Jimmie Rodgers, singer of “Honeycomb” and other hits, dies at 87



[ad_1]

6:19 PM PST 01/24/2021

by

Associated press

He recorded many other top 10 hits in the late 1950s including “Secretly”, “Oh-Oh, I’m Falling in Love Again” and “Are You Really Mine?”

Jimmie Rodgers, singer of the 1957 hits “Honeycomb” and “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” whose music and film career was disrupted by a serious head injury a decade later, has died at 87.

Rodgers died of kidney disease Jan. 18 in Palm Desert, Calif., And had also tested positive for COVID-19, publicist Alan Eichler said on Saturday, citing his family.

Rodgers performed for $ 10 a night around Nashville while stationed there with the US Air Force after the Korean War. He appeared in a talent show and got an audition with Roulette Records, who signed him after hearing him perform “Honeycomb,” a song by Bob Merrill.

With a singing and guitar style that included elements of country, folk and pop, the Camas, Washington native recorded many other Top 10 hits in the late 1950s, including “Secretly.” , “Oh-Oh, I’m Falling in Love Again” and “Are you really mine?”

Rodgers continued to make albums through most of the 1960s, producing music ranging from cover versions of traditional songs like “The Wreck of The ‘John B.'” and “English Country Garden” to popular dishes such as the ballad “Child of Clay”. “

He had made his mark on television with performances on variety shows when he entered the cinema in the 1960s. His film credits included “The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come” and “Back Door to Hell “with a young Jack Nicholson.

In 1967, Rodgers was found in his car on a Los Angeles freeway suffering from a fractured skill and other injuries. He said he pulled over and over in response to a driver behind him flashing his lights and an attack by an off-duty officer left him with head injuries.

“I rolled down the window to ask what the problem was,” he said. The Toronto Star in 1987. “That’s the last thing I remember.”

Los Angeles police have insisted Rodgers was injured in a fall while drunk. Rodgers filed a complaint and accepted a settlement of $ 200,000. He then developed a condition that caused his voice box muscles to spasm. He also had occasional seizures, which he said were due to the attack.

After his initial recovery, Rodgers had a summer TV show on ABC in 1969 and also performed in his own theater in Branson, Missouri.

In a 2016 interview with The Spectrum, a Utah newspaper, Rodgers recalls finding a $ 10 guitar and singing while in the Air Force and stationed in Korea in 1953.

“We were sitting on the floor with only candles for the light, and these tough soldiers had tears running down their cheeks. I realized that if my music could have that effect, that’s what I wanted to do with my music. life, ”he said.

Survivors include his wife, Mary Louise Biggerstaff, and five children from three marriages.



[ad_2]

Source link