Rodgers play to be staged at the Carter Fold

Contrary to popular belief, Jimmie Rodgers did not meet The Carter Family at Bristol in 1927. They did not rejoice in the beautiful music they made – or even try to calculate how much royalities that talent scout Ralph Peer might someday pay them. Both Rodgers and The Carter Family were discovered – quite separately – as they wandered into a makeshift studio on State Street in Bristol in August 1927.

Yes, they would eventually meet. But then, just a couple of years later, Rodgers died in 1933.

Rodgers, a former railroad worker, laid the foundation for what became honky-tonk and, eventually, rock’n’roll. And, today, his story is being told on stage in a new play by Douglas Pote. Following a run at the Barter Theatre, Pote’s "America’s Blue Yodeler Jimmie Rodgers" hits the Carter Fold stage – for one night only – on Nov. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Hiltons.

Years ago, I first learned about Rodgers while listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Original Skynyrd singer Ronnie Van Zant loved Jimmie Rodgers and sang his "T For Texas" in concert.

"Mr. Jimmie Rodgers probably started country music," the late Van Zant said on stage in Asbury Park, N.J. at a 1977 concert. A couple of years earlier, in 1975, Van Zant wrote "Railroad Song," a tune which paid tribute to both Jimmie Rodgers and Merle Haggard.

Haggard, in 1997, played a show at the Paramount Center in downtown Bristol, not far from where Peer discovered Jimmie Rodgers and his distinctive yodel.

Many years before that, Haggard recorded an album of Rodgers tunes. Back then, more than 35 years ago, Haggard appeared on the old "Johnny Cash Show."

And, on screen, with Haggard by his side, Johnny Cash made reference to the greatness of Rodgers.

That, then, brings me back to the Carters.

Johnny Cash married June Carter, a daughter of Carter Family founder Maybelle Carter, who was discovered in Bristol – just a couple of days before Jimmie Rodgers.

And, no, while the Carters did not meet Rodgers in Bristol, it certainly seems fitting that this new Jimmie Rodgers show comes to the Carter Fold – a place where The Carter Family’s music has been preserved for generations.

* Tickets to the Jimmie Rodgers show are $20 for adults and $10 for children. Call (276) 628-3991.

JOE TENNIS is a features writer for the Herald Courier. He may be reached at (276) 791-0704 or