Jimmie Rodgers (pop singer)

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Not to be confused with blues musician Jimmy Rogers.
Jimmie Rodgers
Birth name James Frederick Rodgers
Born September 18, 1933 (1933-09-18) (age 74), Camas, Washington, United States
Genre(s) Folk, Traditional Pop, rock and roll
Years active 1957-1967
Label(s) Roulette, Dot, A&M

James Frederick Rodgers (born September 18, 1933, Camas, Washington) is an American singer, sometimes classified as a rock and roll singer, but with a style more typical of folk/rock or traditional pop music. He is not related to the legendary country singer of the same name. His name is often incorrectly spelled Jimmy or Rogers.

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[edit] Career

Rodgers was taught music by his mother, learned to play the piano and guitar, and formed a band while he served in the United States Air Force. 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 Jimmie's talent and signed him up.

In the summer of 1957, he recorded a song called "Honeycomb", which had been done by Bob Merrill three years earlier. It was his first big 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 ten 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 movie tie-in with On the Beach. In 1959 he had a televised variety show on the NBC network.

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 and Elvis Presley).In 1967, he had his last top-100 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 top 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.

[edit] Discography

The following is a partial listing of Jimmie Rodgers albums from his recordings at Roulette, Dot and A&M. It does not include compilations with other artists.

* Roulette Label

-1958: Jimmie Rodgers (SR-25020). -1958: The Long Hot Summer-Soundtrack (SR-25026) Cast features Jimmie Rodgers. -1958: The Number One Ballads (SR-25033). -1958: Jimmie Rodgers Sings Folk Songs (SR-25042). -1959: His Golden Year (SR-25057). -1959: TV Favorites, Volume 1 (SR-25071). -1959: Twilight on the Trail (SR-25081). -1959: It's Christmas Once Again (SR-25095). -1960: When the Spirit Moves You (SR-25103). -1960: At Home with Jimmie Rodgers: An Evening of Folk Songs (SR-25128). -1961: The Folk Song World of Jimmie Rodgers (SR-25150). -1961: The Best of Jimmie Rodgers Folk Songs (SR-25160). -1962: 15 Million Sellers (SR-25179). -1963: Folk Songs (SR-25199). -1968: Yours Truly (SR-42006).

* Dot Label

-1962: Jimmie Rodgers Presents the Fairmont Singers(DLP-3439/25439). -1962: No One Will Ever Know (DLP-3453/25453). -1963: Jimmie Rodgers In Folk Concert (DLP-3496/25496). -1963: My Favorite Hymns (DLP-3502/25502). -1963: Honeycomb & Kisses Sweeter Than Wine (DLP-3525/25525). -1964: The World I Used To Know (DLP-3556/25556). -1964: 12 Great Hits (DLP-3579/25579). -1965: Deep Purple (DLP-3614/25614). -1965: Christmas (DLP-3657/25657). -1966: Nashville Sounds (DLP-3687/25687). -1966: Country Music 1966 (DLP-3710/25710). -1966: It's Over (DLP-3717/25717). -1967: Love Me, Please Love Me (DLP-3780/25780); These are re- recordings of his earlier hits on the Roulette label. -1967: Golden Hits: 15 Hits of Jimmie Rodgers (DLP-3815/25815); Many of these are remakes of his Roulette hits, although there are a few hits originally on Dot. Also released as Capitol Record Club ST 91386.

* A&M label

1. 1967: Child Of Clay (LP 130/SP 4130). 2. 1969: Windmills Of Your Mind (SP 4187). 3. 1970: Troubled Times (SP 4242). 4.  : Both Sides Now (AMLB 1008).

[edit] Films

Rodgers parlayed his singing fame into a brief movie career with lead performances in:

  • The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1961)...Chad - Co-starred with Disney's Luana Patten.
  • Back Door to Hell (1964)...Lt. Craig - Teamed with a very young Jack Nicholson in this tale of three Intel-recon rangers, landing in the Philippines just prior to McArthur's return.

Both movies were only mildly received.

[edit] Television

In the mid-1960s, he re-recorded (with altered tunes and words referring to the products) two of his best-known songs, for use in TV commercials:

[edit] External links

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