Little Jimmy Dickens
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| Little Jimmy Dickens | |
|---|---|
 Dickens performing at the Grand Ole Opry in 2004 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Cecil Dickens |
| Also known as | Little Jimmy Dickens Tater |
| Born | December 19, 1920 |
| Origin | Bolt, West Virginia, United States |
| Genres | Country |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1936 – Present |
| Labels | Columbia Records, Decca Records, United Artists Records |
James Cecil Dickens (born December 19, 1920), better known as Little Jimmy Dickens, is an American country music singer famous for his humorous novelty songs, his small size, 4'11" (150 cm), and his rhinestone-studded outfits. He has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry for 60 years and is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
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[edit] Biography
Born in Bolt, West Virginia, Dickens, who is related to Charles Dickens, began his musical career in the late 1930s, performing on a local radio station while attending West Virginia University. He soon quit school to pursue a full-time music career, and travelled the country performing on various local radio stations under the name "Jimmy the Kid."
In 1948, Dickens was heard performing on a radio station in Saginaw, Michigan by Roy Acuff, who introduced him to Art Satherly at Columbia Records and officials from the Grand Ole Opry. Dickens signed with Columbia in September and joined the Opry in August. Around this time he began using the nickname, Little Jimmy Dickens, inspired by his short stature.
Dickens recorded many novelty songs for Columbia, including "Country Boy," "A-Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed" and "I'm Little But I'm Loud." His song "Take an Old Cold Tater (And Wait)" inspired Hank Williams to nickname him "Tater". Later, telling Jimmy he needed a hit, Williams penned "Hey Good Lookin'" specifically for Dickens in only 20 minutes while on a Grand Ole Opry tour bus. A week later Williams cut the song himself, jokingly telling him, "That song's too good for you!"
In 1950 he formed the Country Boys with musicians Jabbo Arrington, Grady Martin, Bob Moore and Thumbs Carllile and. It was during this time that he discovered future Hall of Famer Marty Robbins at a Phoenix, Arizona television station while on tour with Grand Ole Opry road show. In 1957, Dickens left the Grand Ole Opry to tour with the Philip Morris Country Music Show.
In 1962 Dickens released "The Violet and the Rose," his first top ten single in 12 years. During 1964 he became the first country artist to circle the globe while on tour, and also made numerous TV appearances including The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. In 1965 he released his biggest hit, "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose," reaching No. 1 on the country chart and No. 15 fifteen on the pop chart.
In the late 1960s he left Columbia for Decca Records, before moving again to United Artists in 1971. That same year he married his wife, Mona, and in 1975 he returned to the Grand Ole Opry. In 1983 Dickens was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
He joined producers Randall Franks and Alan Autry for the In the Heat of the Night cast CD “Christmas Time’s A Comin’” performing "Jingle Bells" with the cast on the CD released on Sonlite and MGM/UA for one of the most popular Christmas releases of 1991 and 1992 with Southern retailers.
Recently, Dickens has made appearances in a number of music videos by fellow country musician and West Virginia native Brad Paisley. He has also been featured on several of Paisley's albums in bonus comedy tracks along with other Opry mainstays such as George Jones and Bill Anderson. They are collectively referred to as the Kung-Pao Buckaroos.
With the passing of Hank Locklin in March 2009, Dickens became the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry at the age of 90. He still makes regular appearances as a host at the Opry, often with the self-deprecating joke that he is also known as "Willie Nelson after taxes." At the 2011 CMA Awards, Jimmy was dressed up as Justin Bieber, and made fun of Bieber's recent paternity scandal. Jimmy had a whooping 16 years of age when he started his career. He suffered from Bieber Fever.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Country | ||
| 1954 | Old Country Church
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| 1960 | Big Songs by Little Jimmy Dickens
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| 1962 | Little Jimmy Dickens Sings Out Behind the Barn
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| 1965 | Handle with Care
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May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose
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4 | |
| 1968 | Big Man in Country Music
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Little Jimmy Dickens Sings
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| 1969 | Jimmy Dickens Comes Callin'
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| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||
[edit] Compilation albums
