Jimmie Rodgers

小簡(jiǎn)介人們把吉米·羅杰斯稱為“鄉(xiāng)村音樂之父”，因?yàn)樵谒鳛楦枋?、作曲家和吉他手?927年登上歌壇之前，鄉(xiāng)村音樂主要是指一些管弦樂隊(duì)，演出的影響力相對(duì)較小。而由于羅杰斯的出現(xiàn)，鄉(xiāng)村音樂紅火的發(fā)展起來(lái)，并且從此繼續(xù)下去。

　　羅杰斯的聲音和演唱風(fēng)格不但吸引了聽眾，也改變了鄉(xiāng)村音樂的實(shí)質(zhì)，他的唱片融合了鄉(xiāng)村曲調(diào)和布魯斯音樂，使他在逝世53年后被選入“搖滾音樂名人堂”。羅杰斯的唱片由各種樂器伴奏，從夏威夷吉他到爵士樂隊(duì)，到墨西哥樂隊(duì)，形成了一種“大雜燴”的音樂風(fēng)格，然而最終為鄉(xiāng)村音樂所接受。他的舒情曲調(diào)從感傷的到淫猥的，從完全個(gè)人的到南方農(nóng)村社會(huì)生活，羅杰斯為幾代音樂家的藝術(shù)典范。
　　羅杰斯原名為詹姆斯·查爾斯·羅杰斯，1897年9月8日出生于密西西比州的梅里迪恩，父親是一名鐵路工人。年輕的羅杰斯愛好音樂，常聽布魯斯、靈歌和民間歌謠，并且學(xué)會(huì)了唱和彈吉他和班卓琴，12歲時(shí)贏得了本地的一次“天才兒童比賽?！?年以后，他從家出走，開始了一段長(zhǎng)時(shí)期的巡回演唱，并且做些鐵路上的零活補(bǔ)充生活費(fèi)用。
　　1924年他患上了肺病，在當(dāng)時(shí)這無(wú)疑是宣判了死刑，幸好過了幾年病慢慢減輕了。羅杰斯不得不停止干體力活，決心完全從事音樂。
　　1927年羅杰斯在北卡羅連那州的阿希維爾參加了一支樂隊(duì)，后來(lái)他又聽說維克多唱片公司要在田納西州的布里斯托爾錄制唱片，于是他和樂隊(duì)在當(dāng)年8月份趕到布里斯托爾?？墒窃诓祭锼雇袪?，樂隊(duì)和他分手了，但他仍在那兒錄制了他的首張唱片，結(jié)果一炮打響。歌曲《戰(zhàn)士的心上人》登上了當(dāng)時(shí)的排行榜，名列第9。羅杰斯后來(lái)又被邀請(qǐng)?jiān)?1月份到維克多公司在新澤西州的錄音棚錄制他的第一張唱片《約德爾布魯斯》，唱片推出后銷量很好,并在排行榜上名列第2。
　　他充分地利用隨后的這幾年來(lái)推銷自己，在公眾中樹立了一個(gè)“唱歌的制動(dòng)手”的形象，并用在鐵路上的經(jīng)歷所寫的歌曲來(lái)打動(dòng)當(dāng)時(shí)被經(jīng)濟(jì)大蕭條所困擾的美國(guó)公眾。他在輕松歌劇中演出，并在帳篷中、電臺(tái)上演唱，并在1927年拍了一部電影短片，影片名字就是《唱歌的制動(dòng)手》，在影片中他演唱了好幾支歌。
　　從1929年到1933年羅杰斯錄制了一百一十首歌，他擁有了財(cái)富，修建了“約德爾布魯斯宮殿”作為他的住宅，購(gòu)置了豪華的汽車，這一切和他不久前的狼狽生活形成了鮮明的對(duì)比。
　　羅杰斯后來(lái)因疾病而衰弱，但仍錄制新的歌曲。在1933年5 月26日羅杰斯在紐約塔夫飯店去世。1961年吉米。羅杰斯被選入“鄉(xiāng)村音樂名人堂” 。by David VinopalHis brass plaque in the Country Music Hall of Fame reads, Jimmie Rodgers name stands foremost in the country music field as the man who started it all. This is a fair assessment. The Singing Brakeman and the Mississippi Blue Yodeler, whose six-year career was cut short by tuberculosis, became the first nationally known star of country music and the direct influence of many later performers, from Hank Snow, Ernest Tubb, and Hank Williams to Lefty Frizzell and Merle Haggard. Rodgers sang about rounders and gamblers, bounders and ramblers — and he knew what he sang about. At age 14 he went to work as a railroad brakeman, and on the rails he stayed until a pulmonary hemorrhage sidetracked him to the medicine show circuit in 1925. The years with the trains harmed his health but helped his music. In an era when Rodgers contemporaries were singing only mountain and mountain/folk music, he fused hillbilly country, gospel, jazz, blues, pop, cowboy, and folk; and many of his best songs were his compositions, including TB Blues, Waiting for a Train, Travelin Blues, Train Whistle Blues, and his 13 blue yodels. Although Rodgers wasnt the first to yodel on records, his style was distinct from all the others. His yodel wasnt merely sugar-coating on the song, it was as important as the lyric, mournful and plaintive or happy and carefree, depending on a songs emotional content. His instrumental accompaniment consisted sometimes of his guitar only, while at other times a full jazz band (horns and all) backed him up. Country fans could have asked for no better hero/star — someone who thought what they thought, felt what they felt, and sang about the common person honestly and beautifully. In his last recording session, Rodgers was so racked and ravaged by tuberculosis that a cot had to be set up in the studio, so he could rest before attempting that one song more. No wonder Rodgers is to this day loved by country music fans.The youngest son of a railroad man, Rodgers was born and raised in Meridian, MS. Following his mothers death in 1904, he and his older brother went to live with their mothers sister, where he first became interested in music. Rodgers aunt was a former teacher who held degrees in music and English, and she exposed him to a number of different styles of music, including vaudeville, pop, and dancehall. Though he was attracted to music, he was a mischievous boy and often got into trouble. When he returned to his fathers care in 1911, Rodgers ran