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Jimmie Rodgers
Most people know that Jimmie Rodgers is considered the father of modern country music, but some may be surprised to learn he has also been acknowledged as a “Forefather of Rock and Roll,” an honor bestowed upon the Mississippi-born artist by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Another surprise is that Rodgers earned his well-deserved titles in a professional recording career that only spanned seven years before his untimely death from tuberculosis in 1933.
Rodgers, born September 8, 1897, in Pine Springs, was raised by his aunt Dora and then his father after his mother died in 1903. Aaron Rodgers worked for the M&O Railroad and often brought his son to work. Young Jimmie would bring water to the black work crews, who sang while they toiled as a way to keep their picks in unison. Growing up in the city of Meridian, Rodgers also heard music at the local opera house, at the vaudeville theater, and in pool halls. That gave him a background in blues, jazz, and popular music, as well as the string-band instrumentals that were called “hillbilly” music. He started entering amateur singing contests when he was 12, and learned to play the banjo and the mandolin.
Rodgers worked at random railroad jobs until 1924, when he contracted TB. With his wife, Carrie, he moved to North Carolina and formed a band called the Jimmie Rodgers Entertainers. They had a radio show on WWNC in Asheville, North Carolina. In 1927, Rodgers heard that Ralph Peer of the Victor Talking Machine Company was auditioning hillbilly acts in Bristol, Virginia, on the Tennessee border. The band split from Rodgers before the audition, so Rodgers sang for Peer as a solo artist in a vacant hat warehouse. Peer recalled his first meeting with Rodgers in “Bluegrass West!”: “I was elated when I heard him perform. It seemed to me that he had his own personal and peculiar style, and I thought that his yodel alone might spell success. Very definitely he was worth a trial. We ran into a snag almost immediately because, in order to earn a living in Asheville, he was singing mostly songs originated by New York publishers—the current hits. Actually, he had only one song of his own, "Soldier's Sweetheart," written several years before. When I told Jimmie what I needed to put him over as a recording artist, his perennial optimism bubbled over. If I would give him a week he could have a dozen songs ready for recording. I let him record his own song, and as a coupling his unique version of "Rock All Our Babies to Sleep." This, I thought, would be a very good coupling, as "Soldier's Sweetheart" was a straight ballad and the other side gave him a chance to display his ability as a yodeler. In spite of the lack of original repertoire, I considered Rodgers to be one of my best bets.”
Rodgers’ initial Victor recordings sold well, so Peer brought Rodgers to the company’s studios in New Jersey to record more material, starting with his first “Blue Yodel,” a.k.a. “T for Texas.” The song became a million-seller and Rodgers became the first major star of country music, with a new radio show on WTFF in Washington, D.C. “Brakeman’s Blues” also sold a million. In 1929 Rodgers made a short film, “The Singing Brakeman,” which became his nickname. He toured the country on major vaudeville shows and became the first country artist to endorse an instrument, the Weymann “Jimmie Rodgers Special” guitar.
Despite the depression, Rodgers’ records continued to sell well. According to one count, he made 110 recordings between 1927 and 1933. Rodgers became very wealthy, and lived well, despite his failing health, chronicled in his song “T.B. Blues.”
Having enjoyed the high life, Rodgers fell into debt in the early 1930s. Needing money, he received a cash advance of $250 per side from Peer to record 12 songs in New York in May 1933. Rodgers’ health was so poor, it took two weeks to finish the 12 sides, and two days after completing the sessions he died in his hotel room on May 26.
Rodgers’ music had an immediate influence on younger singers coming up during his lifetime, including Hank Snow, Ernest Tubb, Jimmie Davis, and Gene Autry. Years later, artists like Bill Monroe, Lefty Frizzell, Elton Britt, Johnny Bond, Johnny Cash, and Merle Haggard were also strongly influenced by Rodgers.
In 1961, Rodgers was the first person inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He remains one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, still inspiring artists in the 21st century.
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