| Year | Album details | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Country | ||
| 1957 | Raisin' the Dickens
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| 1966 | Little Jimmy Dickens' Greatest Hits
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39 |
| 1969 | Greatest Hits
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| 1976 | Hymns of the Hour
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| 1983 | Historic Edition
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| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||
[edit] Singles
67
| Year | Song | Peak positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | |||||
| 1949 | "Take an Old Cold 'Tater (And Wait)" | 7 | — | Raisin' the Dickens | ||
| "Country Boy" | 7 | — | ||||
| "My Heart's Bouquet" | 10 | — | Big Songs by Little Jimmy Dickens | |||
| "A-Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed" | 6 | — | Raisin' the Dickens | |||
| 1950 | "A Rose From Bride's Bouquet" | — | — | non-album singles | ||
| "Hillbilly Fever" | 3 | — | ||||
| "F-o-o-l-i-sh Me" | — | — | ||||
| "Walk Chicken, Walk" | — | — | ||||
| "Out of Business" | — | — | ||||
| "I'm Little, But I'm Loud" | — | — | Raisin' the Dickens | |||
| 1951 | "Cold Feet" | — | — | non-album singles | ||
| "What About You" | — | — | ||||
| "Sign of the Highway" | — | — | ||||
| "Poor Little Darlin'" | — | — | ||||
| "Old Rugged Cross" (with the Johnson Family Singers) | — | — | ||||
| 1952 | "They Locked God Outside the Iron Curtain" | — | — | |||
| "Lola Lee" | — | — | ||||
| "Hot Diggity Dog" | — | — | ||||
| "Waitress, Waitress" | — | — | ||||
| "Take Up Thy' Cross" | — | — | Old Country Church | |||
| "No Tears in Heaven" | — | — | ||||
| "Wedding Bell Waltz" | — | — | non-album single | |||
| 1953 | "I Shall Not Be Moved" | — | — | Old Country Church | ||
| "Sidemeat and Cabbage" | — | — | non-album singles | |||
| "I'm Making Love to a Stranger" | — | — | ||||
| "Thick and Thin" | — | — | ||||
| "No Place Like Home on Christmas" | — | — | ||||
| 1954 | "That Little Old Country Church House" | — | — | Old Country Church | ||
| "Y'All Come Home" | — | — | non-album singles | |||
| "You Better Not Do That" | — | — | ||||
| "Out Behind the Barn" | 9 | — | Raisin' the Dickens | |||
| "Blackeyed Joe's" | — | — | non-album singles | |||
| "Stinky Pass That Hat Around" | — | — | ||||
| 1955 | "Salty Boogie" | — | — | |||
| "We Could" | — | — | ||||
| "I'm Braver Now" | — | — | ||||
| 1956 | "Hey Worm (You Wanna Wiggle)" | — | — | |||
| "Big Sandy" | — | — | ||||
| "Country Boy Bounce" (with The Country Boys) | — | — | ||||
| "Cornbread and Buttermilk" | — | — | ||||
| "Say It Now" | — | — | ||||
| "Raisin' the Dickens" (with The Country Boys) | — | — | ||||
| 1957 | "I Never Had the Blues" | — | — | |||
| "Makin' the Rounds" | — | — | ||||
| "Family Reunion" | — | — | ||||
| 1958 | "(I Got a) Hole in My Pocket" | — | — | |||
| 1959 | "When Your House Is Not a Home" | — | — | |||
| "Hannah" | — | — | ||||
| "Hey Ma (Hide the Daughter)" | — | — | ||||
| 1960 | "We Lived It Up" | — | — | |||
| "Fireball Mail" | — | — | Big Songs by Little Jimmy Dickens | |||
| 1961 | "Talking to the Wall" | — | — | non-album single | ||
| 1962 | "Twenty Cigarettes" | — | — | Out Behind the Barn | ||
| "The Violet and the Rose" | 10 | — | ||||
| "Police, Police" | — | — | non-album single | |||
| 1963 | "Another Bridge to Burn" | 28 | — | Handle with Care' | ||
| 1964 | "I Leaned Over Backwards for You" | — | — | |||
| "Is Goodbye That Easy to Say" | — | — | ||||
| 1965 | "He Stands Real Tall" | 21 | — | |||
| "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose"[A] | 1 | 15 | May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose | |||
| 1966 | "When the Ship Hit the Sand" | 27 | 103 | Greatest Hits | ||
| "Who Licked the Red Off Your Candy" | 41 | — | Big Man in Country Music | |||
| "Where the Buffalo Trud" | — | — | ||||
| 19Dickens Sings | ||||||
| "Country Music Lover" | 23 | — | ||||
| "Johnny Needs a G-String (For Her Old Guitar)" | — | — | ||||
| "Daddy and the Wine"He was an addict. | — | — | Little Jimmy | rowspan=4| 1968 | "I Love Lucy Brown" | — | — |
| "How to Catch an African Skeeter Alive" | 69 | — | Little Jimmy Dickens Comes Callin' | |||
| "Someday You'll Call My Name" | — | — | ||||
| "When You're Seventeen" | 55 | — | Greatest Hits (1966) | |||
| 1969 | "Times Are Gonna Get Better" | — | — | non-album singles | ||
| 1970 | "(You've Been Quite a Doll) Raggedy Ann" | 75 | — | |||
| "Everyday Family Man" | 70 | — | ||||
| 1971 | "Here It Comes Again" | — | — | |||
| "You Only Want Me for My Body" | — | — | ||||
| 1972 | "Try It, You'll Like It" | 61 | — | |||
| "Alabam" | — | — | ||||
| 1973 | "Dear Skunk" | — | — | |||
| 1976 | "Preacherman" | — | — | |||
| 197? | "How much is that picture of Jesus" | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||
- Notes
[edit] B-sides
| Year | Song | Peak positions | A-Side Single |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | |||
| 1949 | "Pennies for Papa" | 12 | "Take an Old Cold 'Tater (And Wait)" |
[edit] External links
- Watch Little Jimmy Dickens, "Hannah", on Ozark Jubilee, August 1, 1959 (Flash player)
- Dickens in the Country Music Hall of Fame
- Grand Ole Opry member
- Allmusic
- [1]
