Water Boy
Produced by Hugo and Luigi
Cover Photo: Chuck Stewart
Roulette R-25020
1957
From the back cover: Jimmie Rodgers, like most of us, had a dream. It was a fantasy that stayed with him all the time. He couldn't get it out of his head. The dream and/or fantasy was simple enough. It consisted of his coming to New York, walking into an office of a record company, getting an audition, a contract and then coming up with a hit record the first time out.
It wasn't such an unusual dream sequence. For, let's be honest now, how many of us have not had the same dream come true. As recording directors for Roulette Records we have to be on the constant lookout for new artists. The recording business is a demanding operation. It demands a steady flow of performers and it demands that they be talented. A lot of people can sing but only the best can get into the groove.
The first act of Jimmie's dream began when he walked into our office. He was a likable enough young man, we thought, as he shyly presented himself and told us what he was here for. His appealing manner was a point in his favor but he still had a long way to go to convince us. Appearance is okay, but what can the boy do, was the question still uppermost in our minds.
A man with a dream should have determination and assurance, and that day Jimmie had them both. He took out his beat-up guitar, which he had carried with him all the way from the West Coast, and began to play and sing for us.
It didn't take us long to realize that we were getting a preview of the birth of an important new singer. As he worked over his repertoire of songs that he had learned in his short but varied career, both of us reacted as one man. We heard a sound that was tailor-made for recordings and the musical mood of the day. There was a sincerity and a warmth of delivery that separates the professional from the amateurs and that assures stardom without any doubts.
We didn't bother with the usual "Don't call us, we'll call you" routine. We knew we had a good boy when we saw him and a terrific boy when we heard him and we aren't going to let him get away. Before he had his guitar packed back in its case, our secretary had drawn up the contract and Jimmie Rodgers became the newest Roulette Records artist.
Our work, though, was just beginning. There's more to getting a hit record than signing an artist with a great potential. The right material is needed to do the trick. We knew that too many performers, in the past, had missed the boat because of bad choice of material. We wanted to be sure that we came up with the right song for Jimmie before introducing him on records. We sifted through hundreds of songs before we came up with the one that we felt was absolutely right.
The stars must have been guiding us. The song was Honeycomb and the disc jockeys and the record buyers agreed with our choice for Jimmie. His recording of Honeycomb became a 1,000,000 record seller and the stepping stone to stardom for Jimmie Rodgers.
Working with Jimmie, we found out that this dream began at the age of five when he sang in a Christmas show in his hometown in Camus, Washington. He's been singing ever since. He taught himself to play guitar as well as piano, getting some help from his mother who had played in various bands. He joined the Air Force at the outbreak of the Korean War and it was during his four-year service that he learned many of the songs that make up his repertoire. After the war he roamed the Pacific northwest, working in logging camps and on farms picking up songs and developing a style that won us over completely the day he walked into our office.
In this, his first album, we believe Jimmie's place as one of the important singers of the day is assured. – Hugo and Luigi
From Billboard - November 4, 1957: Rockabilly Rodgers' first album is a strong entry in the package field, with powerful appeal for young rock and roll fans, and surprisingly attraction for more mature disk buyers, via some tender readings of folk songs – "Scarlet Ribbons," etc. Also "Honeycomb," and his new singles waxing, "Better Loved You'll Never Be."
Women From Liberia
Better Loved You'll Never Be
The Girl In The Wood
Water Boy
Scarlet Ribbons
The Ballad Of Black Gold
Hey Little Baby
The Mating Call
Kisses Sweeter Than Wine
The Preacher
I'm Just A Country Boy
Honeycomb
From the back cover: Jimmie Rodgers, like most of us, had a dream. It was a fantasy that stayed with him all the time. He couldn't get it out of his head. The dream and/or fantasy was simple enough. It consisted of his coming to New York, walking into an office of a record company, getting an audition, a contract and then coming up with a hit record the first time out.
It wasn't such an unusual dream sequence. For, let's be honest now, how many of us have not had the same dream come true. As recording directors for Roulette Records we have to be on the constant lookout for new artists. The recording business is a demanding operation. It demands a steady flow of performers and it demands that they be talented. A lot of people can sing but only the best can get into the groove.
The first act of Jimmie's dream began when he walked into our office. He was a likable enough young man, we thought, as he shyly presented himself and told us what he was here for. His appealing manner was a point in his favor but he still had a long way to go to convince us. Appearance is okay, but what can the boy do, was the question still uppermost in our minds.
A man with a dream should have determination and assurance, and that day Jimmie had them both. He took out his beat-up guitar, which he had carried with him all the way from the West Coast, and began to play and sing for us.
It didn't take us long to realize that we were getting a preview of the birth of an important new singer. As he worked over his repertoire of songs that he had learned in his short but varied career, both of us reacted as one man. We heard a sound that was tailor-made for recordings and the musical mood of the day. There was a sincerity and a warmth of delivery that separates the professional from the amateurs and that assures stardom without any doubts.
We didn't bother with the usual "Don't call us, we'll call you" routine. We knew we had a good boy when we saw him and a terrific boy when we heard him and we aren't going to let him get away. Before he had his guitar packed back in its case, our secretary had drawn up the contract and Jimmie Rodgers became the newest Roulette Records artist.
Our work, though, was just beginning. There's more to getting a hit record than signing an artist with a great potential. The right material is needed to do the trick. We knew that too many performers, in the past, had missed the boat because of bad choice of material. We wanted to be sure that we came up with the right song for Jimmie before introducing him on records. We sifted through hundreds of songs before we came up with the one that we felt was absolutely right.
The stars must have been guiding us. The song was Honeycomb and the disc jockeys and the record buyers agreed with our choice for Jimmie. His recording of Honeycomb became a 1,000,000 record seller and the stepping stone to stardom for Jimmie Rodgers.
Working with Jimmie, we found out that this dream began at the age of five when he sang in a Christmas show in his hometown in Camus, Washington. He's been singing ever since. He taught himself to play guitar as well as piano, getting some help from his mother who had played in various bands. He joined the Air Force at the outbreak of the Korean War and it was during his four-year service that he learned many of the songs that make up his repertoire. After the war he roamed the Pacific northwest, working in logging camps and on farms picking up songs and developing a style that won us over completely the day he walked into our office.
In this, his first album, we believe Jimmie's place as one of the important singers of the day is assured. – Hugo and Luigi
From Billboard - November 4, 1957: Rockabilly Rodgers' first album is a strong entry in the package field, with powerful appeal for young rock and roll fans, and surprisingly attraction for more mature disk buyers, via some tender readings of folk songs – "Scarlet Ribbons," etc. Also "Honeycomb," and his new singles waxing, "Better Loved You'll Never Be."
Women From Liberia
Better Loved You'll Never Be
The Girl In The Wood
Water Boy
Scarlet Ribbons
The Ballad Of Black Gold
Hey Little Baby
The Mating Call
Kisses Sweeter Than Wine
The Preacher
I'm Just A Country Boy
Honeycomb
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