The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers

by Neal, Jocelyn R.

• ISBN13: 9780253353153
• ISBN10: 0253353157
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-05-22
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

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.

Author Biography

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.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Creating History: Jimmie Rodgers and the Origins of Country Music

Why Everybody Wanted to Be a Muleskinner

Still in the Jailhouse

T for Texas, Blues, and Southern Rock

Old Songs, New Songs, Yodel Songs

Appendix: List of Recordings by Chapter

Selective Bibliography

Index

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