James Charles "Jimmie" Rodgers - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

Jimmie Rodgers was born in Meridian, Mississippi and during his early years joined his father working on the railroad. During this time he would often be found picking and singing for his co-workers and hobo’s who were riding the rails. . Jimmie eventually became a brakeman on the railroad, and that coupled with his ability to entertain gave him the nickname, “The Singing Brakeman.” In 1927 after contracting tuberculosis, Jimmie traveled to Bristol, Tennessee where he recorded sever song for Ralph Peer in what was to be known as “The Bristol Sessions.” These sessions not only launch Jimmie Rodgers career but also vaulted country and hillbilly music in to the mainstream. For the next several years Jimmie would play for sold out audiences and would become known as “America’s Blue Yodeler,” and “The Father of Country Music.” In May of 1933, Jimmie traveled to New York for what would turn out to be his final recording session. On May 24, 1933, Jimmie was so weak from the tuberculosis that he had to stop the recording session. He died two days later on May 26, 1933 at the Taft Hotel in New York City. His body was returned to Meridian, Mississippi where he was buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery. When the Country Music Hall of Fame was established in 1961, Rodgers was one of the first three people to be inducted, joining Fred Rose and Hank Williams.

Source/Credit: The Country Music Hall of Fame

Description: James Charles Rodgers was born on September 8, 1897 in Meridian, Mississippi. His mother died when he was very young and he was force to live with various relatives until his father who worked for the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, remarried and settled in Meridaian. Young Jimmie developed a love for entertaining while working as a water boy on the railroad, where he would often entertain other railroad workers as well as hobos who were riding the rails. Jimmie eventually became a brakeman on the railroad, that coupled with his ability to entertain gave him his first nickname, “The Singing Brakeman.” In 1924 Jimmie contracted Tuberculosis, which for a time ended his railroad career and gave him a chance in the entertainment industry. By this time he had married his wife Carrie and they had a daughter named Anita. In 1927 Jimmie Rodger performed for the first time on radio station WWNC in Asheville, North Carolina and a few months later he land a weekly job on a Radio Station in Bristol, Tennessee. Later in 1927, Ralph Peer and the “Victor Talking Machine Company would record Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family in recording what would become known as “The Bristol Session.” Eventually, nineteen performers recorded seventy-six songs at during the Bristol Sessions and these recordings are the first to bring Country and “Hillbilly” music to the rest of the world. Over the next few years Jimmie Rodgers records a number of hits including a series of song known as “The Blue Yodels, which gave him his second and more popular nickname “America’s Blue Yodeler.” For the next several years Jimmie Rodgers would perform in sold out halls all across the United States and became known as “The Father of Country Music.” In May of 1933, Jimmie traveled to New York for what would turn out to be his final recording session. On May 24, 1933, Jimmie was so weak from the tuberculosis that he had to stop the recording session. He died two days later on May 26, 1933 at the Taft Hotel in New York City. His body was returned to Meridian, Mississippi where he was buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery. Jimmie Rodgers was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961. Date of birth: 09/08/1897 Date of death: 05/26/1933 Area of notoriety: Entertainment Marker Type: Headstone Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Daily - Dawn to Dusk Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log for waymarks in this category, you must have personally visited the waymark location. When logging your visit, please provide a note describing your visit experience, along with any additional information about the waymark or the surrounding area that you think others may find interesting.

We especially encourage you to include any pictures that you took during your visit to the waymark. However, only respectful photographs are allowed. Logs which include photographs representing any form of disrespectful behavior (including those showing personal items placed on or near the grave location) will be subject to deletion.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.