Monday, October 12, 2009

Jimmie Rodgers - This is Jimmie Rodgers


Jimmie Rodgers (1897 – 1933) was the first inductee to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961. The other 2 inductees in 1961 were Hank Williams (singer and song writer) and Fred Rose (song writer).

At the age of 13, Jimmie Rodgers had already organized and begun his traveling show. As Jimmie’s father was a railroad foreman, he brought back Jimmie Rodgers from the road and sent Jimmie to his work place to work as a waterboy. As few years later, he became a brakeman.

In 1924, at the age of 27, Jimmie contracted tuberculosis. The disease forced him to stop working and began his traveling road shows. He returned to work as a brakeman once but his tuberculosis finally ended his working career in 1927.

Jimmie first singles was released on Oct 1927 with just modest success. He achieved great success when he released his second singles on Feb 1928. That singles that contained “T for Texas” and “Away Out on the Mountain” sold nearly half a million copies.

With his new found fame, Jimmie Rodger was so busy touring and recording. However, he body got weaker and weaker. In May 1933, he passed away. His singing career lasted just 7 short years.

I came to know Jimmie Rodgers from the LP “Wagon Wheels. Legendary Songs of the Old West” in Nov 2006. However, my search for his LPs yielded no results until Feb 2008. I found an LP with the album cover of “Tex Ritter – Just Beyond the Moon”. After I checked the LP’s conditions, I decided to buy the record. After I cleaned the LP at home and played, I was so surprised to hear anything but the macho voice of Text Ritter. I checked the LP immediately and to my pleasant surprise, the title of the LP was “This is Jimmie Rodgers Side3 and Side 4” It must be from a double-LP album. Anyway, I didn’t mind at all!

My favourite songs in this album are My Old Pal and Waiting For A Train.

Song List:
Side 3 - In The Jailhouse Now No 2, My Carolina Sunshine Girl, My Old Pal, My Rough And Rowdy Ways, Never No Mo' Blues.

Side 4 - Peach Picking Time Down In Georgia, Treasures Untold, Waiting For A Train, Pistol Packin' Mama

5 comments:

  1. Wow! You stumped me. Heard about him but I didnt know he lived so long ago. Good vinyl. Might be priceless now. Hard to get.

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  2. Yes, it took me so long to find his album. This LP is definitely priceless to me.

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  4. Name sounds very familiar but maybe it's an actor who I have in mind.

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  5. Roger, maybe this is a common name.

    Sometimes ago, I found an LP of Jimmie Rogers or Jimmy Rogers (can't remember exactly). I thought it was the legendary Jimmie Rodgers and nearly bought the LP.

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