Songs of Jimmie Rodgers

The songs of country music pioneer Jimmie Rodgers have been appropriated by dozens of musicians and radically transformed since he first recorded them nearly 90 years ago. His songs have often resurfaced at critical moments when country music has been forced to confront issues of style, gender, race, and tradition. In this cultural and historical study, Jocelyn R. Neal discusses three of Rodgers' most influential songs—"Muleskinner Blues," "In the Jailhouse Now," and "T for Texas." She offers a radically new perspective on the role of Rodgers and his music in the making of country music, and on the ways in which individual songs take on special significance in American cultural life.

The title of this book suggests it covers all the songs Rodgers (1897-1933) performed and wrote. This is not the case. Instead Neal (Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) gives the reader an overview of the career and music of this remarkable 'father of country music,' paying considerable attention to musical genres he represented and influenced. The book's in-depth studies of three of Rodgers's most famous songs, 'Mule Skinner Blues,' 'In the Jailhouse Now,' and 'T for Texas,' include helpful musical analysis. The author's research is admirable and carefully documented. She shows how Rodgers, credited as composer of many songs he performed, actually made arrangements of songs he learned from various traditions, a practice not unusual for early recording artists. Neal also provides a sometimes-surprising look at the wide influence some of these songs have exerted on people who never even heard of Jimmie Rodgers. What is perhaps most significant is the author's deep love of the music she writes about, which brings her subject matter to life for readers as no mere scholarly exercise can. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. -- ChoiceD. Arnold, University of North Texas, December 2009, "Culture and history comes to life in a study offering a new perspective on Rodgers and how his music influenced the course and choices of country music as a genre, making this an indispensable reference for any serious music history library." —California Bookwatch, September 2009, "Neal combines thoughtful, meticulous, razor-sharp analyses of songs and performances with an encyclopedic knowledge of country music history and of the connections between songs and performers." —Peter LaChapelle, author of Proud to Be an Okie: Cultural Politics, Country Music, and Migration to Southern California, "A very special study.... In [Jocelyn Neal's] skilled hands, this rich history is not just about music but also about musicians, fans, publishers, the music industry and the environing society." —Richard A. Peterson, Vanderbilt University, "All pop historians and analysts, indeed all fans of country music, will gain from this definitive study of Jimmie Rodgers' songs, performances, and recordings. Richly contextualized by references to artists from Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith to Gretchen Wilson and the Dixie Chicks, The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers shows what makes this music tick. By mixing biography, cultural perspective and style analysis with a few close readings, Neal—one of today's leading authorities of country music—easily convinces the reader as to why one yodeling hillbilly Mississippian active from 1927 through 1933 resides at the core of all country." —Walter Everett, University of Michigan School of Music, Theater, and Dance

Jocelyn R. Neal is Associate Professor in the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She lives in Durham, North Carolina.