Jimmie Rodgers (pop singer)
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James Frederick Rodgers (born September 18, 1933) is sometimes classed as a rock and roll singer, but his style was more typical of traditional pop music. Although he was not related to the famous country singer Jimmie Rodgers (country singer), it is possible that the younger Jimmie Rodgers was named for the older one as that was a popular name given to baby boys in the early 1930s.
He was born in Camas, Washington and taught music by his mother, learned to play the piano and guitar, and formed a band while he served in the United States Air Force. Like a number of other entertainers of the era, he was one of the contestants on Arthur Godfrey's talent show on the radio. When Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore left RCA Records to found a new record company, Roulette Records, they became aware of Jimmie's talent and signed him up.
In the summer of 1957, he recorded a song called "Honeycomb" which had been done by Bob Merrill three years earlier. It was his first big hit, reaching the top of the charts for four weeks. The following year, he had a number of other hits that reached the top ten on the charts: "Kisses Sweeter than Wine", "Oh-Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again", "Secretly", and "Are You Really Mine". Other hits include "Bimbombey", "Ring-a-ling-a-lario", "Tucumcari," and "Tender Love and Care (T.L.C)". In 1959 he had a televised variety show on the NBC network.
In 1962 he moved to the Dot label, and four years later to A&M Records. He also appeared in some movies.
In 1967 he had his last top-100 single, "Child of Clay". On December 20, 1967, while preparing to do a film for 20th Century Fox, he was a victim of an assault while driving on the San Diego Freeway in Southern California, receiving a severe beating leading to a fractured skull. This caused an approximately year-long period when he ceased to perform, but eventually returned, though not reaching the top singles chart again. He did, however, make an appearance on the album chart as late as 1969. Also, during that summer, he made a brief return to network television with a summer variety show on ABC.
His first wife, Colleen, had a fatal blood clot, claiming her life shortly after the 1967 beating. He remarried and with his new wife, Mary, he had a daughter in 1990.