Jimmie ‘Honeycomb’ Rodgers, ‘Sloop John B,’ and the Beach Boys

The rear jacket of “Troubled Times,” Jimmie Rodgers’ penultimate studio album dropped with scant fanfare in July 1970 on Herb Alpert’s A&M Records. Armed with a reliable acoustic guitar, Rodgers smiles broadly in spite of a devastating physical assault two and a half years earlier on the San Diego Freeway and a divorce from first wife Colleen McClatchey. Michele Rodgers remembers her dad being photographed inside the bedroom of his old cottage-style Brentwood mansion. The room contained an old desk, which Rodgers used as a songwriting base, as well as circular windows that beckoned to a beautiful garden. It was late and stormy the evening the photo session occurred. Rodgers penned eight of the LP’s 10 songs including the title cut, issued as a non-charting A-side. “Troubled Times” remains unavailable on mainstream streaming sites although Rodgers struck an agreement with two Swedish gentlemen, Anders Söderlund and Thomas Höggren, in 2010 to remaster his catalog and sell copies of his memoir. The “Dancing on the Moon” website will get you over 340 songs in MP3 format and a PDF file of Rodgers’ book for $25 or the hardcover edition minus any supplementary material for $60 plus shipping. Photography by Jim McCrary / Artwork by Tom Wilkes / Universal Music Group / Discogs

The death of Jimmie Rodgers at age 87 from kidney disease and COVID-19 complications on Jan. 18, 2021, prompted a deep dive into his discography. Between 1957 and 1967, the Camas, Washington-raised artist accumulated 14 Top 40 Billboard singles such as “Honeycomb” [No. 1], “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” [No. 7], “Oh-Oh, I’m Falling In Love Again” [No. 7], “Secretly” [No. 3], “Are You Really Mine?” [No. 10], and “Bimbombey” [No. 11]. Rodgers’ composition “It’s Over” [No. 37 POP, Glen Campbell and drummer Hal Blaine were on the session] was given an orchestral makeover by Elvis Presley during his innovative Aloha from Hawaii satellite broadcast.

A songwriter and acoustic guitarist since his Korean stint in the Air Force, Rodgers’ career trajectory found him exploring pop, folk, country and western [a clever rendering of the traditional “Shenandoah” ballad is spine-tingling on the Twilight on the Trail concept LP], and even gospel. Rodgers pioneered folk rock and had an unusual guitar style where he strummed hard right hand rhythm barre chords with his thumb. A lap steel guitar belonged to his parents, and Rodgers learned by tuning to an open E chord. Richie Havens was a similar picker, albeit on a more accomplished scale. Dolly Parton studied Rodgers’ technique as strumming with long acrylic nails would have been impossible in a regular tuning.

Towards the end of Rodgers’ four-year tenure with Morris Levy’s notorious Roulette Records, he waxed “Sloop John B” under its alternate title of “The Wreck of the John B” [“I Want to Go Home” and “John B. Sails” are further designations]. The lead cut on At Home with Jimmie Rodgers — An Evening of Folk Songs was issued as an A-side in June 1960. “The Wreck of the John B” hovered in the lower region of the Hot 100 for nine weeks. Struggling to gain any traction, its peak position was No. 64. Rodgers was accompanied by producer Joe Reisman’s Orchestra, but the supporting musicians remain individually unidentified. Praguefrank’s discography lists Bell Sound in New York City as the potential studio. Rodgers’ memoir, Dancing on the Moon: The Jimmie Rodgers Story [2010], may elucidate further.

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