James Frederick Rodgers (born September 18, 1933 in Camas, Washington) 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 taught music by his mother and grandmother, 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. Read more about ...
