Eclectic Tribute to Trailblazing Rodgers

Most of the songs played in the Jimmie Rodgers tribute at Jacks Sugar Shack on Tuesday, marking the 65th anniversary of the death of the Singing Brakeman, were not Rodgers tunes. Instead, the performers more often offered material from their regular repertoires, throwing maybe one or two Rodgers numbers into their brief sets.

But that didn’t diminish the celebration of the man generally recognized as the father of country music. Even with the scheduled headliner, Texas balladeer Don Walser, canceling due to bronchitis, the very range and richness of this edition of Ronnie Mack’s weekly Barndance was testimony to Rodgers’ enduring impact. Kathy Robertson’s barroom belting, Ray Campi’s rockabilly, Rosie Flores’ and Larry Dean’s honky-tonk, Carolyn Hester’s singer-songwriter folk, Tony Gilkyson’s neo-western swing and the Lonesome Strangers’ country-rock are all spokes on the wheel Rodgers set rolling in the 1920s.

His was the first true voice of America, and his musical meld not only embraced the diverse sounds of the South (blues, hillbilly folk), the Eastern seaboard (post-Stephen Foster pop sensibilities) and the West (the prairie cowboy aesthetic), but also reached across the country in the ‘20s and ‘30s via the new means of recording and radio reproduction.

The Rodgers or Rodgers-associated songs that were performed were well-chosen. Flores’ selection of the silky waltz “Miss the Mississippi in You” underscored the sentimentality of her cowgirl sweetheart approach, while Hester’s choice of the now politically incorrect “Looking for a New Mama” came with an affectionate wink that complemented her own songs of personal affirmation. And surprise guest Dave Alvin highlighted his own Angeleno perspective with “California Blues.” As Gilkyson said in his set, “We’re gonna do our best to capture the spirit of him.” That they did.