William Mseleku recorded "Eku Hambeni" and "Sifikile Tina". The songs were inspired by Rodgers' style and recorded in Zulu.[130] Rodgers influenced several Zimbabwean acoustic guitarists of the 1940s, who had heard records imported from South Africa, including Chinemberi, Mattaka, Jacob Mhungu and Jeremiah Kainga. Local artists developed a two-finger playing style that used the thumb and first finger to emulate the sound of the singer and they frequently used yodels.[132] Recordings of Rodgers were taken to the Great Rift Valley of Kenya by English missionaries who lived among the Kipsigis people. The tribe sang about Rodgers in a traditional song recorded in 1950 by ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracey who later named it "Chemirocha III".[133]
Tributes[edit]
In January 1935, Grand Ole Opry artists the Delmore Brothers and Uncle Dave Macon stopped on their way to New Orleans to visit Rodgers' brother Talmage and his wife in Meridian to play a tribute song called "Blue Railroad Train".[134] That same year, Rodgers' widow published a biographical book: My Husband, Jimmie Rodgers.[135] On May 16, 1953, the first Jimmie Rodgers Memorial Festival was held in Meridian. The festival featured appearances by country music singers and other entertainers who were influenced by Rodgers, as well as his family members. The festival was celebrated in an intermittent fashion until it became a recurring event starting in 1972.[136] Attendees at the first event included Carrie Rodgers, Elsie McWilliams, Ralph Peer, Hugh L. White, Frank G. Clement, railroad representatives, Mary Jones (the wife of engineer Casey Jones) and Lillie Williams (Hank Williams' mother). Several performers who were influenced by Rodgers were present, including 25 Grand Ole Opry artists led by Ernest Tubb and Hank Snow. The show attracted a crowd of 30,000. A granite monument to Rodgers was unveiled, as well as a static locomotive as a memorial to the deceased railroad workers of Meridian.[137]
On May 24, 1978, the United States Postal Service issued a 13-cent commemorative stamp honoring Rodgers, the first in its long-running Performing Arts Series. The stamp was designed by Jim Sharpe and depicted Rodgers with brakeman's outfit and guitar, standing in front of a locomotive giving his famous "two thumbs up" gesture.[138] The 1982 film Honkytonk Man, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, was loosely based on Rodgers' life.[139] In 1997, Bob Dylan put together a tribute compilation of major artists covering Rodgers' songs, The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers: A Tribute. The artists included Bono, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Jerry Garcia, Dickey Betts, Dwight Yoakam, Aaron Neville, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson and others.[140] In 2004, Steve Forbert's tribute album Any Old Time was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album.[141] In 2007, Rodgers was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in his hometown of Meridian, the first outside of the Mississippi Delta.[142] In May 2010, a marker on the Mississippi Country Music Trail was erected near Rodgers' grave site.[143] The Elton John and Leon Russell 2010 collaboration The Union featured the tribute "Jimmie Rodgers' Dream".[144] In 2013, a North Carolina historical marker was dedicated on Haywood Street in Asheville.[145]