James Charles Rodgers, born September 8, 1897, was a well-known American singer-songwriter and guitarist in the late 1920s.
Rodgers was born in Meridian, Mississippi, according to mythology; but, in documents, Rodgers signed later in life, his birthplace was stated as Geiger, Alabama, the home of his paternal grandparents.
Nonetheless, historians like Nolan Porterfield and Barry Mazor, who have researched the circumstances around that document, believe his true birthplace is Pine Springs, Mississippi, just north of Meridian.
Rodgers’ mother died when he was about six or seven years old, and he spent the following few years with various relatives in southeast Mississippi and southwest Alabama, near Geiger.
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Rodgers’ talent for entertaining began at a young age, and the allure of the open road was attractive to him.
He had twice planned and began traveling performances at the age of 13, only to be brought home by his father.
Rodgers’ first employment on the railroad was as a water boy, thanks to his father. He was taught to pick and strum by rail workers and hobos here.
He would have heard the work cries of African-American railroad employees, known as gandy dancers, as a water boy.
A few years later, he was hired as a brakeman on the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad, replacing his elder brother, Walter, who had been promoted to the conductor on the line that connected Meridian and New Orleans.
