Disco de Jimmie Rodgers: “Last Sessions, 1933”

Rodgers was dying of TB when he recorded these last songs. I've read elsewhere that he actually died less than 48 hours after the last session. You can hear it in his voice. That's what gives these tunes an eerie, lonely, hynoptic feel to them. They are stripped down, "unplugged" if you will. Very little accompaniment. No Jazz or Dixie-land bands here. No Louis Armstrong. Mostly just Jimmie, and maybe a mandolin or side guitar. But this is Jimmie Rodgers, still making the yodels blue, and the train whistles blow. A "must have". No collection is complete without this, some boxed sets from Hank Williams and the Carter Family, and yes, some Hendrix.

This is heart rending, gut-wrenching stuff from a man obviously close to death. By 1933, Rodgers knew he was dying of TB. So, anxious to provide for his family after he was gone, he journeyed to New York in the middle of May, intending to cut 24 sides. But he managed only 12 sides in 8 days before he passed away on May 26. And what good sides they are, ranging from the blues sound of 'Blue Yodel No 12 (Barefoot Blues)' through to the Home-Love-Mother sentiments of 'I'm Free From The Chain Gang Now'. Between takes, he would have to rest for several hours on a bed set up in the studio. His final recordings, on May 24, are perhaps the most poignant. His Last Blue Yodel (The Women Make A Fool Out Of Me) is superb. For me, it's one of his best. 'Mississippi Delta Blues' and 'Years Ago' are nicely nostalgic. But it's 'Old Love Letters' that gets me every time. With John Cali and Tony Calicchio providing sweet sounding guitar backup, Rodgers, his breath almost gone, struggles with the sentimental lyric, and even manages his trade mark yodel. A fitting tribute to a landmark talent.

Jimmie Rodgers' last recording sessions are musically significant and emotionally heart-breaking. Very nicely reproduced - none of the noisy hissing you might except from 80 year old recordings - with decent liner notes. "I'm Free from the Chain Gang Now" stands out, but is not alone in it's apparent simplicity, directness and heart-felt lyrics. Only thirteen cuts but, for me, an indispensable component of any vintage country music collection. And yes, I do like yodeling.