Jay or James Arthur "Jimmy" Rogers (June 3, 1924December 19, 1997) was an American

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but is performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of African Americans of the fi ...

singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

's band in the early 1950s. He also had a solo career and recorded several popular blues songs, including "

That's All Right "That's All Right" is a song written and originally performed by the American blues singer Arthur Crudup, and recorded in 1946. It was rereleased in early March 1949 by RCA Victor under the title "That's All Right, Mama", which was issued as R ...

" (now a blues standard), "Chicago Bound", "Walking by Myself" (his sole R&B chart appearance), and "Rock This House". He withdrew from the music industry at the end of the 1950s, but returned to recording and touring in the 1970s.

Career

Rogers was born Jay or James Arthur Lane in

Ruleville, Mississippi Ruleville is a city in Sunflower County, Mississippi, Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States, in the Mississippi Delta region. The population was 3,007 at the 2010 census. It is the second-largest community in the rural county.Moye, J. Todd ...

, on June 3, 1924. He was raised in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

and Memphis. He adopted his stepfather's surname. He learned to play the harmonica with his childhood friend

Snooky Pryor James Edward "Snooky" Pryor (September 15, 1919 or 1921 – October 18, 2006) was an American Chicago blues harmonica player. He claimed to have pioneered the now-common method of playing amplified harmonica by cupping a small microphone in hi ...

, and as a teenager he took up the guitar. He played professionally in East St. Louis, Illinois, with Robert Lockwood, Jr., among others. Rogers moved to Chicago in the mid-1940s. By 1946, he had recorded as a harmonica player and singer for the Harlem record label, run by J. Mayo Williams. Rogers's name did not appear on the record, which was mislabeled as the work of

Memphis Slim John Len Chatman (September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988), known professionally as Memphis Slim, was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxopho ...

and His Houserockers. In 1947, Rogers,

and

Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...

began playing together, forming Waters's first band in Chicago (sometimes referred to as the Headcutters or the Headhunters, because of their practice of stealing jobs from other local bands). The band members recorded and released music credited to each of them as solo artists. The band defined the sound of the nascent

style (more specifically, South Side Chicago blues). Rogers recorded several sides of his own with small labels in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, but none were released at the time. He began to achieve success as a solo artist in 1950, with the song "

", released by

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock an ...

, but he stayed in Waters's band until 1954. In the mid-1950s he had several successful records released by Chess, most of them featuring either

Big Walter Horton Walter Horton (April 6, 1921 – December 8, 1981), known as Big Walter (Horton) or Walter "Shakey" Horton, was an American blues harmonica player. A quiet, unassuming, shy man, he is remembered as one of the premier harmonica players in the hi ...

on harmonica, notably "Walking by Myself". In the late 1950s, as interest in the blues waned, he gradually withdrew from the music industry. In the early 1960s, Rogers briefly worked as a member of Howling Wolf's band, before quitting the music business altogether for almost a decade. He worked as a taxicab driver and owned a clothing store, which burned down in the

1968 Chicago riots The 1968 Chicago riots, in the United States, were sparked in part by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Rioting and looting followed, with people flooding out onto the streets of major cities, primarily in black urban areas. Over ...

following the

assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr., an American civil rights activist, was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m. CST. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:05& ...

Rogers gradually began performing in public again, and in 1971, when fashions made him somewhat popular in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, he began occasionally touring and recording, including a 1977 session with Waters which resulted in the album '' I'm Ready''. By 1982, Rogers was again a full-time solo artist. He continued touring and recording albums until his death. In 1995, Rogers was inducted into the

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum operated by the Blues Foundation at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to b ...

. His song "That's All Right" was inducted by the organization in 2016 as a "Classic of Blues Recording", which identified it as a blues standard. Rogers died of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

in 1997. He was survived by his son, Jimmy D. Lane, a guitarist,

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

and

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproducti ...

for Blue Heaven Studios and APO Records.

Discography

Singles *"

" / "Ludella" (

Chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

1435, 10/50) *"Going Away Baby" / "Today, Today, Blues" (Chess 1442, 11/50) *"The World is in a Tangle" / "She Loves Another Man" (Chess 1453, 3/51) *"Money, Marbles and Chalk" / "Chance to Love" (Chess 1476, 8/51) *"Back Door Friend" / "I Used to Have a Woman" (Chess 1506, 4/52) *"The Last Time" / "Out on the Road" (Chess 1519, 9/52) *"Left Me with a Broken Heart" / "Act Like You Love Me" (Chess 1543, 7/53) *"Sloppy Drunk" / "Chicago Bound" (Chess 1574, 6/54) *"You're the One" / "Blues All Day Long" (Chess 1616, 1/56) *"Walking by Myself" / "If it Ain't Me (Who You Thinking Of)" (Chess 1643, 11/56) *"I Can't Believe" / "One Kiss" (Chess 1659, 5/57) *"What Have I Done" / "Trace of You" (Chess 1687, 3/58) *"Rock This House" / "My Last Meal" (Chess 1721, 2/59) Albums * ''Chicago Bound'' (1970, Chess), compilation of 1950s Chess recordings * ''Gold Tailed Bird'' (1971, Shelter) * ''Sloppy Drunk'' (1973, Black & Blue), studio album recorded in 1973 * '' Jimmy Rogers'' (1984, Chess Masters series), 2-LP compilation with more 1950s Chess recordings * ''That's All Right'' (1989,

Charly Charly may refer to: People * Charly (name) Places * Charly-sur-Marne, in the Aisne department * Charly, Cher, in the Cher department * Charly, Rhône, in the Rhône department * Charly-Oradour, in the Moselle department Other * Operation ...

), compilation of Chess recordings * ''Ludella'' (1990, Antone's), studio and live recordings 1990 * ''Jimmy Rogers with Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters'' (1993, CrossCut), live recording from 1991 * ''Feelin' Good'' (1994, Blind Pig), with

Rod Piazza Rod Piazza (born December 18, 1947, Riverside, California) is an American blues harmonica player and singer. He has been playing with his band The Mighty Flyers, which he formed with his pianist wife Honey Piazza, since 1980. Their boogie sound ...

and the Mighty Flyers * ''Blue Bird'' (1994, Analogue Productions), studio recording from 1993 * ''The Complete Chess Recordings'' (1997, Chess/ MCA), 2-CD * '' Blues Blues Blues'' (1999,

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

), as the "Jimmy Rogers All-Stars", with

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

Lowell Fulson Lowell Fulson (March 31, 1921March 7, 1999) was an American blues guitarist and songwriter, in the West Coast blues tradition. He also recorded for contractual reasons as Lowell Fullsom and Lowell Fulsom. After T-Bone Walker, he was the most i ...

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

Jeff Healey Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz guitarist, singer and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " Ang ...

Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crosby, Stills & Nash; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and Manassas (band ...

. * ''His Best'' (2003, Chess/MCA)

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Jimmy 1924 births 1997 deaths People from Ruleville, Mississippi Musicians from Atlanta Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues harmonica players American blues singers Blues musicians from Mississippi Chess Records artists Deaths from cancer in Illinois Deaths from colorectal cancer in the United States 20th-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state) Guitarists from Mississippi Guitarists from Tennessee 20th-century American male musicians Black & Blue Records artists