Difference between revisions of "Jimmie Rodgers" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
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{{dablink|For the singer of "Honeycomb", see [[Jimmie Rodgers (pop singer)]].}}
 
{{Infobox musical artist  <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians —>
 
{{Infobox musical artist  <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians —>
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| Name                = Gene Autry
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| Name                = Jimmie Rodgers
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| Img                = GeneAutry.jpg
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| Img                =  
 
| Img_capt            =  
 
| Img_capt            =  
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| Img_size            = 207<!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels —>
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| Img_size            = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels —>
 
| Landscape          =  
 
| Landscape          =  
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| Background          = solo_singer
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| Background          =  
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| Birth_name          = Orvon Gene Autry
+
| Birth_name          = James Charles Rodgers
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| Alias              = Gene Autry
+
| Alias              = The Singing Brakeman <br/> The Blue Yodeler
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| Born                = September 29 1907
+
| Born                = [[1897#September|September 8, 1897]]
−
| Died                = October 2 1998
+
| Died                = [[1933#May|May 26, 1933]]
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| Origin              = [[Tioga, Texas|Tioga]], [[Texas]], [[USA]]
+
| Origin              = [[Meridian, Mississippi]],<br/>or [[Pine Springs, Mississippi]]<br/> or [[Geiger, Alabama]]
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| Instrument          = guitar
+
| Instrument          = [[Acoustic guitar]]
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| Genre              = Country
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| Genre              = [[Country]], [[Blues]]
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| Occupation          = Singer, Actor
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| Occupation          =  
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| Years_active        = 1931 - 1970
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| Years_active        = [[1923 in music|1923]]-[[1933 in music|1933]]
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| Label              = [[Columbia Records]]
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| Label              = [[RCA Records]]
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| Associated_acts    =  
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| Associated_acts    = [[The Tenneva Ramblers]]<br/>[[The Ramblers]]<br/>[[Louis Armstrong]]<br/>[[Will Rogers]]
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| URL                = [http://geneautry.com GeneAutry.com]
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| URL                = [http://www.jimmierodgers.com/ www.jimmierodgers.com]
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| Current_members    =
 
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| Past_members        =
 
 
| Notable_instruments =  
 
| Notable_instruments =  
 
}}
 
}}
−
'''Orvon Gene Autry''' (September 29 1907 &ndash; October 2 1998) was an [[United States|American]] performer who gained fame as '''The Singing Cowboy''' on the [[Radio in the United States|radio]], in [[Cinema of the United States|movies]] and on [[Television in the United States|television]].
 
  
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== Early life ==
+
'''James Charles "Jimmie" Rodgers''' ([[1897#September|September 8, 1897]] -&ndash; [[1933#May|May 26, 1933]]) was the first [[country music]] superstar. Rodgers, known as '''The Singing Brakeman''' and '''The Blue Yodeler''', was born either at his maternal grandparents' home in [[Pine Springs, Mississippi]], just north of [[Meridian, Mississippi|Meridian]], or at his parents' home in [[Geiger, Alabama]].  
−
Autry, the grandson of a [[Methodism|Methodist]] preacher, was born near [[Tioga, Texas]]. His parents, Delbert Autry and Elnora Ozmont, moved to [[Ravia, Oklahoma]] in the 1920s. After leaving high school in 1925, Autry worked as a telegrapher for the [[St. Louis - San Francisco Railway|St. Louis–San Francisco Railway]].
 
  
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== Career ==
+
Nevertheless, he considered his hometown to be [[Meridian, Mississippi|Meridian]], and spent most of his early life from boyhood accompanying his father on [[railroad]] jobs. He eventually became a railroad brakeman, an extremely dangerous and highly skilled job. In the days before [[Westinghouse air brake|air brakes]], the brakeman had to stop the train by running on top of the moving train from car to car setting mechanical brakes on each one.
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=== Radio ===
 
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An amateur talent with the guitar and voice led to his performing at local dances. After an encouraging chance encounter with [[Will Rogers]], he began performing on local radio in 1928 as "Oklahoma's Yodeling Cowboy".
 
