July 16, 1930: Jimmie Rodgers Meets Louis (and Lil) Armstrong

If they ever posed for a picture together,

Google Images doesn't have it.

July 16, 1930: "Standing On the Corner," also known as "Blue Yodel #9," is recorded in Los Angeles. It's early proof that "country music," music for poor rural white people, and "the blues," music for poor rural black people, not only can go together, but it's natural for them to do so.

The lead singer is Jimmie Rodgers, a country singer known as "The Singing Brakeman," for his earlier job on a railroad. The Mississippi native was known for his yodeling, and for his wise-guy attitude, of which this song has plenty.

Not billed on the RCA Victor record label were the song's trumpeter and its pianist. It wasn't because they were both black, and Rodgers was white, and Jim Crow was still in effect -- although that may explain why the song was recorded in Southern California, and not in the South. No, the trumpeter and the pianist were not billed because they were signed to Okeh Records, which was then owned by Columbia Records, and thus affiliated with CBS, arch-rival to NBC, which was owned by RCA.

The trumpeter was Louis Armstrong. The pianist was his wife, Lil Hardin Armstrong. Yes, the man called "The Father of Country Music" made a record with the King and Queen of Jazz.

According to Thomas Brothers, who wrote a biography of Louis, the irregular blues form along with the irregular phrases used by Jimmie frequently threw him off, until he reached his own solo chorus, where he stuck to a regular 12 bar blues form.

In 1970, 40 years later, and with not much longer to live, Armstrong appeared on The Johnny Cash Show, and played while Cash sang the song.

By that point, Ray Charles had released a couple of big-selling albums of his take on country music, and Charlie Pride had been the 1st black singer to really make it in the genre. A few have followed, including Darius Rucker, who left his rock band Hootie & The Blowfish to sing country. In 2019, Lil Nas X released "Old Town Road," a duet with Billy Ray Cyrus, and it became the biggest song of the year, reminding everyone that black people singing country music was not only possible, but should be encouraged.

UPDATE: In 2024, Beyoncé, a native of Houston, released "Texas Hold 'Em," an obvious country song, and hit Number 1, triggering a lot of racists.

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July 16, 1930 was a Wednesday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the St. Louis Browns, 2-1 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Ed Wells went the distance for the win. He did his best pitching in the 1929-31 period when the Yankees were in transition, and the Philadelphia Athletics won the American League Pennant. He did pitch for them in their title-winning season of 1932, but did not appear in the World Series.

Babe Ruth did not play. Lou Gehrig went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Part of the aforementioned transition is that, following the sale of Bob Meusel to the Cincinnati Reds, they didn't have a star left fielder again until Charlie Keller in 1939. For this game, Earle Combs, normally in center field, moved over to left, Harry Rice was in center, and Sammy Byrd, known as "Babe Ruth's Legs" for filling in for him for defensive purposes so many times, played the whole game in right. Rice hit a home run.

* The New York Giants lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 8-1 at the Polo Grounds. Bill Terry went 0-for-3 with a walk. Mel Ott went 1-for-4.

* A doubleheader was split at Ebbets Field. The Brooklyn Dodgers -- or the Brooklyn Robins, as they were known while Wilbert Robinson was their manager, from 1914 to 1931 -- lost the opener to the Chicago Cubs, 6-4. They won the nightcap, 5-3.

* A doubleheader was split at Braves Field in Boston. The Boston Braves won the 1st game, 4-3. The Pittsburgh Pirates won the 2nd game, 9-5.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-5 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia.

* A doubleheader was split at League Park in Cleveland. The Washington Senators won the 1st game, 10-4. The Cleveland Indians won the 2nd game, 13-6.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 at Navin Field in Detroit. (That ballpark was later renamed Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium.)

* And the Philadelphia Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 14-7 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The A's Hall-of-Famers all contributed. Lefty Grove started on the mound, and got a hit, but, with the A's already leading 9-3, manager Connie Mack pinch-hit for him in the top of the 3rd. Mickey Cochrane and Al Simmons each went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Jimmie Foxx went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. But the biggest hitter on this day was not a Hall-of-Famer: Bing Miller went 4-for-5 with 4 RBIs.

