Jimmy Wages
Jimmy Wages (* approx. 1935 in Tupelo , Mississippi ; † 1999 ) was an American rockabilly musician . Wages was best known within the rockabilly scene for his originally unreleased songs for Sun Records .
Life
Childhood and youth
Jimmy Wages stated in an interview with Colin Escott that he was as old as Elvis Presley . He went to school with Presley in Tupelo before moving to Memphis , Tennessee . In contrast to Presley, Wages spent his entire life relatively unnoticed in Tupelo.
Career
Wages began performing with some local musicians and with the Miller Sisters in Tupelo. After the Miller Sisters went to Memphis and recorded a few singles on Sam Phillips ' Sun Records label, Wages also tried the record business.
In 1956, Wages traveled to Memphis with bassist Jesse Carter and held his first session for Sun. He held a total of five sessions in which about eight to ten songs were recorded, none of which were eventually released. Sam Phillips was eager to get Wages' Mad Man out, but Jack Clement , who looked after Wages, had doubts about its success and convinced Phillips of it. Since Wages did not have a band of his own, he was accompanied on most tracks by Sun's studio musicians Jimmy Van Eaton ( drums ), Ray Harris ( guitar ), Jerry Lee Lewis or Charlie Rich ( piano ) and Stan Kesler ( steel guitar ). Although Wages played guitar and piano himself, he only sang.
Wages material at Sun was written entirely by himself, which arguably contributed to the failure at Sun. Wages' bizarre lyrics, on the one hand by conservative moral concepts, on the other hand by the then modern view of youth, were certainly not made for the charts and in no way corresponded to contemporary pop songs. Wages is in the tradition of many other musicians of that time.
Wages left Sun some time afterwards. In 1960 he held a session for Hi Records that was overseen by his former guitarist Ray Harris. Wages knew Harris from his early days in Tupelo, but the recordings were again unsuccessful. However, there is another obscure record on TomBigBee Records of Pontotoc, Mississippi that Wages never mentioned. When the single was recorded is unknown. Although he still made a few recordings for Stan Kesler in Memphis and at Woodland Studios in Nashville , Wages concentrated on touring activities in the years that followed. He toured across the United States and played in small bars, pubs and other events.
In the 1980s, Wages lived with his mother in a small house in Tupelo and still lived off his small and inconsistent income as a musician. Jimmy Wages died in 1999.
Discography
| year | title | Label # |
|---|---|---|
| Biggest Man Around / Right In The Middle | TomBigBee 102 | |
| Unpublished titles | ||
| 1957 |
|
Sun Records |
|
Sun Records | |
Web links
- Entry into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
- Entry in the All Music Guide
- Discography with audio samples
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wages, Jimmy |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American rockabilly musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1935 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tupelo (Mississippi) |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1999 |