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Jimmie Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933), known as "The Singing Brakeman" and "America's Blue Yodeler", was the first country music superstar, a status that resulted in another commonly used nickname, "The Father of Country Music". Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Jimmie Rodgers was the name of two singers: Jimmie Rodgers (country singer) Jimmie Rodgers (pop singer) Jimmie Rodgers (SPC Deputy Director General) Note that there was also a Jimmy Rogers (note the spelling), a blues singer born in 1924. ... is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Meridian is a city located in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County in Mississippi, a state of the United States of America. ... is the 146th day of the year (147th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... Blues music redirects here. ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making music. ... Acoustic guitar can refer to the following musical instruments: Nylon and gut stringed guitars: Renaissance guitar Baroque guitar Romantic guitar Classical guitar, the modern version of the original guitar, with nylon strings Flamenco guitar Steel stringed guitars: Steel-string acoustic guitar, also known as western, folk or country guitar Twelve... See also: 1922 in music, other events of 1923, 1924 in music and the list of years in music. Events November 19 - At a concert celebrating the 50th anniversery of the union of Buda and Pest (thus creating Budapest), Béla Bartóks Dance Suite and Zoltán Kod... See also: 1932 in music, other events of 1933, 1934 in music and the list of years in music. // Events January 23 - Béla Bartóks is premiered in Frankfurt National Association for American Composers and Conductors is founded by Henry Hadley. ... In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony BMG Music Entertainment. ... Louis[1] Armstrong[2] (4 August 1901[3] – July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo[4] and Pops, was an American jazz musician. ... William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was a Cherokee-American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, and actor. ... is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... is the 146th day of the year (147th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. ...

Early years

James Charles Rodgers was born in Meridian, Mississippi, the youngest of three sons. His mother died when he was very young, and Rodgers spent the next few years living with various relatives in southeast Mississippi and southwest Alabama. He eventually returned home to live with his father, Aaron Rodgers, a foreman on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, who had settled with a new wife in Meridian. Meridian is a city located in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County in Mississippi, a state of the United States of America. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... The Mobile and Ohio Railroad is a defunct U.S. railroad. ...

Performing career

Jimmie's affinity for entertaining came at an early age, and the lure of the road was irresistible to him. By age 13, he had twice organized and begun traveling shows, only to be brought home by his father. Mr. Rodgers found Jimmie his first job working on the railroad, as a waterboy. This is where he learned the cries and moans of the blues and was taught to pick and strum by the rail workers and the hoboes. A few years later, he became brakeman on the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad, a position secured by his oldest brother, Walter, a conductor on the line running between Meridian and New Orleans. New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ...

In 1924 at the age of 27, Jimmie contracted tuberculosis. The disease temporarily ended his railroad career, but, at the same time, gave him the chance to get back to his first love, entertainment. He organized a traveling road show and performed across the southeast until, once again, he was forced home after a cyclone destroyed his tent. He returned to railroad work as a brakeman on the east coast of Florida at Miami, but eventually his illness cost him his job. He relocated to Tucson, Arizona and was employed as a switchman by the Southern Pacific. The job lasted less than a year, and the Rodgers family (which by then included wife Carrie and daughter Anita) had settled back in Meridian by early 1927. This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ... This article is about the city in Florida. ... Nickname: The Old Pueblo Location in Pima County and the state of Arizona Coordinates: Country United States State Arizona Counties Pima Mayor Bob Walkup (R) Area    - City 505. ... Official language(s) English Spoken language(s) English 74. ... The Southern Pacific Railroad (AAR reporting marks SP) was an American railroad. ...

Success

Rodgers decided to travel to Asheville, North Carolina, later that same year. On April 18, at 9:30 p.m., Jimmie and Otis Kuykendall performed for the first time on WWNC, Asheville’s first radio station. A few months later Jimmie recruited a group from Tennessee called the Tenneva Ramblers and secured a weekly slot on the station as the Jimmie Rodgers Entertainers. Downtown Asheville bustles with activity at midday while smog silently obscures the Smoky Mountains to the west. ... Official language(s) English Demonym North Carolinian Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Largest metro area Charlotte metro area Area  Ranked 28th in the US  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (340 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (900 km)  - % water 9. ... is the 108th day of the year (109th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... WWNC-AM (570khz) is a radio station in Asheville, North Carolina. ...

