The Honey Voice Of Jimmie Rodgers Remembered

I am sure just about everyone is familiar with many of the songs performed by Jimmie Rodgers, whose most well known work was produced in the late 50's to early 60's.  The song Honeycomb is probably the most familiar and can still be heard now and then on a few select radio stations.  When I was just a small boy my parents gave me a rocking horse that worked by using springs that suspended the horse body from a metal frame.  I think they still make these today.  It was one of my greatest pleasures to have my mother place a stack of 45's on the record player and let me bounce/rock to the music.  I was literally rocking and rolling to the music and Honeycomb was one of my favorites.  I always liked Jimmie Rodgers' upbeat, snappy melodies and the song lyrics that told a short story about people and life.

I know I like Jimmie Rodgers' music but I knew nothing about the man or his life.  Now I have taken this opportunity to do some research on the man and as usual was surprised to find out about his life and in this case how it has included some very bumpy periods.

James Frederick Rodgers was born September 18, 1933 in Camas, Washington.  Rodgers' mother was an accomplished pianist and taught him to play at a young age.  He sang in the local choir and after graduating from high school spent a year at college.  However, he dropped out to join the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War.  While serving overseas he formed a small band and decided he liked performing.  In 1954 he was transferred stateside to a location near Nashville, Tennessee and on the side began performing in local nightspots.  

In 1956 he returned to Washington and continued to pursue a career in music.  This led to appearances on the Art Linkletter television show House Party and the Arthur Godfrey television show Talent Scouts.  Producers Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore heard Rodgers perform the song Honeycomb on the latter television show and offered Rodgers a music contract with Roulette Records.  In 1957 Honeycomb went all the way to number one on the Billboard Pop Charts.  Rodgers' next two singles, Kisses Sweeter Than Wine and Oh-Oh, I'm Falling In Love Again also went Top Ten, and while his fifth release, Secretly would prove to be his last visit to the Top Ten, he continued to record and tour, and hosted his own television series in 1959.  

Rodgers' run with Roulette Records ended on a down note after arguments over the non-payment of earned royalties.  Morris Levy, the owner of Roulette Records was known to have ties to the Genovese crime family and they had a history of intimidating artists and withholding earnings.  Needless to say,  in 1962 Jimmie Rodgers left Roulette Records to sign up with Dot Records.  Rodgers' live performance success continued while at the same time his recording success cooled.  It wasn't until 1966 with the recording of It's Over that Rodgers once again made it to the music charts.

In 1967 Rodger's signed a new deal with A&M Records and his song "Child Of Clay" once again made it to the music charts. It was at this time in December, while driving home from a Christmas party, that Jimmie Rodgers was pulled over and subsequently brutally beaten by a possible off-duty policeman.  Much of the detail is unknown about this incident and Rodgers to this day refuses to go into detail about the incident, sighting legal issues.  Speculation has it that the beating may have been connected to Rodgers' fall-out with the mob connected Roulette Records.  Because of a severe skull fracture, leading to the placement of a metal plate in his skull, Rodgers' health and career suffered.  He was often unable to perform for large segments of time due to illness.

Shortly after his 1967 beating incident, his first wife, Colleen nee McClatchey, with whom he had two children, Michelle and Michael, died as the result of a fatal blood clot. He remarried in 1970, and Jimmie and Trudy Rodgers had two sons, Casey and Logan. He and Trudy divorced in the late 1970s, and he remarried again. Jimmie and Mary Rodgers are still married today, and they have a daughter, Katrine, who was born in 1989.

Rodgers appeared in a 1999 video, Rock & Roll Graffiti by American Public Television, along with about 20 other performers. However, Rodgers' singing career was cut short later in life, since he has suffered from spastic dysphonia for a number of years (see video below). He has gone through several operations and treatments to regain the ability to speak. In 2007 the plate in Rodgers' skull was finally successfully removed.  

It should also be mentioned that Rodgers had brief acting appearances on shows throughout his career.  While his singing career has not been nearly long enough, luckily for us Jimmie Rodgers has left many memorable musical gems that I'm sure will continue to be played long into the future.

Here is one of my favorite and perhaps not as well know Jimmie Rodgers' songs; The Long Hot Summer from the motion picture soundtrack of the same name.

I'm Fascinated With Jane Morgan!!

