Back on January 18, 2021, Jimmie Rodgers passed from kidney disease and Covid. He was a remarkable entertainer whose main claim to fame was his work in the 1950s and ’60s.
These were his famous singles:
“Honeycomb” (1956)
“Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” (1957)
“Oh-Oh, I’m Falling in Love Again” (1958)
“The Long Hot Summer” (theme for a 1958 movie)
“Secretly” (1958)
“Make Me a Miracle” (1958)
“Are You Really Mine?” (1958)
“The Wizard” (1958)
“Bimbombey” (1958)
“I’m Never Gonna Tell” (1959)
“Ring-a-Ring-a Lario” (1959)
“Wonderful You” (1959)
“Tucumcari” (1959)
“Waltzing Matilda” (a big hit in U.K.–1959)
“Just a Closer Walk with Thee” (1960)
“The Wreck of the John B” (1960)
“Woman from Liberia” (1960)
“It’s Over” (1966–later sung by Elvis)
“Child of Clay” (1967)
It is remarkable he lived to 87, given his medical history: brain surgeries of the mid-’60s which left him with a plate in his head for many years and later surgeries for his voice problems. Jimmie was a true survivor and I corresponded with him in the 2010s (his signed autobio above). He even staged a brief comeback when he could sing some of his songs at a Nashville dinner theatre.
The two best albums to own:
The first has all the early hits plus “It’s Over” and “Child of Clay”. The second album has all the best of his mid-late ’60s folkie material.