James Frederick "Jimmie" Rodgers (born September 18, 1933 in Camas, Washington, United States) is an American singer. He is not related to the country singer of the same name, who coincidentally died in the same year that the subject of this article was born. His name is often incorrectly spelled Jimmy or Rogers.Contents [hide] 1 Career 2 Discography 2.1 Albums 2.2 Singles 3 Films 4 Television 5 References 6 External links
[edit] Career
Rodgers was taught music by his mother, learned to play the piano and guitar, and joined a band called "The Melodies" started by violinist Phil Clark, while he served in the United States Air Force in Korea.
Like a number of other entertainers of the era, he was one of the contestants on Arthur Godfrey's talent show on the radio. When Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore left RCA Records to found a new record company, Roulette Records, they became aware of Rodgers' talent and signed him up.
In the summer of 1957, he recorded a song called "Honeycomb", which had been recorded by Bob Merrill and Georgie Shaw three years earlier. The tune was Rodgers' biggest hit, staying on the top of the charts for four weeks. The following year, he had a number of other hits that reached the Top 10 on the charts: "Kisses Sweeter than Wine", "Oh-Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again", "Secretly", and "Are You Really Mine". Other hits include "Bo Diddley", "Bimbombey", "Ring-a-ling-a-lario", "Tucumcari," "Tender Love and Care (T.L.C)", and a version of Waltzing Matilda as a film tie-in with On the Beach. In 1966 The Beach Boys peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 with a remake of Rodgers' 1960 hit "The Wreck Of John B" (whose origins were the 1917 song "The John B. Sails") as "Sloop John B".
In the UK, "Honeycomb" reached Number 30 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1957, but "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" climbed to Number 7 the following month.[1]
In 1958, he appeared on NBC's The Gisele MacKenzie Show. He then had his own short-lived televised variety show on NBC.
His biggest hit in the UK was "English Country Garden", which reached Number 5 in the chart in June 1962.[1] In 1962, he moved to the Dot label, and four years later to A&M Records. He also appeared in some movies, including The Little Shepard of Kingdom Come, opposite Neil Hamilton, and Back Door to Hell, which he helped finance.
In 1966, a long dry spell ended for Rodgers when he re-entered the Top 40 with "It's Over" (later to be covered by Eddy Arnold, Elvis Presley, and Sonny James). In 1967, he had his final charting single, "Child of Clay". On December 20, 1967, while preparing to do a film for 20th Century Fox, he was assaulted after allegedly being pulled over by an off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officer on the San Diego Freeway in Southern California, receiving a severe beating, leading to a skull fracture. Neither the assailant(s) nor the reason for the assault has ever been established. Not long after the assault, he appeared on a late-night talk show and discussed it, but all he could recall were bright lights, presumably from the car of his attacker(s). Rodgers later claimed that members of the San Diego Police Department had assaulted him.[citation needed] After he sued the Los Angeles Police Department,[citation needed] the LAPD settled out of court for $200,000.[citation needed]
Recovery from his injuries caused an approximately year-long period in which he ceased to perform. He eventually returned, though not reaching the singles chart again. He did, however, make an appearance on the album chart as late as 1969. Also, during the summer of 1969, he made a brief return to network television with a summer variety show on ABC.
Shortly after his 1967 beating incident, his first wife, Colleen, with whom he had two children, Michelle and Michael, died as the result of a fatal blood clot. He remarried in 1970, and Jimmie and Trudy Rodgers had two sons, Casey and Logan. He and Trudy divorced in the late 1970s, and he remarried again. Jimmie and Mary Rodgers are still married today, and they have a daughter, Katrine, who was born in 1989.