May 26, 1933: Jimmie Rodgers Dies

May 26, 1933: Jimmie Rodgers, known as "The Father of Country Music" and "The Singing Brakeman," dies. He was only 35 years old, and had a lot more to say.

James Charles Rodgers was born on September 8, 1897 in Meridian, Mississippi. His father was named Aaron Rodgers, but he wasn't a football player: He was a railroad worker, and Jimmie followed him into the field. He became a brakeman, but had already won a singing contest at age 13. By 1924, his destiny had been set: He had become a recorded musician, and he had been diagnosed with tuberculosis.

On November 30, 1927, in Camden, New Jersey, across the Delaware River from Philadelphia -- okay, it wasn't in the South, but it was in South Jersey -- he recorded "Blue Yodel #1," also known by its refrain, "T for Texas." He became known as America's foremost yodeler, and his songs incorporated blues influences from black performers.

This was emphasized in 1930, when he got together with trumpeter Louis Armstrong and his wife, pianist Lil Harding Armstrong, in Los Angeles -- okay, it wasn't in the South, but it was in Southern California -- to record "Standing On the Corner," also known as "Blue Yodel #9." One thing Jimmie and Louis, who only sang on this record, without singing on it, was plenty of attitude, and this song has plenty.

Rodgers married twice, and had 2 children with his 2nd wife, but both marriages ended soon due to his drinking. He drank for several reasons, the increasing pain from his tuberculosis being the biggest. But his health woes sapped his finances, so he had to keep touring, all over the South and the Midwest, and back up to Camden to record at RCA Victor's studio there.

On May 17, 1933, he went up to New York to record at RCA's studio at 153 East 24th Street. He recorded 6 songs while sitting on an easy chair, was propped up by pillows to reach the microphone and frequently paused the sessions to give him rest. A new session was scheduled for May 24, in which he recorded 4 songs, and lay on a cot between takes. At the end of the day, he was helped into a cab and returned to his hotel.

The next day, he felt better, and asked his driver to take him to Coney Island. That night, at his hotel, his cough returned with a vengeance, and he developed a hemorrhage. The hotel's doctor could not be found, and he died the next morning.

When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had its initial class of inductees in 1986, Jimmie Rodgers was inducted in the "Early Influences" category.

On September 18, 1933, nearly 4 months after James Charles Rodgers died, James Frederick Rodgers was born in Camas, Washington. He, too, became known as "Jimmie Rodgers," and sang rock and roll in a country style, having hits including his song "Honeycomb," which hit Number 1 in 1957. However, he has not been elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He died in 2021.

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May 26, 1933 was a Friday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 8-6 at Yankee Stadium. Paul Gregory outpitched Red Ruffing. Luke Appling hit a home run. Babe Ruth went 0-for-5, and Lou Gehrig went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The New York Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-5 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Giant manager Bill Terry, still active as a player, did not put himself into the game. Mel Ott went 0-for-4. Paul Waner went 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs. Lloyd Waner also went 2-for-4, but, as the leadoff hitter, had no RBIs.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2 at Redland Field in Cincinnati. The following season, Powel Crosley bought the Reds, and renamed the ballpark Crosley Field.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-5 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 10-1 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Hank Greenberg went 2-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBIs. Jimmie Foxx singled in the 2nd inning, and then left the game.

* The Washington Senators were leading the St. Louis Browns, 5-2 at Griffith Stadium in Washington, in the bottom of the 7th inning, when the game was halted by rain.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Boston Braves, 4-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Billy Herman hit a sacrifice fly to score Lynn Nelson with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Ernie Orsatti singled Dizzy Dean home with the winning run in the bottom of the 14th inning. Dean went the distance for the win. For the Phillies, Chuck Klein went 4-for-6 with a home run 2 RBIs, and Virgil Davis went 4-for-5.