  
−
====Cowboy Code====
+
==Life==
−
Autry created the ''Cowboy Code'' or ''Cowboy Commandments'' in response to his young radio listeners aspiring to be just like Gene.
+
[[Tuberculosis]] forced him to leave the railroad, and he undertook all sorts of work, ranging from police detective to [[blackface]] performer in [[minstrels]] and [[medicine show]]s. Before answering an advertisement from [[Ralph Peer]] of the [[Victor Talking Machine Company]] to audition as a performing artist. This audition in [[Bristol, Tennessee]], on [[1927#August|August 4, 1927]] (two days after the [[Carter Family]] answered the same ad and recorded in the same hall) led to Rodgers' phenomenally successful recording career.
−
# The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.
 
−
# He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.
 
−
# He must always tell the truth.
 
−
# He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.
 
−
# He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.
 
−
# He must help people in distress.
 
−
# He must be a good worker.
 
−
# He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.
 
−
# He must respect women, parents, and his nation's laws.
 
−
# The Cowboy is a patriot.
 
  
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=== Singing ===
+
In 1929, as his popularity increased and his tuberculosis became worse, Jimmie and his wife moved to [[Kerrville, Texas]] seeking a drier climate. He built a [[US dollar|$]]25,000 two-story brick [[mansion]] in Kerrville that he called his "Blue Yodeler's Paradise." But Kerrville was too quiet for Jimmie, and by the Fall of 1930 he had moved into a permanent suite at the Gunter Hotel in [[San Antonio, Texas]]. It was there that Jimmie petitioned Blue Bonnet Masonic Lodge for membership. On that application, he stated that his place of birth was [[Geiger, Alabama]]".
−
He signed a recording deal with [[Columbia Records]] in [[1931 in music|1931]]. He worked in [[Chicago, Illinois]] on the [[WLS (AM)]] radio show ''[[National Barn Dance]]'' for four years with his own show where he met singer/songwriter [[Smiley Burnette]]. In his early recording career Autry covered various genres, including a labor song, "The Death of [[Mother Jones]]" in 1931. But his first hit was in [[1932 in music|1932]] with ''That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine'', a duet with fellow railroad man, Jimmy Long. Autry also sang the classic hit "I'm Back in the Saddle Again". Autry has also sung many Christmas carols, including "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" and probably his biggest hit ever, "[[Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]".
 
  
−
=== In films ===
+
His musical career lasted only six years. His last recordings were made in [[New York, New York]] less than a week before his death. He had been bedridden for several years before this last session and had to rest on a cot between takes.  
−
Discovered by [[film producer]] Nat Levine in [[1934 in film|1934]], he and Burnette made their film debut for Mascot Pictures Corp. in ''In Old Santa Fe'' as part of a singing cowboy quartet; he was then given the starring role by Levine in 1935 in the 12-part [[serial]] ''[[The Phantom Empire]]''. Shortly thereafter, Mascot was absorbed by the formation of [[Republic Pictures|Republic Pictures Corp.]] and Autry went along to make a further 44 films up to 1940, all [[B-movie|B]] [[western (genre)|westerns]] in which he played under his own name, rode his [[horse]] Champion, had Burnette as his regular [[sidekick]] and had many opportunities to sing in each film. He became the top Western star at the box-office by 1937, reaching his national peak of popularity from 1940 to 1942.  
 
  
−
He was the first of the singing cowboys, succeeded as the top star by [[Roy Rogers]] when Autry served as a flier with the Air Transport command during [[World War II]]. From 1940 to 1956, Autry also had a weekly radio show on [[CBS]], ''Gene Autry's Melody Ranch.'' Another money-spinner was his ''Gene Autry Flying "A" Ranch Rodeo'' show which debuted in 1940.
+
He died from [[tuberculosis]] on [[1933#May|May 26, 1933]] at the Taft Hotel, New York City, aged 35.
  
−
He briefly returned to Republic after the war, to finish out his contract, which had been suspended for the duration of his military service and which he had tried to have declared void after his discharge. Thereafter, he formed his own production company to make westerns under his own control, which were distributed by [[Columbia Pictures]], beginning in 1947. He also starred and produced his own television show on CBS beginning in 1950. He retired from show business in 1964, having made almost a hundred films up to 1955 and over 600 records. He was elected to the [[Country Music Hall of Fame]] in 1969 and to the [[Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame]] in 1970.
+
===Legacy===
  
−
Post-retirement he invested widely in real estate, radio and television, including buying the copyrights from dying Republic Pictures for the films he had made for them.
+
[[Image:1755.jpg|frame|Rodgers on a US stamp, 1978]]
  