wild, hanging out in pool halls and dives, yet he never got into any serious trouble. When he was 12, he experienced his first taste of fame when he sang Steamboat Bill at a local talent contest. Rodgers won the concert and, inspired by his success, decided to head out on the road in his own traveling tent show. His father immediately tracked him down and brought him back home, yet he ran away again, this time joining a medicine show. The romance of performing with the show wore off by the time his father hunted him down. Given the choice of school or the railroad, Rodgers chose to join his father on the tracks.For the next ten years, Rodgers worked on the railroad, performing a variety of jobs along the South and West Coasts. In May of 1917, he married Sandra Kelly after knowing her for only a handful of weeks; by the fall, they had separated, even though she was pregnant (their daughter died in 1938). Two years later they officially divorced, and around the same time, he met Carrie Williamson, a preachers daughter. Rodgers married Carrie in April of 1920 while she was still in high school. Shortly after their marriage, Rodgers was laid off by the New Orleans & Northeastern Railroad, and he began performing various blue-collar jobs, looking for opportunities to sing. Over the next three years, the couple was plagued with problems, ranging from financial to health — the second of their two daughters died of diphtheria six months after her birth in 1923. By that time, Rodgers had begun to regularly play in traveling shows, and he was on the road at the time of her death. Though these years were difficult, they were important in the development of Rodgers musical style as he began to develop his distinctive blue yodel and worked on his guitar skills.In 1924, Rodgers was diagnosed with tuberculosis, but instead of heeding the doctors warning about the seriousness of the disease, he discharged himself from the hospital to form a trio with fiddler Slim Rozell and his sister-in-law Elsie McWilliams. Rodgers continued to work on the railroad and perform blackface comedy with medicine shows while he sang. Two years after being diagnosed with TB, he moved his family out to Tucson, AZ, believing the change in location would improve his health. In Tucson, he continued to sing at local clubs and events. The railroad believed these extracurricular activities interfered with his work and fired him. Moving back to Meridian, Rodgers and Carrie lived with her parents before he moved away to Asheville, NC, in 1927. Rodgers was going to work on the railroad, but his health was so poor he couldnt handle the labor; he would never work the rails again. Instead, he began working as a janitor and a cab driver, singing on a local radio station and events as well. Soon, he moved to Johnson City, TN, where he began singing with the string band the Tenneva Ramblers. Prior to Rodgers, the group had existed as a trio, but he persuaded the members to become his backing band because he had a regular show in Asheville. The Ramblers relented, and the groups name took second billing to Rodgers, and the group began playing various concerts in addition to the radio show. Eventually, Rodgers heard that Ralph Peer, an RCA talent scout, was recording hillbilly and string bands in Bristol, TN. Rodgers convinced the band to travel to Bristol, but on the eve of the audition, they had a huge argument about the proper way they should be billed, resulting in the Tenneva Ramblers breaking away from Rodgers. He went to the audition as a solo artist, and Peer recorded two songs — the old standards The Soldiers Sweetheart and Sleep, Baby, Sleep — after rejecting Rodgers signature song, T for Texas.Released in October of 1927, the record was not a hit, but Victor did agree to record Rodgers again, this time as a solo artist. In November of 1927, he cut four songs, including T for Texas. Retitled