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Exterior Panel 4 -
Cover - Headline
The Father of
Country Music
Call Line
Jimmie Rodgers
Sub-Head
"...The Man Who
Started It All" in Meridian, Mississippi
The Birthplace of
Country Music
Interior - Panel 1
- Headline
The Jimmie Rodgers
Memorial Festival
Interior - Panel 1
- Copy
It's a showcase for
some of the hottest acts in music today, but it's also a celebration
of the rich cultural heritage of country music. It consists of a
weeklong calendar of events with fun, food, fellowship and some of
the best entertainment around.
It's the Jimmie
Rodgers Memorial Festival, during the week that includes May 26,
paying tribute to the area's most famous native son the acknowledged
`Father of Country Music," Jimmie Rodgers.
This celebration
started when Ernest Tubb and Hank Snow raised the money to erect a
monument in Rodgers' honor in his hometown, Meridian, Mississippi.
The initial Jimmie
Rodgers Memorial Day was held on May 26, 1953, the anniversary of
Rodgers' death. Participating during the 1950's Jimmie Rodgers
memorial Day were such country music stars as Lefty Frizzell, Ernest
Tubb, Hank Thompson, Roy Acuff, Marty Robbins, Minnie Pearl, Mrs.
Hank Williams and Elvis Presley.
Each year, visitors
from all over the country, and the world, gather to pay tribute to
the Meridian native and the art form he developed. They come to see
some of the brightest stars in contemporary music in the nightly
entertainment shows, which have featured such names as Merle
Haggard, Willie Nelson, Tammy Wynette, Brenda Lee, Kitty Wells, The
Kendalls, Janie Fricke, Randy Travis, Lee Greenwood, Conway Twitty,
Box Car Willie, T. G. Sheppard, Alabama, Tanya Tucker, Paul Davis,
George Jones, Charlie Daniels, the Oak Ridge Boys and many more
country music legends, as well as new and up coming stars in the
field of country music.
So
come to Jimmie's hometown and enjoy the food, fun and festivities,
but most of all, friends sharing a common love, COUNTRY MUSIC and
JIMMIE RODGERS.
Lists of Festival Events
-
Clogging Festival
-
Pageant for girls 3-18
years old
-
Country Music
Conference
-
Talent Contest
-
Jimmie Rodgers
Memorial Run
(sponsored by Rush Hospital)
-
Gospel Night
-
Commemoration services
and Wreath Laying Ceremony
-
Bar-B-Que
-
Catfish fry
Interior - Panel 2
- Headline
Jimmie Rodgers
Interior - Panel 2
- Copy
The Father of Country
Music, James Charles Rodgers, songwriter and recording artist, was
born in Meridian, Mississippi, on September 8, 1897. He is known as
"The Singing Brakeman" and "The Blue Yodeler."
On November 3, 1961,
Jimmie Rodgers' name was placed at the Country Music Foundation in
Nashville, Tennessee as the first entrant into the Country Music
Hall of Fame. The inscription on his plaque reads: '"The Singing
Brakeman" Jimmie Rodgers' name stands foremost in the Country Music
field as, "The man who started it all."
Jimmie Rodgers told
the stories of the common people, the romance of the rails, and of
the steam locomotive itself more profoundly and convincingly in song
than any other person before or since.
Perhaps the most descriptive tribute to Jimmie's musical and lyrical
accomplishments is inscribed on a marble statue of "The Singing
Brakeman" that stands in close proximity to an old consolidation
steam locomotive in Highland Park in his hometown of Meridian,
Mississippi, which states: "His is the music of America. He sang the
songs of the people he loved, of a young nation growing strong~ His
was an America of glistening rails, thundering boxcars, and
rain-swept nights, of lonesome prairies, great mountains and a high
blue sky. He sang of the bayous and the cornfields, the wheated
plains, of the little towns, the cities, and of the winding rivers
of America. We listened, we understood, Jimmie Rodgers - The Singing
Brakeman, America's Blue Yodeler- His music will live forever.
(Dedicated by his many fans and folk artists of America, May 26,
1953.)"
Interior - Panel 3
- Copy
The Jimmie Rodgers
Museum, located in Rodgers hometown of Meridian, Mississippi was
dedicated in 1976. The museum features an extensive collection of
mementos related to Rodgers' musical and railroading careers, which
were always interrelated, as well as a diverse array of personal
belongings. There are original Rodgers' recordings, guitars he
owned, letters he wrote, and a wide range of other memorabilia.