−
=== As baseball executive ===
+
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 1997. His "Blue Yodel #9", featuring [[Louis Armstrong]] on [[trumpet]], was selected as one of [[The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll]].
−
In 1960, when [[Major League Baseball]] announced plans to add an expansion team in Los Angeles, Autry &ndash; who had once declined an opportunity to play in the [[minor league baseball|minor leagues]] &ndash; expressed an interest in acquiring the radio broadcast rights to the team's games; baseball executives were so impressed by his approach that he was persuaded to become the owner of the franchise rather than simply its broadcast partner. The team, initially called the [[Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim|Los Angeles Angels]] upon its [[1961 in baseball|1961]] debut, moved to suburban [[Anaheim, California|Anaheim]] in 1966 and became known as the California Angels, then the Anaheim Angels from 1997 until 2005, when it became the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Autry served as vice president of the [[American League]] from 1983 until his death. In [[1995 in baseball|1995]] he sold a quarter share of the team to [[The Walt Disney Company]], and a controlling interest the following year, with the remaining share to be transferred after his death. Earlier, in 1982, he sold Los Angeles television station [[KTLA]] for $245 million.
 
  
−
== Personal life ==
+
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.
−
In 1932 he married Ina May Spivey (who died in 1980), who was the niece of Jimmy Long. He married his second wife, [[Jackie Autry]], in 1981.  
 
  
−
He had no children by either marriage.
+
==Songs and Recordings==
 +
{{POV}}
 +
His songs, most of which he wrote himself, were typically either sentimental songs about home, family and sweethearts, or tough takes on the lives of [[hobo|hoboes]], "[[rounder]]s", and his beloved railroads and railroaders, on his own hard life and happy marriage.
  
−
== Legacy ==
+
Each of his recordings captures the unique vocal quality that singles Rodgers out from the array of early country musicians.  His voice is powerful and haunting. His yodels are unexpectedly complex in tone. Despite the many other artists he inspired, his performance style is unique and immediately identifiable.  His influence is heard in the entire school of [[honky tonk]] country music.
−
In 1972, he was inducted into the [[Western Performers Hall of Fame]] at the [[National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum]] in [[Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]].
 
  
−
His [[autobiography]] was published in 1976, co-written by Mickey Herskowitz; it was titled ''Back in the Saddle Again'' after his [[1939 in music|1939]] hit and signature tune. He is also featured year after year, on radio and "shopping mall theme music" at the holiday season, by his famous recording of "[[Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]".  "Rudolph" became the first #1 hit of the 1950's.
+
A baker's dozen of his songs bear the generic title "Blue Yodel" with a number. The first, "Blue Yodel #1" is better known from its refrain, "T for Texas, T for Tennessee".  Fundamentally, Rodgers was a white [[blues|blues singer]], singing traditional blues lyrics and accompanying himself on [[guitar]] and [[yodel]], which was nothing like classic [[Switzerland|Swiss]] yodeling.   
  
−
[[CMT]] in [[2003 in music|2003]] ranked him #38 in [[CMT's 40 Greatest Men of Country]].
+
His yodeling was really vocalized falsetto blues licks, providing [[obbligato]]s and choruses that in other blues performances would have been provided by a lead instrument. His "Blue Yodels" were for the most part [[twelve-bar blues]], but with the lyrics compressed into the first eight bars and the yodeling into the last four. Others are conventional twelve-bar blues, but with a four-bar yodel added at the end.
  
−
When the [[Anaheim Angels]] won their first [[2002 World Series|World Series]] in 2002, much of the championship was dedicated to him.
+
===Annotated "Blue Yodels"===
 +
Although Rodgers simply numbered his "Blue Yodels", many of them have acquired ''de facto'' titles derived from their lyrics.  Most of the lyrics consist of unconnected strings of [[traditional blues verses]], but a couple of the songs have a narrative thread.
  
