Vasti Jackson: The Soul of Jimmie Rodgers

Mississippi’s place in American musical history is the stuff of legend. Blues greats like Charley Patton, Son House, Robert Johnson, and Muddy Waters were all born in the state, as was Jimmie Rodgers of Meridian, one of country music’s first stars. Known as the “Father of Country Music,” “The Singing Brakeman,” and “America’s Blue Yodeler,” Rodgers was best known for his distinctive yodeling. But he was also profoundly influenced by the blues. Before the recording industry marketed “hillbilly” records to White audiences and “race” records to Black audiences, early country and blues performers had much more in common than is understood today—a fact that versatile blues singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer Vasti Jackson explores in his reflective and searching program, “The Soul of Jimmie Rodgers.”

Growing up in McComb, Mississippi, Jackson was born into a musical family. His relatives included Black blues and string band musicians as well as his country-loving Irish-American grandmother. “I have no memory of life without music. It was always the center of any celebration,” recalls Jackson. As a student at Jackson State University, he was formally trained in music; at the same time, he started working in Jackson’s recording studios.

Blessed by exposure to such varied influences, Jackson has had a multifaceted and accomplished career, often as a champion for his home state’s lengthy legacy. He sang “Train Rollin’ Blues” in the Martin Scorsese documentary series The Blues in 2003, and in 2012 he was inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame. In 2016, Jackson was nominated for a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album for The Soul of Jimmie Rodgers, a recording that celebrated the early-20th-century country music superstar. He has been a key collaborator with another legend of Mississippi blues, Bobby Rush, for over 40 years. In a strange twist of fate, the same year Jackson was nominated for a Grammy, the award instead went to Rush’s Porcupine Meat, an album on which he served as musical director. “So, I won anyway,” Jackson laughs.

Long intrigued by Rodgers’s story and music, Jackson was cast as a harmonica player in a play called America’s Blue Yodeler. That set him down a path toward a deeper examination of Rodgers’s legacy and cultural milieu. “We think of the yodel as something that is European, but he added an African influence,” says Jackson.

“The Soul of Jimmie Rodgers” is a continuation of Vasti Jackson’s ongoing exploration of a pioneering Mississippi musician and the tightly wound web of influences his story represents. For families and kids of all ages, it mixes classic Rodgers’ songs like “I Miss the Mississippi and You” with Jackson’s originals. “It’s about the history of Mississippi, our communities, and our cultural exchanges,” Jackson explains.

Vasti Jackson’s performances at the 82nd National Folk Festival are made possible through the generous support of The MAX.