The song "Fascination" is probably Jane Morgan's best known hit and, until recently, this was the only song by her in my music collection.  However, I came across a small collection of her music on a file sharing site. And, like most such discoveries, I was bowled over by this artist's outstanding vocal talent.  Why don't we hear more Jane Morgan songs on the radio?  I know modern stations don't touch this music genre anymore, but there are a few radio station gems that play music from this era, and still no playtime for this great artist. Since finding Jane Morgan, I have read her biography and been looking up her songs and performances on YouTube.  There is a large volume of her work to be found on YouTube, so there must be a lot more folks like me that appreciate Jane Morgan's talent.

What's even more "fascinating" is Jane Morgan's biography.  I can only say such a person has to be labelled  brilliant.  Born Florence Currier on May 3, 1924, in Newton, Massachusetts, Morgan was the daughter of Bertram Currier and Olga Brandenberg Currier, both of whom were dedicated and accomplished musicians. She was the youngest of five children.

She performed throughout her childhood, but gained fame by moving to Paris, France and working the nightclub scene.  Jane Morgan became a sensation in France and eventually Europe, wearing designer clothes, and belting out songs, while at the same time being a relatively unknown talent in the country of her birth.  In the 1950's she moved to Montreal, Canada to perform at the Ritz Carlton, performing both English and French songs.  She then moved to New York to again perform in nightclubs and even had her own NBC radio show.

Wanting to broaden her career, she left her agent and began singing at Lou Walter’s Latin Quarter in New York. Walters, father of television newswoman Barbara Walters, kept Morgan at the Latin Quarter for a year. There she was noticed by Dave Kapp, an entrepreneur, who had just begun a new recording label, Kapp Records. Kapp signed Morgan at the same time pianist Roger Williams was contracted.  Her first album release was entitled The American Girl from Paris.



She recorded several additional albums and soon was paired with Williams, who had gained national acceptance with his recording of "Autumn Leaves." They recorded "Two Different Worlds," and it was the first time Morgan received a large amount of airplay by American radio disc jockeys.

In 1957 Kapp signed a then unknown group of musicians called The Troubadors.  Jane Morgan was asked to join this group in performing the song "Fascination."  Although written in 1904 by Italian F. D. Marchetti and entitled "Valse Tzigane," it had been modified and used in Paris at the Follies Bergere as a "strip" number. With English lyrics added by Dick Manning in 1932, it had also been played throughout Love in the Afternoon. The French words were written by Maurice de Ferandy in 1942. In the fall of 1957, Morgan and The Troubadors’ rendition was released, and it became an instant sensation, remaining on the best selling charts for 29 weeks and selling millions of records. It marked for the first time Morgan’s acceptance as a top flight vocalist by the American public.

With new found fame Jane Morgan was eventually able to live her dream of performing on Broadway and she appeared in many well known musicals.  She also made several television appearances and performed in Las Vegas as well.  In 1960 she married her then manager Jerry Weintraub, who helped her gain access to some of the finest performance venues in the United States.  Her television appearances included The Ed Sullivan Show, The Andy Williams Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, and The Perry Como Show.

Morgan’s first American recordings were on the Kapp label in 1956, but other recordings were made on the Epic, London, ABC Colpix, Elektra, MCA, and RCA labels. Morgan recorded more than 30 albums. In addition, she appeared on the RCA soundtrack Marry Me! Marry Me! in 1969. She has worked with Burt Bacharach, Roger Williams, The Troubadors, Frank Hunter, Nick Perito, Marty Manning, Peter Matz, Chet Atkins, Maurice Chevalier, Michele Legrand and has recorded in five languages.

Her career covers nightclubs, recordings, radio, stage and screen.  She became fluent in several languages and was able to perform flawlessly using the various languages.  At age 90 I read that she was finally given a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame (see below).  Yes, Jane Morgan's life is "fascinating" and her recordings leave a lasting legacy. 



My current favorite Jane Morgan song is The Moon Was Yellow
from the Jane In Spain album, but I have to say I like all the tracks on this album, Granada  being another fave.

 


Here are some other artists who have recorded the song "The Moon Was Yellow."





I'm going to continue to research all Jane Morgan's music where I'm sure I will find and be picking up more of her gems.  I've included below a few of her performance videos from YouTube.  I'm always impressed by artists from this era.  Notice there is no bumping or grinding going on, but the power of the voice coming from this beautiful and beautifully dressed artist is spectacular.








Another big hit for Jane Morgan The Day The Rains Came