Jimmie Rodgers (1897–1933)

Jimmie Rodgers, known as the "Blue Yodeler" and the "Singing Brakeman," is sometimes called the father of country music (see entry under 1940s—Music in volume 3). Although his entire music career spanned only nine years, Rodgers became one of the most beloved performers in America, yodeling his soulful and uplifting blues (see entry under 1920s—Music in volume 2) to a country mired in economic depression during the 1930s.

Born in Pine Springs, Tennessee, Rodgers was hard at work on the railroad by the time he was fourteen. He worked his way up to brakeman before he was forced to retire at age twenty-seven with the then-incurable disease tuberculosis. He was discovered by a music company scout, and he began recording the songs he wrote in 1927. Before he died at age thirty-five, he had recorded over one hundred hit records, including "Blue Yodel (T for Texas)," "Mule Skinner Blues," "In the Jailhouse Now," and "T.B. Blues."

Though Rodgers was a successful musician, he lost much of his money during the stock market crash of 1929. He died of tuberculosis in New York City, exhausted after a long recording session.

—Tina Gianoulis

For More Information

Paris, Mike, and Chris Comber. Jimmie the Kid: The Life of JimmieRodgers. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 1981.

Porterfield, Nolan. Jimmie Rodgers: The Life and Times of America's BlueYodeler. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1992.

Rodgers, Carrie. My Husband, Jimmie Rodgers. Nashville: Country Music Foundation, 1995.

"The Singing Brakeman: Jimmie Rodgers." Boys' Life (December 1980): pp. 53–55.