Blue Yodel upon its release, the song became a huge hit and one of only a handful of early country records to sell a million copies. Shortly after its release, Rodgers and Carrie moved to Washington, where he began appearing on a weekly local radio show billed as the Singing Brakeman. Though Blue Yodel was a success, its sales grew steadily throughout early 1928, which meant that the couple wasnt able to reap the financial benefits until the end of the year. By that time, Rodgers had recorded several more singles, including the hits Way Out on the Mountain, Blue Yodel No. 4, Waiting for a Train, and In the Jailhouse Now. On various sessions, Peer experimented with Rodgers backing band, occasionally recording him with two other string instrumentalists and recording his solo as well. Over the next two years, Peer and Rodgers tried out a number of different backing bands, including a jazz group featuring Louis Armstrong, orchestras, and a Hawaiian combo.By 1929, Rodgers had become an official star, as his concerts became major attractions and his records consistently sold well. During 1929, he made a small film called The Singing Brakeman, recorded many songs, and toured throughout the country. Though his activity kept his star shining and the money rolling in, his health began to decline under all the stress. Nevertheless, he continued to plow forward, recording numerous songs and building a large home in Kerrville, TX, as well as working with Will Rogers on several fundraising tours for the Red Cross that were designed to help those suffering from the Depression. By the middle of 1931, the Depression was beginning to affect Rodgers as well, as his concert bookings decreased dramatically and his records stopped selling. Despite the financial hardships, Rodgers continued to record.Not only did the Great Depression cut into Rodgers career, but so did his poor health. He had to decrease the number of concerts he performed in both 1931 and 1932, and by 1933, his health affected his recording and forced him to cancel plans for several films. Despite his condition, he refused to stop performing, telling his wife that I want to die with my shoes on. By early 1933, the family was running short on money, and he had to perform anywhere he could — including vaudeville shows and nickelodeons — to make ends meet. For a while he performed on a radio show in San Antonio, but in February he collapsed and was sent to the hospital. Realizing that he was close to death, he convinced Peer to schedule a recording session in May. Rodgers used that session to provide needed financial support for his family. At that session, Rodgers was accompanied by a nurse and rested on a cot in between songs. Two days after the sessions were completed, he died of a lung hemorrhage on May 26, 1933. Following his death, his body was taken to Meridian by train, riding in a converted baggage car. Hundreds of country fans awaited the bodys arrival in Meridian, and the train blew its whistle consistently throughout its journey. For several days after the body arrived in Rodgers hometown, it lay in state as hundreds, if not thousands, of people paid tribute to the departed musician.The massive display of affection at Rodgers funeral services indicated what a popular and beloved star he was during his time. His influence wasnt limited to the 30s, however. Throughout country musics history, echoes of Rodgers can be heard, from Hank Williams to Merle Haggard. In 1961, Rodgers became the first artist inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame; 25 years later, he was inducted as a founding father at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Though both honors are impressive, they only give a small indication of what Rodgers accomplished — and how he affected the history of country music by making it a viable, commercially popular medium — during his lifetime.