For a guy who failed at almost everything he touched, and no conventional musical ability to speak of, it is remarkable to see how quickly Jimmie Rodgers’ popularity caught on with the general public.

It may be hard to discern now, but Rodgers filled a gaping hole in the recording industry of the late ‘20s. Back then, most ‘popular’ music was sung by starched-shirt types, a byproduct of the opera tenors who dominated record sales. “Race” records did fine in black markets, but white audiences rarely heard anything that could be rightly be called “The Blues”.

In one fell swoop, Jimmie Rodgers changed all that, singing with a voice that sounded completely natural, and using colloquial words that made every song sound as casual as it did natural. Thanks to Jimmie Rodgers, popular music was now the domain of everyman, and he made the best of it.

Featured tracks include;

T for Texas (Blue Yodel #1)

Dear Old Sunny South By the Sea

The Brakeman’s Blues

 The Sailor’s Plea

In the Jailhouse Now

Blue Yodel #2

Memphis Yodel

Blue Yodel #3