−
The interchange of [[Interstate 5]] and [[California State Route 134]], located near the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage, is signed as the "Gene Autry Memorial Interchange."
+
* "Blue Yodel #1" — "[[T for Texas]]" — [[1927#November|November 30, 1927]]
 +
* "Blue Yodel #2" — "My Lovin' Gal Lucille" — [[1928#February|February 15, 1928]]
 +
* "Blue Yodel #3" — "Evening Sun Yodel" — [[1928#February|February 15, 1928]]
 +
** ''Last verse is the first verse of "[[St. Louis Blues (music)|St. Louis Blues]]", "I hate to see that evening sun go down".''
 +
* "Blue Yodel #4" — "[[California Blues]]" — [[1928#October|October 20, 1928]]
 +
** ''Contains trumpet echos of the yodeling.'' <!--note: this is not [[Louis Armstrong]], see #9—>
 +
* "Blue Yodel #5" — "Ain't No Blackheaded Mama Can Make a Fool Out of Me" — [[1929#February|February 23, 1929]]
 +
* "Blue Yodel #6" — no alternate title — [[1929#October|October 22, 1929]]
 +
* "Blue Yodel #7" — "Anniversary Blue Yodel" — [[1929#November|November 26, 1929]]
 +
** So-called because it was recorded a year and two days after "#1".''
 +
* "Blue Yodel #8" — "[[Mule Skinner Blues]]" — [[1930#July|July 11, 1930]]
 +
** A [[mule]]-skinner seeks a job, with conventional blues lyrics at the end, "I smell yo bread a-burning', better turn yo damper down".''
 +
* "Blue Yodel #9" — "[[Standing on the Corner (Blue Yodel no. 9)|Standing on the Corner]]" — [[1930#July|July 16, 1930]]
 +
** ''With [[Louis Armstrong]] - tells a straight tale warning all the "[[rounder]]s" in [[Memphis]] of the arrival a "Tennessee Hustler".''
 +
* "Blue Yodel #10" — "Hard Time Blues" — [[1932#February|February 6, 1932]]
 +
* "Blue Yodel #11" — no alternate title — [[1929#November|November 27, 1929]] <!--note date out of order—>
 +
** ''Note that this recording breaks the date order.''
 +
* "Blue Yodel #12" —  "Barefoot Blues" — [[1933#May|May 17, 1933]]
 +
* "Jimmie Rodgers Last Blue Yodel" — [[1933#May|May 18, 1933]]
 +
** ''No number, but also called "Women Make a Fool Out of Me" and "Why Don't the Women Let Me Be".''
  
−
==The Museum as the centerpiece of his legacy==
+
===Other noted songs===  
−
The [[Museum of the American West]], in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]]' [[Griffith Park]], was founded in 1988 as the "Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum", featuring much of his collection of Western art and memorabilia. It has become a very respected institution,
+
Notable Rodgers titles include "[[Waiting for a Train]]" ([[1929 in music|1929]]), "[[In the Jailhouse Now]]" ([[1928 in music|1928]], version 2 [[1930 in music|1930]]), "[[Jimmie the Kid]]" ([[1931 in music|1931]]), "[[Miss the Mississippi and You]]" ([[1932 in music|1932]]), "[[Looking for a New Mama]]" (1931), "[[Jimmie's Mean Mama Blues]]" (1931), and "[[Train Whistle Blues]]" (1930).  The 113 songs he recorded have hardly ever been out of print.
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preserving the essence of everything related to the "mythic aspects" of the American "old west".  Everything from true historical lifestyles, to the 70-year sage of the Hollywood "western movie" genre.
 
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[[Image: Gene statue.jpg|thumb|right|Autry's bronze statue at the museum in compatible 3D]]
 
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Included for many years on ''Forbes'' magazine's list of the 400 richest Americans, he slipped to their "near miss" category in 1995 with an estimated net worth of $320 million.
 
−
 
 
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Gene Autry died of [[lymphoma]] at age 91 at his home in [[Studio City, Los Angeles, California|Studio City, California]], and is interred in the [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)|Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery]] in [[Los Angeles, California]].
 
−
 
 
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He was inducted into the [[Radio Hall of Fame]] in 2003. He is also the only person to date to receive 5 stars on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] for contributions in all five possible categories: the ''motion picture star'' is located on 6644 Hollywood Blvd., the ''radio star'' is located on 6520 Hollywood Blvd., the ''recording star'' is located on 6384 Hollywood Blvd., the ''TV star'' is located on 6667 Hollywood Blvd. and the ''live theatre star'' is located on 7000 Hollywood Blvd.
 
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In 2004, the Starz Entertainment Corporation joined forces with the Autry estate to restore all of his films, which have been shown on Starz's Encore Western Channel on cable television on a regular basis to date since.
 