The Tenneva Ramblers originally hailed from Bristol, Tennessee, and in late July 1927, Rodgers’ bandmates got word that Ralph Peer, a representative of the Victor Talking Machine Company, was coming to Bristol to audition and record area musicians. Rodgers and the group arrived in Bristol on August 3, 1927. Later that same day, they auditioned for Peer in an empty warehouse. Peer agreed to record them the next day. That night, as the band discussed how they would be billed on the record, an argument ensued and the band broke up and Rodgers arrived at the recording session alone. On Wednesday, August 4, 1927, Jimmie Rodgers completed his first session for Victor. It lasted from 2:00 p.m. to 4:20 p.m. and yielded two songs: "The Soldier's Sweetheart" and "Sleep, Baby, Sleep". For the test recordings, Rodgers received $100. This article is about the English city. ... This article is about the U.S. state of Tennessee. ... Ralph Peer (May 22, 1892 - January 19, 1960) was born Ralph Sylvester Peer in Independence, Missouri. ... Victor logo with the famous Nipper dog. ... is the 215th day of the year (216th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 216th day of the year (217th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The recordings were released on October 7, 1927, to modest success. In November; Rodgers, determined more than ever to make it in entertainment, headed to New York City in an effort to arrange another session with Peer. Peer agreed to record him again, and the two met in Philadelphia before traveling to Camden, New Jersey, to the Victor studios. Four songs made it out of this session, including "Blue Yodel", better known as "T for Texas". In the next two years, this recording sold nearly half a million copies, which was impressive enough to rocket Rodgers into stardom. After this, he got to determine when Peer and Victor would record him, and he sold out shows whenever and wherever he played. is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... For other uses, see Philadelphia (disambiguation) and Philly. ... Camden is the name of several places in the United States of America: Camden, Alabama Camden, Arkansas Camden, Delaware Camden County, Georgia Camden, Indiana Camden, Maine Camden, Michigan Camden, New Jersey Camden County, New Jersey Camden (village), New York Camden (town), New York Camden, Ohio Camden, South Carolina Camden, Tennessee... This article is about the U.S. state. ... The Blue Yodel songs are a series of thirteen songs written and recorded by Jimmie Rodgers during the period from 1927 to his death in May 1933. ...

In the next few years, Rodgers was very busy. He did a movie short for Columbia Pictures, The Singing Brakeman, and made various recordings across the country. He toured with humorist Will Rogers as part of a Red Cross tour across the Midwest. On July 16, 1930, he recorded "Blue Yodel No. 9" with jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong, whose wife, Lillian, played piano on the recording. The Columbia Pictures logo from 1993 to the present Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. ... William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was a Cherokee-American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, and actor. ... The Anarchist Black Cross was originally called the Anarchist Red Cross. The band Redd Kross was originally called Red Cross. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... is the 197th day of the year (198th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Louis[1] Armstrong[2] (4 August 1901[3] – July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo[4] and Pops, was an American jazz musician. ...

Final years

Rodgers's next-to-last recordings were made in August 1932 in Camden and it was clear that tuberculosis was getting the better of him. He had given up touring by that time but did have a weekly radio show in San Antonio, Texas, where he had relocated when "T for Texas" became a hit. Nickname: Location in the state of Texas Coordinates: Counties Bexar County Government  - Mayor Phil Hardberger Area  - City  412. ... For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ...

With the country in the grip of the Depression, the practice of making field recordings was quickly fading, so in May 1933, Rodgers traveled again to New York City for a group of sessions beginning May 17, 1933. He started these sessions recording alone and completed four songs on the first day. When he returned to the studio after a day’s rest, he had to record sitting down and soon retreated to his hotel in hopes of regaining enough energy to finish the songs he had been rehearsing. The recording engineer hired two session musicians to help Rodgers when he came back to the studio a few days later. Together they recorded a few songs, including "Mississippi Delta Blues". For his last song of the session, however, Jimmie chose to perform alone, and as a matching bookend to his career, recorded "Years Ago" by himself. For other uses, see The Great Depression (disambiguation). ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Jimmie Rodgers died two days later on May 26, 1933 from a lung hemorrhage. He was 35 years old. is the 146th day of the year (147th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the village in Tibet, see Lung, Tibet. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Legacy

