Jimmy Rogers
Born in 1924 in Mississippi as James Lane (June 3, 1924 – December 19, 1997), Jimmy took his stepfather’s surname Rogers. He was raised in the South, spending most of his time in Atlanta, Georgia or Memphis, Tennessee. As a teenager Jimmy took up the guitar and harmonica, beginning to play professionally in East St. Louis, Illinois with Robert Lockwood Jr. He eventually moved to Chicago’s South Side to play with Little Walter, and Muddy Waters.
After playing with Muddy Waters in the 1950’s and establishing the Chicago blues sound, Jimmy saw a little success as a solo artist on Chess records, but as the public began looking for new music, the blues’ popularity fell to the wayside. Jimmy briefly played with Howlin’ Wolf in the 1960’s, but quit his career in music to open up a clothing store in Chicago, which burned down in the Chicago race riots after the Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination. Jimmy began playing publicly again in the 1970s, reuniting with Muddy Waters and reestablishing his career by the mid eighties. Shortly after his induction into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1995, Jimmy Rogers died of colon cancer in 1997.
Listen to: Round About Boogie
C. K.
The Blues Project 