Jimmie Rodgers (pop singer)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jimmie Rodgers, 1968

James Frederick "Jimmie" Rodgers (born September 18, 1933 in Camas , Washington ; † January 18, 2021 ) was an American pop singer who had a number of hits with rock adaptations of traditional folk songs , especially in the late 1950s . His biggest hit was Honeycomb from 1957.

Beginnings

Rodgers grew up in Camas, Washington State, where he took piano and guitar lessons at an early age . He formed his first band while serving in the United States Air Force . He later appeared on Arthur Godfrey's talent shows and finally signed with Roulette Records , the new label for former RCA Records employees Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore.

successes

Rodgers had his only No. 1 hit on the Billboard charts in the summer of 1957 with his first single Honeycomb . In the English charts the song reached the top 30. In the following year, Kisses Sweeter than Wine , Oh-Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again , Secretly , Are You Really Mine and 1962 English Country Garden reached the top 10. From March In 1959 he had his own show on NBC .

In 1962 Rodgers moved to Dot Records and in 1966 to A&M Records . There he had another Top 40 success in the same year with the title It's Over (US # 37) and the next year with Child of Clay (US # 31), his last placement in the US charts. In December 1967 he suffered several serious injuries in an incident, including a skull fracture. The exact circumstances were never officially clarified; it is known that he was stopped while driving a car and that there was an argument or an accident with patrol officers. Rodgers was surgically placed a steel plate and had to pause for some time. In 1969 he hit the charts one last time with the album Windmills of Your Mind .

Private life and miscellaneous

Rodgers was third married to Mary and had three children. He is not related to the country musician of the same name, Jimmie Rodgers .

Rodgers' guitar style was remarkable: when accompanying his songs, he only played a few major chords , but neither minor nor seventh chords . For this he used a greatly simplified barre grip only with the thumb from above on the fingerboard and not, as usual, with the index finger from below; the other fingers were not used. With a song accompaniment with several instruments, this simple form of guitar playing is hardly noticeable acoustically.

Discography

Albums

year title Highest ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
US US
1966 It's over US145 (4 weeks)
US
1968 Child of Clay US162 (4 weeks)
US
1969 Windmills of Your Mind US183 (4 weeks)
US

Singles

year Title
album 		Highest ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
UK UK US US
1957 Honeycomb UK30 (1 week)
UK 		US1 (28 weeks)
US
Kisses sweeter than wine UK7 (11 weeks)
UK 		US7 (21 weeks)
US
1958 Oh-Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again UK18 (6 weeks)
UK 		US22 (15 weeks)
US
Secretly - US4 (16 weeks)
US
The Long Hot Summer - US77 (9 weeks)
US
Make Me A Miracle - US54 (9 weeks)
US
Are You Really Mine - US10 (13 weeks)
US
The Wizard - US45 (7 weeks)
US
Bimbombey - US11 (16 weeks)
US
Woman from Liberia UK18 (6 weeks)
UK 		-
1959 I'm never gonna tell - US36 (11 weeks)
US
Because you're young - US62 (5 weeks)
US
Ring-a-ling-a-lario - US32 (8 weeks)
US
Wonderful You - US40 (7 weeks)
US
Tucumcari - US32 (9 weeks)
US
1960 TLC Tender Love and Care - US24 (10 weeks)
US
Waltzing Matilda - US41 (8 weeks)
US
Just a Closer Walk with Thee - US44 (9 weeks)
US
The Wreck of the "John B" - US64 (9 weeks)
US
1961 A Little Dog Cried - US71 (4 weeks)
US
1962 English Country Garden UK5 (13 weeks)
UK 		-
No One Will Ever Know - US43 (11 weeks)
US
Rainbow at Midnight - US62 (7 weeks)
US
1963 Two-Ten, Six-Eighteen
(Doesn't Anybody Know My Name) 		UK78 (7 weeks)
UK 		-
1964 The World I Used to Know UK51 (9 weeks)
UK 		-
1966 It's over UK37 (7 weeks)
UK 		-
1967 Child of Clay UK31 (8 weeks)
UK 		-

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Joel Whitburn: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993. Record Research Inc, Menomonee Falls / Wisconsin 1994, p. 506
  2. ↑ Jimmie Rodgers, Early Rock 'n' Roll Star, Dies at 87 , on Best Classic Bands , accessed January 21, 2021
  3. ↑ a b Chart sources: UK US before 1958 US

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Rodgers, Jimmie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rodgers, James Frederick
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American pop singer
DATE OF BIRTH September 18, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Camas , Washington
DATE OF DEATH January 18, 2021