Songs of Jimmie Rodgers - Tribute

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 19, 1997)
• Original Release Date: August 19, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000002BLD
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,932 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #16 in Music > World Music > Celtic > Rock
  • #43 in Music > Country > Classic Country > Bakersfield Sound
  • #68 in Music > Country > Bluegrass > Traditional

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The song that rings most true on this salute to the Mississippian generally considered the father of country music is also the most fatigued tune on the collection--Jerry Garcia and David Grisman's "Blue Yodel #9 (Standin' on the Corner)." Garcia died two weeks after rush-recording the track before entering a substance recovery clinic. You get the sense the fading Garcia understood what drove Rodgers to make music till nearly his dying breath. A few other Rodgers proselytizers make creditable connections with the pioneering recording star, including Willie Nelson, Steve Earle, and Iris DeMent. For an undistilled sense of the great man, check out Rounder Records' eight volume Complete Recordings, 1927-1933. There could be no finer tribute. --Steven Stolder

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Varied tribute to the Singing Brakeman May 25, 2003

By Peter Durward Harris HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Audio CD

Jimmie Rodgers (not to be confused with the similarly-named folk/pop singer of the late fifties and early sixties) died in 1933, but his music still has a significant following. The rock and country singers that participated in this album provide proof of that. Several of Jimmie's famous songs are here, but there are also some less obvious selections.

Of the country singers, I particularly enjoyed Iris DeMent (Hobo Bill's last ride), Willie Nelson (Peach picking time in Georgia), Alison Krauss (Any old time) and Dwight Yoakam (T for Texas). Among the rock singers, my favorites were Bono (Dreaming with tears in my eyes) and John Mellencamp (Gambling bar room blues). Actually, most of the tracks are brilliant.

All these singers do the songs in their own style, so your own favorite tracks are likely to depend on your opinion of their other music. If you enjoy Jimmie's music, you will enjoy this providing you can accept the diverse styles. If you only like country, you may find yourself skipping some tracks. Country is my favorite music, but I also enjoy a lot of rock too. To my ears, this is an excellent tribute album.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and Indispensible May 25, 2000

By mackjay

Format:Audio CD

This Jimmie Rodgers tribute collection is a great example of how such albums should be done. All the performers here exhibit respect for the material. Yes, they imprint the songs with their personal styles, but never at the expense of the music itself, as happens so often in other "tributes". Standouts for this listener are Dylan's "Blue Eyed Jane", a demonstration of the his greatness as an interpreter: beautifully phrased singing, deeply immersed in its idiom; Dwight Yoakam's "T For Texas" is an astonishingly powerful and brilliantly vocalized performance; Van Morrison on "Mule Skinner Blues" sounds at the top of his form, as though the track were recorded in 1970; David Ball, a relative newcomer, sounds born to sing "Miss the Mississippi". But, truly, it would be hard to single anyone out as the best.

This wonderful collection went nearly unnoticed at its release. It will richly reward anyone who hears it now.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The original "country singer." June 5, 2004

By Joseph H Pierre

Format:Audio CD

Singers featured:

David Ball
Dickie Betts
Bono
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Iris Dement
Bob Dylan
Steve Earle
Jerry Garcia
Alison Krauss
John Mellencamp
Van Morrison
Willie Nelson
Aaron Neville
Dwight Yoakam

I first heard Jummie Rodgers sing as a teenager, when I found an old shellac and celluloid 78 RPM record in a house we had just moved into, in the late 'thirties (before the second world war.) It had Jimmie Rodgers Blue Yodel, Opus no 3, on one side and Opus no. 5 on the other. The record has since been lost of course, but I learned the songs well enough to play them on the guitar, and sing the lyrics. Great stuff!

This is a tribute collection of a few of Jimmy Rodgers' songs, sung by other singers pretty much in his style. I've often said that many singers sing better than he did, play the guitar better, and yodel better, so--what was it he had that makes him so revered (by those who know of him.) He was the first!

Jimmie was a railroad man. He reached some prominence as a singer, and died of tuberculosis in the earely 'thirties. Until you've heard him him sing...

Cain't you heah that train,
comin' down the railroad track...
Heah that tra-a-a-in, comin' down the railroad track,
How I long to he-ah the bark of that old smo-o-o-ke stack...

or

Woncha tell me Mama
Whe-ah you stayed las' nigh,
Tell me Mama, whe-ah you stayed las' night
'Cause your hair's all tangled,
An yo clothes don' fit you right
Ah hates to see
That evenin' sun go down,
Oh ah hates to see
That evening sun go down
Cause it makes me think
I'm on my las' go 'round

...you don't know the sound of real, down home country blues like I grew up on.
He was great.

Thanks, Peter Harris, for directing me to this marvelous record!

Joseph (Joe) Pierre