Jimmie Rodgers

The Rodgers family migrated to the United States from Ireland before the American revolution. They settled around the Appalachian Mountains, and later moved to the south and western United States. Both of Jimmie Rodgers' grandfathers served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. After the war, his maternal grandfather settled in Meridian, Mississippi, while his paternal grandfather settled around Geiger, Alabama.[1] Rodgers' father, Aaron, worked for the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. He eventually became a foreman, and in 1884, he married Eliza Bozeman. The couple lived on the railroad work camps, as Aaron Rodgers moved through different locations around the line. The Rodgers family then temporarily settled in the community of Pine Springs, north of Meridian.[1]

Charles James "Jimmie" Rodgers was born on September 8, 1897.[2] His place of birth is disputed: Meridian, Mississippi is most often listed in records, while Rodgers would later sign a document that named Geiger, Alabama.[3] Rodgers often called Meridian his home town.[4] Uncapable of living in the unsanitary conditions of the camps, Rodgers' mother decided to stay in Pine Springs while her husband worked long stays and returned home.[5] After two miscarriages, her health began to fail.[6] She became sick and Aaron Rodgers quit his job at the Mobile and Ohio Railroad and started to farm to be closer to his wife. She died in 1903. Then six year old Jimmie Rodgers was deeply affected by her death.[5] Rodgers was sent along with his brother Talmage to live with relatives of his father in Scooba, Mississippi, and later to Geiger, Alabama.[6] Rodgers attended school irregularly during his early childhood. He left it after the death of his mother and he soon later started over the first grade in Pine Springs. The following year, after the family moved to Lowndes County, Mississippi he and his brother went to school in the town of Artesia. The road conditions, as well as both brothers engaging in other distractions along the way ultimately led to them arrive late, or not to attend. Rodgers often missed classes during the winter on account of his tendency to suffer of respiratory issues. His father remarried, and the family moved to Meridian, where Rodgers was enrolled at the local high school. He and his siblings had issues with their new step-mother. When his father returned to work for the railroad, Rodgers rarely went to school.[7] He and his brother Jake went to the local theaters to see vaudeville shows and to watch movies, while they joined other teenagers in mischief around the town. As a result, Rodgers became interested in the entertainment industry. To support his expenditures, he sold newspapers, molasses and he panhandled.[8] In 1906, he was sent to live with his older brother Talmage and their aunt Dora Bozeman in Pine Springs, while his brother Jake was sent to other relatives. The routine of the Bozeman household grounded Rodgers with chores, while he spent most of his free time outdoors.[9] He attended school regularly, and he was further assisted by his teacher, who rented a room at his aunt's boarding house.[10] Rodgers received most of his schooling while he lived there until he went back to Meridian in 1911.[10]

Rodgers in a 1921 portrait

Upon his return to Meridian, he went back to the streets. He frequented the barbershop of his uncle Tom Bozeman, while he often slept during the daytime in the upstairs apartment. He organized a neighborhood carnival that played the nearby towns. Rodgers' appearances made enough money to pay for the sheets he used as a tent. He then organized a second show, which he financed with his father's money, unbeknownst to him. Rodgers then won a contest at the local Elite Theater for his performance of the songs "Steamboat Bill" and "I Wonder Why Bill Bailey Don't Come Home". Following his success on the contest, Rodgers started to perform with a medicine show.[11] He quit the show some weeks later as they reached Birmingham, Alabama for his constant issues with the director. At the age of thirteen, he started working for a tailor in West Blocton until his father took him back to Meridian months later with the intention of enrolling him at a new school. Soon after, his step-mother died. Instead of attending school, he followed his father to learn his profession with the working crews of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad.[12]

Rodgers started working for the railroad as a waterboy for the black gandy dancer crews, who introduced him to jargon and blues music.[13] Eventually, he became a baggage handler and then a brakeman.[14] He moved often while working on the lines from Mississippi to Texas.[15] In January 1917, he was introduced by a friend to Stella Kelly in Durant, Mississippi. At the time he was moving between Jackson and New Orleans without a stable location. He maintained the lines, checked baggage and at times he worked as a dishwasher at a local restaurant in Durant. He and Kelly married on April 6, 1917.[16] The newlyweds left Durant after Rodgers failed a mechanic apprenticeship and moved to Louisville, Mississippi, where he worked once again as a brakeman. After his marriage failed, Rodgers started working for the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad.[17] He spent time in both, Meridian and New Orleans. At the end of the First World War when the United States Railroad Administration was privatized, Rodgers was fired in 1920 and he returned to work at odd jobs. He returned to work stints in the early 1920s on the lines he already had worked plus the Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific Railway mainly as a brakeman, but he also performed other functions including flagman.[18]

In 1924, Rodgers was diagnosed with tuberculosis at the age of 27. The disease affected his ability to perform his job and he chose to move with his wife and children to Arizona, following the medical advice of the time that suggested high and dry places to ease the symptoms. Then Rodgers moved to Asheville, North Carolina.[19] As he worked less on the railroads, he returned to performing music while his foremen complained of his extended absences. He formed a jazz-style band that performed pop standards with the inclusion of horns, and the piano accompaniment of his new wife Carrie McWilliams' sister, Elsie.[20] The group played on the road in tents, on city streets, and in various other small locations without any commercial success.[21] In 1927 Rodgers left his work on the railroad. He met in Asheville the Grant Brothers, who led the mountain music string band the Tenneva Ramblers.[19] Rodgers convinced the group to join him as the Jimmie Rodgers Entertainers with him as the lead singer for a recurrent unpaid spot he managed to obtain at WWNC.[21] The band was composed of Rodgers (vocals and guitar), Claude Grant (vocals and guitar), Jack Grant (mandolin), Jack Pierce (fiddle), and at times Claude Sagle (banjo).[22]

The Jimmie Rodgers Entertainers (Rodgers holding a banjo second from the left

After the group was fired from the radio show, they found a job performing at a resort on the Blue Ridge Mountains. There, Rodgers heard of the upcoming field recordings that engineer Ralph Peer of the Victor Talking Machine Company was to undertake in Bristol, Tennessee in the search of local talent.[21] Rodgers made an appointment for the band to record with Peer on August 4, 1927. Before the scheduled recording, the band had a dispute with the singer regarding the name to be used on the label of the recording. The Tenneva Ramblers then deserted Rodgers, who convinced Peer to record him alone with his guitar.[21] Peer later commented that he considered Rodgers and individualist that due to his blues-leanient style was uncompatible with the sound of the Tenneva Ramblers band, which based its music around the use of fiddles.[23] Peer felt by the end of Rodgers' session that though he liked the singer, he could not sign him to the label as he performed at the time pop music that belonged to New York publishers instead of the original tunes Peer was scouting for.[24] The session produced "The Soldier's Sweetheart", an adaptation of an old vaudeville tune with new lyrics by Rodgers, and a version of the showtune "Sleep, Baby, Sleep".[25] The producer then told Rodgers that he would contact him at a later point to hear new original material.[24] Rodgers then moved with his family to Washington, D.C. while the record was selling some copies. After a month of not hearing back from Peer, Rodgers decided to travel to New York City, where he checked into the Manger Hotel and called the producer to let him know that he was ready to undertake the next recording session.[26] Impressed by Rodgers' boldness, Peer set an appointment for November 30, 1927 on Studio 1 of the Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey. The first few numbers that Rodgers tried did not appeal Peer, as they were once again not original material. Rodgers then attempted a number he had been working on using yodelling, which Peer set on calling "Blue Yodel".[27]

As "The Soldier's Sweetheart" / "Sleep, Baby, Sleep" started to sell well, Victor decided to advance the release of "Blue Yodel".[28] In Washington D.C., Rodgers worked a stint for the station WTTF with the backing of the "Jimmie Rodgers' Southeners" while he continued to make records for the label. He used the band for his recordings of "In the Jailhouse Now" and "The Brakeman's Blues", among others. As 1928 progressed, "Blue Yodel" became a major success.[29] The song marked the first of a series of blue yodels,[30] The unknown origin of Rodgers' yodel has been attributed to several sources: The traditional alpine songs, its use by gandy dancers or in vaudeville and minstrel shows.[31] The theme of the yodels presented a main character that often exaggerated his qualities as a lover, faced the threat of other men taking his woman, and then used violence against them when they did. The yodeler also boasted of promiscuity with the use of double entendres.[30] With the release of further songs of the series,"Blue Yodel" was later renamed on the catalogs to "Blue Yodel No. 1 (T for Texas)".[32] "Blue Yodel No. 1" became the singer's most successful recording with over a million copies sold during his lifetime.[33][34] Soon, Rodgers' show billed him as "America's Blue Yodeler".[35]

Following the release of "If Brother Jack Were Here", Victor was threatened with a lawsuit by Joseph W. Stern & Co. for copyright infringement on their original composition "Mother Was a Lady".[36] As a result, the label renamed the record to its real title, and Peer began to carefully assess the material brought by Rodgers. The singer often arrived to the recording sessions short of material and he resorted to pass up old vaudeville and minstrel show songs as his own. After Peer rejected several songs, Rodgers contacted his sister-in-law, Elsie McWilliams, to help him with the composition of new material. Few of the material credited to Rodgers was authored by himself: McWilliams would go to write most of his Blue Yodels, while he additionally would hire amateur composers to write other songs.[37][38] With McWilliams' help, he would also write compositions of his own which she remarked Rodgers would not stop to work on until they "sounded just right".[39] With the sales of his records still improving after the release of "In the Jailhouse Now", Rodgers embarked on a tour of the United States: he appeared on the Southern Time circuit of Loews Theaters and the East Coast circuit of Publix Theaters.[40] The pairing of "Blue Yodel No. 4 (California Blues)" / "Waiting for a Train" became popular due to the success of the flipside. The recording would eventually become Rodgers' second best seller of his career with a total of 365,000 copies sold during his lifetime.[41][34]

In February 1929, his health worsened. Against his doctor's constant recommendation to rest, Rodgers proceeded with his tour. During a stop in Meridian, he suffered a fever. Rodgers intended to perform the show, but he collapsed on the dressing room shortly before the start.[42] An x-ray ordered by his doctor, an uncommon procedure at the time, determined that the singer suffered a pulmonary tuberculosis that affected his lungs: Cavities were found on the top of both, while the bottom of his right lung showed pleurisy.[43] As they travelled through Texas performing, Jimmie and Carrie Rodgers stopped in Kerville. The town offered the dry air and mild weather that the medical authorities of the time considered was needed for the treatment of tuberculosis. Kerrville featured multiple sanatoriums and a Veterans Hospital specialized in pulmonary disease. As Rodgers was badly affected by the weather in Washington, D.C., Meridian, and Asheville, he decided to settle in Kerville. The construction of his new home began in April 1929. With a total cost of $20,000, he named it "Blue Yodeler's Paradise".[44] With his move to Texas, Rodgers' on-stage attire changed. He had been previously wearing brakeman's working clothes that were replaced by regular clothes and the use of a cowboy hat.[45] By June 14, 1929, he performed during the inauguration of San Antonio's Majestic Theatre.[46]

Rodgers in 1929

At the height of this career, in 1929, Rodgers made $75,000 (equivalent to US$1,183,600 in 2021) in royalties. After the Wall Street Crash that year, while his records continued to sell, his royalties dropped to $60,000 (equivalent to US$946,900 in 2021).[47] "Waiting for a Train" continued to be popular as the themes depicted in the song became commonplace in the lives of unemployed Americans during the Great Depression.[48] Through a number of field recording sessions as his schedule and tour allowed it, Rodgers increased his catalogue. By November 1929, he filmed the short The Singing Brakeman at the Victor Talking Machine Studios in Camden.[49] Continuing his tour, in late February 1930, Rodgers collapsed again during a stop in Carthage, Mississippi. Following his doctor's advice, he had to cancel his third appearance at the local movie house after he suffered of a hemorrhage the same morning. Despite his condition, Rodgers then joined a four-month tour with daily appearances on Swain's Hollywood Follies. The musical troup performed a total of 70 shows.[50] With few of his recordings left to be released, Rodgers then head to Los Angeles to produce new material between June-July 1930.[51] The sessions produced among other numbers "Blue Yodel no. 8, Mule Skinner Blues" and "Blue Yodel No. 9 (Standin' on the Corner)" featuring Louis Armstrong.[52] Rodgers commissioned at the time Ray Hall, a prisoner at the Texas State Penitentiary, to help him write the song "T.B. Blues" after McWilliams refused to help. Rodgers recorded and released the compostion in 1931.[53]

In the summer of 1931 Rodgers recorded two sides with the Carter Family.[54] That year, his health quickly deteriorated while his sales fell to 30,000 copies sold on an average for his records as the Great Depression progressed.[55] Meanwhile, his excessive expenditures forced him to sell his Kerrville home.[56] "Rodgers' Puzzle Record", a compilation containing three recordings of the singer in one side was released in England, India and Australia in 1931.[56] The same year, the singer accepted an offer to make appearances when available at San Antonio's radio station KMAC's Tuesday show. When he was out on tour, The Jimmie Rodgers Show played his Victor recordings.[57][29] In April 1932, he renegotiated his contract with the label: Rodgers was to receive $25,000 (equivalent to US$445,500 in 2021) for 24 sides to be released monthly with the singer receiving $250 in advance payment per side.[58]

Rodgers never pointed to any specific reason as to why he decided to learn to play the guitar. He recalled his earliest memories of playing upon returning from picking cotton.[11] Although he performed with the instrument for many years, he only knew a few chords that he complemented with a flatpicking technique.[72][73] As he worked on the railroads through the late 1910s and the 1920s, he developed his style of music and singing.[21] His material was based on classic anglo-celtic storytelling and ballad singing, while black blues heavily influenced him.[74] Ethnomusicologist Norm Cohen defined five categories for the 112 recordings that comprehended Rodgers' catalog: "19th century sentimental ballads", vaudevillian novelty songs, blues songs, traditional folk songs and "contemporary hillbilly songs".[75] Rodgers' releases included collaborations with artists ranging from jazz to Hawaiian music.[76]

Instead of the 3/4 time present in traditional alpine folk music, Rodgers' yodel featured a 4/4 time.[77] Rodgers developed his yodel through his early music career either influenced by several vaudevillian performers or directly by the recordings and live performances of Emmet Miller.[78][79][80] From the gandy dancers Rodgers learned to elongate or shorten words to fit the metric of the song, while he carried most of the time a banjo and eventually a guitar as he worked himself on the railroads.[81] His live performances and recordings included the use of spoken remarks between verses to encourage his musicians, or exclamations when he played alone.[82] Additional to his yodel, Rodgers developed a train whistle noise he made with the back of his throat that consisted of the mixture of a yodel with a whistle.[83]

During his early appearances, Rodgers donned a bowler hat with a suit and a tie as most vaudevillian performers. As he was later also billed as "The Singing Brakeman", Rodgers added to his frequent stage wardrobe railroad worker attire.[84] After he moved to Texas, he started to also wear cowboy hats and western clothes as the singing cowboys became popular on western films at the time.[85][86] Ultimately, Rodgers would decide which clothes he used for a performance according to the audience he was expecting.[87][88]

Rodgers wearing cowboy attire following his move to Texas

Rodgers married Stella Kelly on May 1, 1917. The couple were both 19 years old at the time of the ceremony. The marriage split soon after due to what Kelly later described as Rodgers' tendency to procrastinate, drink, and his lack of ambition.[89] She considered that Rodgers spent too much money, and that by playing music he "fool away his time and money".[90] After two years of living separated, their divorce became final in November 1919.[91] Rodgers then married Carrie Williamson on April 7, 1920. The marriage's first daughter, Anita, was born in January 1921. June, their second child, was born in 1923, but she died in December of that year. To return in time for her funeral and Christmas, Rodgers had to pawn his banjo.[92]

Both of his wives complained of Rodgers' excessive expenditures, and later his lavish lifestyle.[93] With his adult life marked by his suffering of tuberculosis, Rodgers resorted to drinking to ease the pain produced by the disease.[94] On June 9 , 1932, Rodgers lost a paternity lawsuit to his former wife Stella for the birth of Kathryn Rodgers in February 1918. Without conclusive evidence of Rodgers being close to Kelly at the time of the child's conception, judge Edgar Vaught considered that she was born with the couple under legal wedlock. Rodgers was then ordered to pay $50 in child support monthly until Kathryn reached 18 years of age.[95] After Rodgers' death, the monthly support from his estate stopped as she married. Kathryn Rodgers died soon after, in 1938.[96]

Rodgers was a Freemason: he was inducted to the order in Meridian on August 9, 1920. In 1930, he joined the Elks lodge. In 1931, he reached the rank of Master Mason in Meridian. That year, he was moved to the San Antonio Scottish Rite Cathedral and he received the local degree, while he was also associated with the Alzafar Temple.[97] Additionally in 1931, Rodgers was invited to Austin, Texas and named a honorary Texas Ranger. To commemorate the occasion, the singer would later release the song "The Yodeling Ranger".[98]

• Jimmie Rodgers discography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jimmie Rodgers (country singer).

• Official website
• Jimmie Rodgers discography at Discogs
• Jimmie Rodgers at Find a Grave
• Jimmie Rodgers recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.