Little Jimmy Dickens

Biography

James Cecil Dickens (December 19, 1920 – January 2, 2015), better known by his stage name Little Jimmy Dickens, was an American country music singer and songwriter famous for his humorous novelty songs, his small size (4'10" [150 cm]), and his rhinestone-studded outfits (which he is given credit for introducing into live country music performances). He started as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1948 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983. Before his death, he was the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Early life

Dickens was born on December 19, 1920 in Bolt, West Virginia. He began his musical career in the late 1930s, performing on radio station WJLS in Beckley, West Virginia, while attending West Virginia University. On the radio station, he got his experience with performers such as Mel Steele, Molly O'Day, and Johnnie Bailes. In the 1940s, Jimmy hosted his own radio programs in places including West Virginia, Indiana, Kansas, and even Ohio. He soon quit school to pursue a full-time music career, traveling the country performing on local radio stations under the name "Jimmy the Kid".

Career

In 1948, Dickens was heard performing on WKNX, a radio station in Saginaw, Michigan, while on location at Buck Lake Ranch, Angola, Indiana. Roy Acuff introduced him to Art Satherley at Columbia Records and to 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×Country Boy12 November 1997 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)", "A-Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed", and "I'm Little but I'm Loud×I'm Little But I'm Loud2005 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 31 tracks1Buddy's Boogie (instrumental)2:212Salty Boogie2:163You All Come2:454Stinky Passed the Hat Around2:075I'm Gettin' Nowhere Fast2:096(I Got) A Hole in My Pocket2:297Love Must Be Catching2:068Country Boy Bounce (instrumental)2:029Happy Heartaches2:0510Wabash Cannon Ball2:2511Blackeyed Joe's2:0212Slow Suicide2:0713I Never Had the Blues2:0614Raisin' the Dickens (instrumental)2:0015Big Sandy2:0816Country Ways and City Ideas2:1917You Don't Have Love at All2:4718Hannah2:0119Me and My Big Loud Mouth2:2620Hey Worm! (You Wanna Wiggle)1:5621Hey Ma! (Hide the Daughter)2:1922Walk, Chicken, Walk ('Cause You're Too Fat Fly)2:2323Out Behind the Barn2:2224Red Wing (instrumental)1:5725I'm Coming Over Tonight2:2726Rockin' With Red2:2827Hillbilly Fever2:5428I Feel for You (But I Can't Quite Reach You)2:0429I Wish You Didn't Love Me So Much2:3030Jambalaya2:0931Goodbye2:25". His song "Take an Old Cold Tater (And Wait)" inspired Hank Williams to nickname him Tater. Later, telling Dickens he needed a hit, Williams wrote "Hey Good Lookin'" in only 20 minutes while on a plane with Dickens, Minnie Pearl, and Pearl's husband, Henry Cannon. A week later, Williams recorded the song himself, jokingly telling Dickens, "That song's too good for you!", to which Dickens replied, "Much obliged, Hiram."
In 1950, Dickens formed the Country Boys with musicians Jabbo Arrington, Grady Martin, Bob Moore, and Thumbs Carllile. During this time, he discovered future Country Music Hall of Famer Marty Robbins at a Phoenix, Arizona, television station while on tour with the 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 had his first top-10 country hit since 1954 with "The Violet and a Rose".
In 1964, he became the first country artist to circle the globe while on tour. He also made numerous appearances on television, including on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. In 1965, he released his biggest hit, "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose×May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose1965 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1I Can't Get Over Me (Not Gettin' Over You)2:35A2My Eyes Are Jealous2:35A3Honky Tonk Troubles2:33A4Collection Of Failures2:11A5Call Him Me2:17A6Twice The Fool2:49B1May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose2:25B2The Back Of My Hand2:54B3He Knocked Me Right Out Of The Box1:59B4Make Me An Offer2:45B5Half-Way Loved2:44B6A Rose From A Bride's Bouquet2:49", which reached number one on the country chart and number 15 on the pop chart.
In the late 1960s, Dickens 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.
Dickens 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. The CD released by Sonlite and MGM/UA was one of the most popular Christmas releases of 1991 and 1992 with Southern retailers.

Later career

In 1984, Dickens appeared in Hank Williams Jr.'s music video for the hit single "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight".

Toward the end of his life, Dickens made appearances in a number of music videos by fellow West Virginia native and country musician Brad Paisley. He was also featured on several of Paisley's albums in bonus comedy tracks, along with other Opry mainstays such as George Jones and Bill Anderson. They were collectively referred to as the Kung-Pao Buckaroos.
With the death of Hank Locklin in March 2009, Dickens became the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry, at the age of 90. He made regular appearances as a host at the Opry, often with the self-deprecating joke that he was also known as "Willie Nelson after taxes", playing on his resemblance to Nelson in his later years, Nelson's highly publicized problems with the Internal Revenue Service, and Dickens' own short stature. At the 2011 CMA Awards, Dickens was dressed as Justin Bieber and made fun of Bieber's then-current paternity scandal.

Personal life

Dickens married Connie Chapman in 1944; the marriage ended in divorce in 1955. Later that year, he married Ernestine Jones; she died in 1968 in an automobile accident while traveling in Texas. He married Mona Evans in 1971. They had two daughters, Pamela Detert and Lisa King.

Death

Dickens was hospitalized after a stroke on December 25, 2014, six days after marking his birthday in what was his last appearance on the Opry. He died of cardiac arrest on January 2, 2015, at the age of 94. After his funeral on January 8, 2015, at the Grand Ole Opry House, Dickens was entombed in the Cross Mausoleum at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville.