Jimmie Rodgers (pop singer)
| Jimmie Rodgers | |
|---|---|
Rodgers in 1968
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Frederick Rodgers |
| Born |
September 18, 1933 Camas, Washington, United States |
| Genres |
Folk Traditional pop music Rock and roll |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | vocals, guitar, piano |
| Years active | 1957–present |
| Labels |
Roulette Dot A&M |
James Frederick "Jimmie" Rodgers (born September 18, 1933 in Camas, Washington, United States) is an American popular music singer. Rodgers had a brief run of mainstream popularity in the late 1950s with a string of crossover singles that ranked highly on the Billboard Pop Singles, Hot Country and Western Sides and Hot Rhythm and Blues Sides charts; in the 1960s, Rodgers had more modest successes with adult contemporary music.
He is not related to the earlier country singer of the same name, who coincidentally died the same year the younger Rodgers was born. Among country audiences, the younger Rodgers is often known as Jimmie F. Rodgers to differentiate the two.
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 Victor for Morris Levy's 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. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. 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 the apocalyptic movie On the Beach.
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