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==Popular songs recorded by Autry==
 
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*"A Face I See at Evening"
 
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*"That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine"
 
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*"The Last Roundup"
 
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*"Cowboy's Heaven"
 
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*"Tumbling Tumbleweeds"
 
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*"Mexicali Rose"
 
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*"Take Me Back to My Boots and Saddle"
 
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*"Gold Mine in the Sky"
 
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*"South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)"
 
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*"Back in the Saddle Again" ([[1939 in music|1939]])
 
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*"Be Honest With Me"
 
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*"Here Comes Santa Claus" ([[1947 in music|1947]])
 
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*"[[Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]" ([[1949 in music|1949]])
 
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*"Peter Cottontail" ([[1950 in music|1950]])
 
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*"Frosty the Snow Man" (1950)
 
−
 
 
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==See also==
 
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*[[Museum of the American West]]
 
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*[[Hollywood Christmas Parade]]
 
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*[[Gene Autry, Oklahoma]]
 
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*[[Notable figures in Western films|Other notable figures in Western films]]
 
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*[[List of best-selling music artists]]
 
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
−
*{{imdb name|id=0000810|name=Gene Autry}}
+
* [http://www.jimmierodgers.com/ Official Site]
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*{{rhof|id=165|name=Gene Autry}}
+
* [http://www.silcom.com/~peterf/ideas/jr-rpeer.htm Ralph Peer Remembers Jimmie Rodgers]
−
*[http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/inductees/gene_autry.html Country Music Hall of Fame]
+
* [http://www.bcyesteryear.com/fulltext.php?article=24 Johnson City, Tennessee and Jimmie Rodgers]
−
*[http://www.geneautry.com Gene Autry website]
+
* [http://www.geocities.com/shakin_stacks/jimmierodgers.txt geocities]
−
*[http://www.autrynationalcenter.org/ Autry National Center]
+
* [http://www.nashvillesongwritersfoundation.com/fame/rodgers.html Nashville Songwriters Foundation]  
−
*[http://www.museumoftheamericanwest.org/museum/ Museum of the American West]
+
* [http://www.rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id=181 Hall of Fame inductee]
−
*[http://www.cowboypal.com/gnautob.html Autobiography extract and photos] from ''Songs Gene Autry Sings'' (1942)
 
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*[http://www.music-city.org/Gene-Autry/discography/ Gene Autry discography]
 
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* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3739 Gene Autry's Gravesite]
 
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{{Ifndef|1907|}}
 
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{{{21998|}}}
 
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{{Ifndef|1998|}}
 
  
 
[[category:art, music, literature, sports and leisure]]
 
[[category:art, music, literature, sports and leisure]]
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[[category:history and biography]]
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Revision as of 13:53, 8 March 2007

For the singer of "Honeycomb", see Jimmie Rodgers (pop singer).
Jimmie Rodgers
Birth name James Charles Rodgers
Also known as The Singing Brakeman
The Blue Yodeler
Born September 8, 1897
Origin Meridian, Mississippi,
or Pine Springs, Mississippi
or Geiger, Alabama
Died May 26, 1933
Genre(s) Country, Blues
Instrument(s) Acoustic guitar
Years active 1923-1933
Label(s) RCA Records
Associated acts The Tenneva Ramblers
The Ramblers
Louis Armstrong
Will Rogers
Website www.jimmierodgers.com

James Charles "Jimmie" Rodgers (September 8, 1897 -– May 26, 1933) was the first country music superstar. Rodgers, known as The Singing Brakeman and The Blue Yodeler, was born either at his maternal grandparents' home in Pine Springs, Mississippi, just north of Meridian, or at his parents' home in Geiger, Alabama.

Nevertheless, he considered his hometown to be Meridian, and spent most of his early life from boyhood accompanying his father on railroad jobs. He eventually became a railroad brakeman, an extremely dangerous and highly skilled job. In the days before air brakes, the brakeman had to stop the train by running on top of the moving train from car to car setting mechanical brakes on each one.

Life

Tuberculosis forced him to leave the railroad, and he undertook all sorts of work, ranging from police detective to blackface performer in minstrels and medicine shows. Before answering an advertisement from Ralph Peer of the Victor Talking Machine Company to audition as a performing artist. This audition in Bristol, Tennessee, on August 4, 1927 (two days after the Carter Family answered the same ad and recorded in the same hall) led to Rodgers' phenomenally successful recording career.