Rodgers appeared in a 1999 video, Rock & Roll Graffiti by American Public Television, along with about 20 other performers. He stated that he had suffered from spastic dysphonia for a number of years, and could hardly sing. Nevertheless, he gave a try at "Honeycomb", and he mentioned that he had a show in Branson, Missouri. [edit] Discography [edit] AlbumsYear Album Chart Positions Label US CAN 1957 Jimmie Rodgers 15 — Roulette 1958 The Number One Ballads — — Jimmie Rodgers Sings Folk Songs — — 1959 Jimmie Rodgers… His Golden Year — — Jimmie Rodgers TV Favorites, Volume 1 — — Twilight on the Trail — — It's Christmas Once Again — — 1960 When the Spirit Moves You — — At Home with Jimmie Rodgers — — 1961 The Folk Song World of Jimmie Rodgers — — 15 Million Sellers — — 1962 No One Will Ever Know — — Dot 1963 Jimmie Rodgers in Folk Concert — — My Favorite Hymns — — Honeycomb & Kisses Sweeter Than Wine — — The World I Used to Know — — 1964 12 Great Hits — — 1965 Deep Purple — — Christmas with Jimmie Rodgers — — 1966 That Nashville Sound — — Country Music 1966 — — It's Over 145 — 1967 Love Me, Please Love Me — — Golden Hits — — Child of Clay 162 — A&M 1969 The Windmills of Your Mind 183 92 1970 Troubled Times — — 1978 Yesterday/Today — — Scrimshaw
[edit] SinglesYear Single Chart Positions Album US US Country US R&B US AC CAN CAN AC 1957 "Honeycomb" 1 7 1 — — — Jimmie Rodgers "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" 3 6 8 — — — 1958 "Oh-Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again" 7 5 19 — — — Jimmie Rodgers… His Golden Year "The Long Hot Summer" 77 — — — — — "Secretly" 3 5 7 — — — "Make Me a Miracle" 16 flip 7 — — — "Are You Really Mine?" 10 13 — — — — "The Wizard" 45 — — — — — "Bimbombey" 11 — — — — — 1959 "Because You're Young" 62 — — — — — "I'm Never Gonna Tell" 36 — — — — — "Ring-a-Ring a Lario" 32 — — — — — singles only "Wonderful You" 40 — — — — — "Tecumcari" 32 — — — — — "Wistful Willie" 112 — — — — — "T.L.C. Tender Love and Care" 24 — — — — — "Waltzing Matilda" 41 — — — — — 1960 "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" 44 — — — — — When the Spirit Moves You "The Wreck of John B." 64 — — — — — At Home with Jimmie Rodgers "Woman from Liberia" — — — — — — singles only 1961 "When Love Is Young" — — — — — — "Everytime My Heart Sings" — — — — — — "I'm Goin' Home" — — — — — — "A Little Dog Cried" 71 — — 16 — — The Folk Song World of Jimmie Rodgers 1962 "You Are Everything to Me" — — — — — — single only "No One Will Ever Know" 43 — — 14 — — No One Will Ever Know "Rainbow at Midnight" 62 — — 16 — — singles only 1963 "Afraid" — — — — — — "Face in Crowd" 129 — — — — — "(I Don't Know Why) I Just Do" — — — — — — "Poor Little Raggedy Ann" — — — — — — "2-10, 6-18" 78 — — — — — "Mama Was a Cotton Picker" 131 — — — — — 1964 "Together" — — — — — — "The World I Used to Know" 51 — — 9 — — The World I Used to Know "Water Boy" — — — — — — "Two Tickets" — — — — — — single only 1965 "Strangers" — — — — — — Deep Purple "Careless Love" — — — — — — singles only "Little School Girl" — — — — — — "Bye, Bye Love" — — — — — — The Nashville Sound 1966 "A Fallen Star" — — — — — — single only "It's Over" 37 — — 5 29 — It's Over "Young Idea" — — — — — — single only "Wonderful You" — — — — — — Love Me, Please Love Me 1967 "Time" — — — — — — It's Over "I'll Say Goodbye" — — — 20 — — Child of Clay "Child of Clay" 31 — — 21 — — "What a Strange Town" — — — — — — single only 1968 "You Pass Me By" — — — — — — Child of Clay "How Do You Say Goodbye" — — — — — — "I Believed It All" — — — 25 — — "Today" 104 — — 19 80 — 1969 "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" — — — — — — The Windmills of Your Mind "The Windmills of Your Mind" 123 — — — — — "Me About You" — — — — — — "Tomorrow Is My Friend" — — — 39 — 28 single only 1970 "Dum Dum Song" — — — — — — Troubled Times 1971 "Daylight Lights the Dawning" — — — — — — singles only 1972 "Go On By" — — — — — — "Froggy's Fable" — — — 30 — — 1977 "A Good Woman Likes to Drink with the Boys" — 67 — — — — Yesterday/Today 1978 "Everytime I Sing a Love Song" — 74 — — — — "When Our Love Began" — — — — — — "Secretly" — 65 — 46 — — singles only 1979 "Easy to Love" — 89 — — — — "Easy" (with Michele) — flip — — — —
[edit] Films
Rodgers parlayed his singing fame into a brief movie career with lead performances in: The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1961) Back Door to Hell (1964)
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmie_Rodgers_(pop_singer)
