James Frederick Rodgers (September 18, 1933 – January 18, 2021) was an American singer and actor. Rodgers had a run of hits and mainstream popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. His string of crossover singles 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 directly related to the earlier country singer Jimmie C. Rodgers (1897–1933), who died the same year the younger Rodgers was born. Among country audiences, and in his official songwriting credits, the younger Rodgers is often known as Jimmie F. Rodgers to differentiate the two.
Rodgers was born in Camas, Washington. He was the second son of Archie and Mary Rodgers. Rodgers was taught music by his mother, a piano teacher, and began performing as a child, first entertaining at a Christmas show when he was only five. He learned to play the piano and guitar, and performed locally.
After attending Camas High School, he briefly took courses at Clark Junior College in Vancouver, Washington. He later went to work in a paper mill. Although he loved music, he was uncertain whether he could turn it into a career. He was subsequently drafted and served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War.
While in the military, Rodgers joined a band called "The Melodies" started by violinist Phil Clark. During his service, he was transferred to Nashville, where he was stationed at Sewart Air Force Base from 1954-1956. It was during this time that he began expanding his musical repertoire. While he was in Nashville, he first heard the song that would become his first hit, "Honeycomb".
Like a number of other entertainers of the era, he was one of the contestants on Arthur Godfrey's talent show on CBS television, winning $700. 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 to a recording contract.
In the summer of 1957, he recorded his own version of "Honeycomb", which had been written by Bob Merrill and recorded by 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. Over 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.
In the United Kingdom, "Honeycomb" reached number 30 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1957, but "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" climbed to number 7 the following month. Both "Kisses Sweeter than Wine" and "Oh-Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again" were million sellers.
The success of "Honeycomb" earned Rodgers guest appearances on numerous variety programs during 1957, including the "Shower of Stars" program, hosted by Jack Benny, on October 31, 1957, and the Big Record with Patti Page, on December 4, 1957. Rodgers also made several appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, including on September 8, 1957, when he was seen by 48,500,000, the largest television audience of his entire career, and November 3, 1957. In 1958, he appeared on NBC's The Gisele MacKenzie Show. Also in 1958, he sang the opening theme song of the film The Long, Hot Summer, starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Orson Welles. He then had his own short-lived televised variety show on NBC in 1959.
His biggest hit in the UK was "English Country Garden", a version of the folk song "Country Gardens", which reached number 5 in the chart in June 1962. In 1962, he moved to the Dot label, and four years later to A&M Records. He also appeared in some films, including The Little Shepherd 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 recorded by Eddy Arnold, Elvis Presley, Glen Campbell, Mason Williams, and Sonny James). In 1967, he changed record labels, signing with A&M Records. It was with that label that Rodgers had his final charting Top 100 single, "Child of Clay", written by Ernie Maresca, (who had a top-40 hit back in 1962, "Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)".) He performed the song on several television variety shows, including The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, but it never became a big hit; it only reached number 31 on the Billboard charts.
Rodgers suffered from spasmodic dysphonia for a number of years and could hardly sing. After a 2012 concert, he returned home for open heart surgery, following a heart attack he'd suffered three weeks earlier. Rodgers died on January 18, 2021, at the age of 87, from COVID-19.
Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmie_Rodgers_(pop_singer)
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