Country music songwriters, as well as fans, see Jimmie Rodgers as the man who started it all. In just six years the "Mississippi Blue Yodeler" defined a style of music that mixed folk, bluegrass, gospel jazz, pop, blues, and cowboy into one form. He composed all of his greatest songs including, Waiting for a Train, T.B. Blues Travelin’ Blues and his thirteen Blue Yodels.

He was born on September 8, 1897, in Meridian, Mississippi, into a family of five. His mother died when he was very young so most of his early childhood was spent with relatives in southeast Mississippi and southwest Alabama. Most of Jimmie’s musical influences came from the times when he lived with his aunt. He was able to experience different types of music that he instantly fell in love with.

At age 12 Rodgers went back to live with his father, a railroad foreman from Meridian. After singing Steamboat Bill at a local talent show Jimmie fell even deeper for the performing life. He soon began to organize traveling shows only to be brought back home by his father every time. He  eventually chose to work with his father at the tracks instead of going to school. Rodgers would stay there for the next ten years.

Jimmie married Sandra Kelly in May of 1917 but the marriage was short lived. They divorced two years later. Soon after that Rodgers met Carrie Willamson and in April of 1920 they were married. In 1924 Jimmie contracted tuberculosis which would temporarily end his career with the railroad but give him a chance to perform in shows one again. He would soon pack up a makeshift tent with band members Slim Rozell and his sister-in-law Elsie McWillams. They played for a while, planting Jimmie’s feet deeper into the music scene.

Rodgers then moved his family to Tucson, Arizona believing the warm climate would improve his health. He started to sing there in local clubs and events while working a few small jobs with the railroad. He would later move back to Meridian, then to Ashville, North Carolina. It was there his career with the rail road would end. Rodgers later worked as a janitor and a cab driver, singing at a local radio station. He then moved to Johnson City, Tennessee where he joined the Tennessee Ramblers. They would  break away from Rodgers after a billing dispute.

Jimmie then auditioned as a solo artist and met Ralph Peter, an RCA talent scout. Peter saw promise in Rodgers’ music and recorded an album with him. It wasn’t a hit but it still was a good start. They decided to make a new album including Jimmie’s once rejected song T for Texas renamed Blue Yodel. The song had outstanding results. The album became one of only a handful of country records to sell a million copies. Rodgers’ albums held consistent, selling well into 1929. Jimmie Rodgers had become an official star holding concerts that would become major attractions. By 1931, however, not only his health but the great depression started to affect his career. Despite his condition Rodgers refused to give up performing telling his wife "I want to die with my shoes on." His family started to run short on money giving him no choice to continue.

Rodgers traveled to New York City in May of 1932. He started recording a group of sessions on the seventeenth. Jimmie started to record alone, completing four songs in one take, but the tuberculosis was wearing him down. He decided to go back to his hotel and rest for a while to regain his energy.   Rodgers returned to the studio to record Mississippi Delta Blues and Years Ago. In less than two days Jimmie was dead.

In Jimmie Rodgers’ short career he impacted music so much that his memory still lives on today in every country song.