In 1929, as his popularity increased and his tuberculosis became worse, Jimmie and his wife moved to Kerrville, Texas seeking a drier climate. He built a $25,000 two-story brick mansion in Kerrville that he called his "Blue Yodeler's Paradise." But Kerrville was too quiet for Jimmie, and by the Fall of 1930 he had moved into a permanent suite at the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. It was there that Jimmie petitioned Blue Bonnet Masonic Lodge for membership. On that application, he stated that his place of birth was Geiger, Alabama".

His musical career lasted only six years. His last recordings were made in New York, New York less than a week before his death. He had been bedridden for several years before this last session and had to rest on a cot between takes.

He died from tuberculosis on May 26, 1933 at the Taft Hotel, New York City, aged 35.

Legacy

File:1755.jpg
Rodgers on a US stamp, 1978

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 1997. His "Blue Yodel #9", featuring Louis Armstrong on trumpet, was selected as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

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.

Songs and Recordings

Unbalanced scales.svg
The neutrality of this article or section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.

His songs, most of which he wrote himself, were typically either sentimental songs about home, family and sweethearts, or tough takes on the lives of hoboes, "rounders", and his beloved railroads and railroaders, on his own hard life and happy marriage.

Each of his recordings captures the unique vocal quality that singles Rodgers out from the array of early country musicians. His voice is powerful and haunting. His yodels are unexpectedly complex in tone. Despite the many other artists he inspired, his performance style is unique and immediately identifiable. His influence is heard in the entire school of honky tonk country music.

A baker's dozen of his songs bear the generic title "Blue Yodel" with a number. The first, "Blue Yodel #1" is better known from its refrain, "T for Texas, T for Tennessee". Fundamentally, Rodgers was a white blues singer, singing traditional blues lyrics and accompanying himself on guitar and yodel, which was nothing like classic Swiss yodeling.

His yodeling was really vocalized falsetto blues licks, providing obbligatos and choruses that in other blues performances would have been provided by a lead instrument. His "Blue Yodels" were for the most part twelve-bar blues, but with the lyrics compressed into the first eight bars and the yodeling into the last four. Others are conventional twelve-bar blues, but with a four-bar yodel added at the end.

Annotated "Blue Yodels"

Although Rodgers simply numbered his "Blue Yodels", many of them have acquired de facto titles derived from their lyrics. Most of the lyrics consist of unconnected strings of traditional blues verses, but a couple of the songs have a narrative thread.

  • "Blue Yodel #1" — "T for Texas" — November 30, 1927
  • "Blue Yodel #2" — "My Lovin' Gal Lucille" — February 15, 1928
  • "Blue Yodel #3" — "Evening Sun Yodel" — February 15, 1928
    • Last verse is the first verse of "St. Louis Blues", "I hate to see that evening sun go down".
  • "Blue Yodel #4" — "California Blues" — October 20, 1928
    • Contains trumpet echos of the yodeling.
  • "Blue Yodel #5" — "Ain't No Blackheaded Mama Can Make a Fool Out of Me" — February 23, 1929
  • "Blue Yodel #6" — no alternate title — October 22, 1929
  • "Blue Yodel #7" — "Anniversary Blue Yodel" — November 26, 1929
    • So-called because it was recorded a year and two days after "#1".
  • "Blue Yodel #8" — "Mule Skinner Blues" — July 11, 1930
    • A mule-skinner seeks a job, with conventional blues lyrics at the end, "I smell yo bread a-burning', better turn yo damper down".
  • "Blue Yodel #9" — "Standing on the Corner" — July 16, 1930
    • With Louis Armstrong - tells a straight tale warning all the "rounders" in Memphis of the arrival a "Tennessee Hustler".
  • "Blue Yodel #10" — "Hard Time Blues" — February 6, 1932
  • "Blue Yodel #11" — no alternate title — November 27, 1929
    • Note that this recording breaks the date order.
  • "Blue Yodel #12" — "Barefoot Blues" — May 17, 1933
  • "Jimmie Rodgers Last Blue Yodel" — May 18, 1933
    • No number, but also called "Women Make a Fool Out of Me" and "Why Don't the Women Let Me Be".

Other noted songs

Notable Rodgers titles include "Waiting for a Train" (1929), "In the Jailhouse Now" (1928, version 2 1930), "Jimmie the Kid" (1931), "Miss the Mississippi and You" (1932), "Looking for a New Mama" (1931), "Jimmie's Mean Mama Blues" (1931), and "Train Whistle Blues" (1930). The 113 songs he recorded have hardly ever been out of print.

External links

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