When the Country Music Hall of Fame was established in 1961, Rodgers was one of the first three (with Fred Rose and Hank Williams) to be inducted. He was elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and, as an early influence, to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. "Blue Yodel No. 9" was selected as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. "Blue Yodel No. 1 (T for Texas)" was covered by Lynyrd Skynyrd on their live One More from the Road album. This official history of the Country Music Hall of Fame skirts the scandals well-documented by veteran Music Row historian Stacy Harris. ... Fred Rose (August 24, 1898 - December 1, 1954) was an American Hall of Fame songwriter and music publishing executive. ... For other persons named Hank Williams, see Hank Williams (disambiguation). ... The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. ... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, showing Lake Erie in the background The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated, as the name suggests, to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential rock and... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fames 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll is based on the permanent exhibit of the same name. ... The Blue Yodel songs are a series of thirteen songs written and recorded by Jimmie Rodgers during the period from 1927 to his death in May 1933. ... Lynyrd Skynyrd (pronounced lĕh-nérd skin-nérd) (pronounced ) is an iconic U.S. Southern rock band. ... One More From the Road is a live album by Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. ...

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 (who did several others in this series), who depicted him with brakeman's outfit and guitar, giving his "two thumbs up", along with a locomotive in silhouette in the background. is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... USPS and Usps redirect here. ... This 1998 stamp of the Faroe Islands marks the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. ...

Rodgers was ranked #33 on CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country Music in 2003. Country Music Television, or CMT as it usually called, is an American country music oriented cable television channel. ... The 40 Greatest Men of Country Music is a three hour television special held in 2003 by CMT. The special counted down the men who have made the greatest contribution to the genre, as well as leaving behind the greatest impact. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Since 1953, Meridian's Jimmie Rodgers Memorial Festival has been held annually during May to honor the anniversary of Rodgers' death. The first festival was on May 26, 1953. is the 146th day of the year (147th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Rodgers' legacy and influence is not limited to country music. He was influential to Ozark poet Frank Stanford, who composed a series of "blue yodel" poems, and a number of blues artists, among them Chester Arthur Burnett, better known as Howlin' Wolf. Frank Stanford (1949 - 1978) was a notable American poet. ... Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910 – January 10, 1976), better known as Howlin Wolf or sometimes, The Howlin Wolf, was an influential blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. ...

Historic marker

Jackson, Mississippi, as the birthplace of Jimmy Rodgers, was the first site outside the Mississippi Delta to receive a Mississippi Blues Trail designation. The ceremony was held at the Singing Brakeman Park located on Front Street and emphasized the importance of Rodgers to the development of the blues in Mississippi. Rodgers was known as the "Singing Brakeman" and the train was influential in the development of the blues both in the Mississippi Delta and throughout the state.^[1] This article is about Jackson, the city and related subjects within the city. ... This article is about the geographic region of the U.S. state of Mississippi. ... Mississippi Blues Trail, created by the Mississippi BLues Commission, is a project to place blues interpretive markers at the most notable historical sites related to the growth of the blues throughout the state of Mississippi, United States. ... Blues music redirects here. ...

Recordings

The Blue Yodel songs are a series of thirteen songs written and recorded by Jimmie Rodgers during the period from 1927 to his death in May 1933. ... In the Jailhouse Now is a song performed by many artists and which has at least three versions. ... Mule Skinner Blues (AKA Blue Yodel # 8) was a folk song cowritten by Jimmy Rodgers and George Vaughn in 1931. ...

Footnotes

2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini/Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 149th day of the year (150th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Porterfield, Nolan. (1998). "Jimmie Rodgers". The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kinsgbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 453-5. ISBN 0195116712 ISBN 0195176081

External links

• Official Site
• Ralph Peer Remembers Jimmie Rodgers
• Johnson City, Tennessee and Jimmie Rodgers
• geocities
• Nashville Songwriters Foundation
• Hall of Fame inductee