PALM DESERT, California (AP) – Jimmie Rodgers, singer of the 1957 hits “Honeycomb” and “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” whose career in music and film was disrupted a decade later by a serious head injury, is at 87- deceased aged.
Rodgers died of kidney disease on January 18 in Palm Desert, California and also tested positive for COVID-19, publicist Alan Eichler said Saturday.
Rodgers performed for $ 10 a night in Nashville while stationed there with the U.S. Air Force after the Korean War. He appears in a talent show and auditioned for Roulette Records, which he signed after hearing ‘Honeycomb’, a song by Bob Merrill.
With a style of singing and guitar that included elements of country, folk and pop, the hometown of Camas, Washington, recorded many other Top 10 hits during the late fifties, including ‘Secret’, ‘Oh-Oh, I’ m Falling in Love ‘Again,’ and ‘Are You Really Mine? ‘
Rodgers continued to make albums for the better part of the 1960s, producing music ranging from traditional songs such as ‘The Wreck Of The’ John B. ‘and’ English Country Garden ‘to popular rates such as The Ballad’ Child of Clay ‘. ”
He established himself on television with appearances in various programs when he appeared in films during the 1960s. His film credits included ‘The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come’ and ‘Back Door to Hell’ with a young Jack Nicholson.
In 1967, Rodgers was found in a car on a highway in Los Angeles suffering from a broken skill and other injuries. He said he pulled over and stopped in response to a driver behind him who flashed his lights and that an attack by a police officer on duty caused his head injuries.
“I rolled down the window to ask what the matter was,” he told The Toronto Star in 1987. “That’s the last thing I remember.”
Los Angeles police officers insisted Rodgers injured himself in a fall while drumming. Rodgers filed a lawsuit and agreed to a $ 200,000 settlement. He then develops a condition that causes spasms in the muscles of his voice box. He also occasionally had seizures, which he said were due to the attack.
After his initial recovery, Rodgers had a summer TV show on ABC in 1969 and also performed in his own theater in Branson, Missouri.
In a 2016 interview with The Spectrum, a Utah newspaper, Rodgers recalls finding a $ 10 guitar and singing it when he was in the Air Force and stationed in Korea in 1953.
‘We sat on the floor with only candles for light, and these hard soldiers let tears run down their cheeks. I realized if my music can have the effect, that’s what I want to do with my life, ”he said.
Survivors include his wife, Mary Louise Biggerstaff, and five children from three marriages.