Personal articles
include such varied things as a hand-tooled leather grip proclaiming
"Jimmie Rodgers, Exclusive Victor Artist" and a chiffonier built by
Rodgers.
Railroad artifacts,
reflecting Rodgers' celebrated career on the rails, including the
baggage cart that carried his body from the train station when it
was brought back to Meridian after his death in 1933, are included in
the collection.
One of the Jimmie
Rodgers Museum's most prized artifacts is the custom Martin guitar
that the Father of Country Music used in recording most of his 110
songs and throughout most of his brief career.
The guitar, with the
name Jimmie Rodgers" engraved in pearl on the neck, was presented to
him by G. Frederick Martin on July 27, 1927.
Jimmie's daughter,
Mrs. Anita Rodgers Court, presented the guitar, which has been
sought by the Smithsonian Institute, to the festival for display in
the legendary singer's hometown of Meridian, Mississippi.
Interior - Panel 4
- Headline 1
The Future - Jimmie
Rodgers Memorial Park
Interior - Panel 4
- Copy
Groundbreaking
ceremonies were held in May of 1987 establishing the site of the
Jimmie Rodgers Memorial Park. The future park currently being
developed is conveniently located on the east side of Meridian,
Mississippi on Interstate highways 20 & 59, approximately 1/2 mile
from the graves of Jimmie Rodgers and his wife, Carrie.
The theme park will feature attractions for the whole family. When
completed, this beautiful area will be a living, dynamic tribute to
Rodgers, the former railroad man who laid the groundwork for the
internationally popular music we refer to as "COUNTRY".
Interior - Panel 4
- Headline 2
The Album
Interior - Panel 4
- Copy 2
Thanks to
contributions by some of country music's greatest legends, an album
saluting Jimmie Rodgers with his own songs has been compiled. The
artists and record labels have released all rights, so that proceeds
derived from the sales of the album will go to the development of
the Jimmie Rodgers Memorial Park.
The Jimmie Rodgers Foundation, Inc. would like to
express it's appreciation to the following artists:
-Dolly Patton -Merle Haggard -Bill Monroe -Willie Nelson -Webb
Pierce -Jimmie Dale Court
-Conway Twitty -Ernest Tubb -Jim Reeves -Gene Autry -Crystal Gayle -Slim Whitman
-Waylon Jennings - Red Foley -Tanya Tucker
-Hank Snow -Grandpa Jones -Boxcar Willie
-Lefty Frizzel -Hank Thompson -Jack Green
On April 14, 1970 a request was formally made for a postage stamp to
commemorate the works of Jimmie Rodgers. Early in 1978, U.S.
Postmaster General Benjamin F. Bailar came to Nashville to unveil
the design for a stamp commemorating the life and accomplishments of
"The Father of Country Music," James Charles Rodgers.
Fittingly, it was the first stamp in a new series on American
Performing Arts and Artists, and went on sale in May 1978 during the
Jimmie Rodgers Festival in Meridian, Mississippi.
Exterior - Panel 1
- Headline
Honors and Awards
Exterior - Panel 1
- Copy 1
Jimmie Rodgers is
recognized not only for his contributions to country music, but also
for his contributions to music in general. He has been placed in the
Country Music Hall of Fame as well as the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame. Rodgers also received the W. C. Handy Blues Award for his
contributions to blues music.
Sub-Head :
Honors bestowed on
Jimmie Rodgers include the following:
Exterior - Panel 1
- Copy 2
-
The first inductee
into the Country Music Hall of Fame on November 3, 1961
-
Among the first
inductees into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 1970
-
Honored by the Blues
and Rock-N-Roll Associations for his contributions to music
-
First Entertainer to
be honored with a Commemorative Postage Stamp by the U.S. Postmaster
General on May 24, 1978
-
The Smithsonian
Institute issued a set of recordings, "Jimmie Rodgers on Record:
America's Blue Yodeler"
Exterior - Panel 2
- Headline
Ticket Information
Exterior - Panel 2
- Copy
Membership in the
Jimmie Rodgers Foundation can be purchased for an annual fee of
$10.00. Blue Yodeler membership may be purchased for an annual fee
of $100.00. Blue Yodeler members and Jimmie Rodgers Foundation
members are allowed to purchase tickets to the festival shows before
the tickets go on sale to the general public.
Exterior - Panel 3
- Response Card Headline
Jimmie Rodgers
Foundation, Inc.
Exterior - Panel 3
- Copy
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