Did you ever get a song in your head, and it wouldn't leave?

You had to hear the song again, or part of it to get your head cleared? I will give my age away, but my grandkids won’t care. I not only had one song stuck in my brain, but I had another as well.

The first one was Uh Oh I’m Falling in Love Again. It was sung by Jimmie Rogers late 50s or early 60s. The second one was one of his as well….on the top ten charts forever it seemed. It was called Honeycomb.

Not this Jimmie Rogers.

This Jimmie Rogers, who sort of disappeared in the 60s.

I remember driving back to college with friends and listening to his songs. He sang an Australian ballad called Waltzing Matilda. He sang Ring-A-Ling-A-Lario and Child Of Clay.

Every single one of his songs was so clear-voiced, easy, calm. It was real music, sort of folksy and sort of pop. Then he just sort of disappeared. I remember something about his getting head injuries during a traffic stop. It was in the 60s, which is so long ago it is hard to find out more about what happened to him.

I feel better because I got a chance to listen to two of his albums today at Amazon on their preview section. I ordered two CDs. I had forgotten how beautifully he did the Rod McKuen song called Today. (Today while the roses still cling to the vine….) and a song called Windmills of Your Mind.

Some of the previews are here at this link.
Music of Jimmie Rogers

I remember there was something about a highway trooper stopping him on the freeway or something. And blows on the head. To those of us who adored his music, something like that did not seem compatible with him at all. Whatever happened, the world lost a great musician then. He had a quality that others lacked, a voice that rang clear, and and easy rhythm. We who grew up in the 50s and 60s had a lot changes in our music. Jimmie Rogers was like a bridge between the rough edges of Elvis and the quieter folk singers.

So I feel better having found a way to hear those songs. It was a nice day of remembering.

7 Comments

supersoling on February 27, 2006 at 1:07 am

Hi Floridagal,
I googled around a little for info on Jimmie Rogers and came up with these two. One from Wikipedia.

On December 20, 1967 Rodgers was assaulted on the San Diego Freeway. He was beaten severely and suffered a fractured skull. The exact reasons for this beating remain a mystery, although there has been speculation about the reasons for it. Jimmie took off for a time but returned to performing the following year. The last of his twenty-five top 100 singles was Child Of Clay in late 1967. He put albums such as his Windmills Of Your Mind on the albums chart as late as 1969.

Jimmie Rodgers is a talented performer who reached his peak of popularity in the late 50’s. His hits are still played on radio stations and he is perhaps most associated with his snappy number one hit Honeycomb.

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. He was not related to the famous country singer Jimmie Rodgers.

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, including The Little Shepard of Kingdom Come, opposite Neil Hamilton.

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.

Hope that fills in some of the blanks for you.

Nice reminissenses about your favorite music as you grew up too.

floridagal on February 27, 2006 at 10:50 am

Thanks for that. I believe I remember seeing him after that incident of head trauma, but he did not seem the same at all.

Family Man on February 27, 2006 at 8:04 am

Floridagal I remember Honeycomb well and I remember Jimmie Rogers. I even remember Arthur Godfrey’s talent show. I never knew what had happened to Jimmie Rogers, but I do agree about his voice. I also remember his doing the Rod McKuen song. Thanks for bringing back some good memories.

floridagal on February 27, 2006 at 10:54 am

I sure had a big one yesterday. His music had a lilt to it that stayed with me.

I joined a site called Emusic.com. They have a lot of old music. My son even got fascinated when he was home last year. He downloaded some duets by Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong, and he commented that they were the personification of “smooth.”

I realized I was very old when he said it was the first time he had heard Bing Crosby.

boran2 on February 27, 2006 at 10:25 am

When I hear that Devo song (which I will not name), I can’t get it out of my head for days.

Damnit Janet on February 27, 2006 at 4:55 pm

it’s SONGtagious!!!
- boran2 on February 27, 2006 at 8:49 pm
  
  Wipitgud!!!

supersoling on February 27, 2006 at 1:07 am

Hi Floridagal,
I googled around a little for info on Jimmie Rogers and came up with these two. One from Wikipedia.

On December 20, 1967 Rodgers was assaulted on the San Diego Freeway. He was beaten severely and suffered a fractured skull. The exact reasons for this beating remain a mystery, although there has been speculation about the reasons for it. Jimmie took off for a time but returned to performing the following year. The last of his twenty-five top 100 singles was Child Of Clay in late 1967. He put albums such as his Windmills Of Your Mind on the albums chart as late as 1969.

Jimmie Rodgers is a talented performer who reached his peak of popularity in the late 50’s. His hits are still played on radio stations and he is perhaps most associated with his snappy number one hit Honeycomb.

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. He was not related to the famous country singer Jimmie Rodgers.

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, including The Little Shepard of Kingdom Come, opposite Neil Hamilton.

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.

Hope that fills in some of the blanks for you.

Nice reminissenses about your favorite music as you grew up too.
- floridagal on February 27, 2006 at 10:50 am
  
  Thanks for that. I believe I remember seeing him after that incident of head trauma, but he did not seem the same at all.
Family Man on February 27, 2006 at 8:04 am

Floridagal I remember Honeycomb well and I remember Jimmie Rogers. I even remember Arthur Godfrey’s talent show. I never knew what had happened to Jimmie Rogers, but I do agree about his voice. I also remember his doing the Rod McKuen song. Thanks for bringing back some good memories.
- floridagal on February 27, 2006 at 10:54 am
  
  I sure had a big one yesterday. His music had a lilt to it that stayed with me.
  
  I joined a site called Emusic.com. They have a lot of old music. My son even got fascinated when he was home last year. He downloaded some duets by Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong, and he commented that they were the personification of “smooth.”
  
  I realized I was very old when he said it was the first time he had heard Bing Crosby.
boran2 on February 27, 2006 at 10:25 am

When I hear that Devo song (which I will not name), I can’t get it out of my head for days.
- Damnit Janet on February 27, 2006 at 4:55 pm
  
  it’s SONGtagious!!!
  - boran2 on February 27, 2006 at 8:49 pm
    
    Wipitgud!!!

Did you ever get a song in your head, and it wouldn’t leave?

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