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).[1] He started as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1948 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983.[2] Before his death he was the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry.
Early life
Dickens was born 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.[3] On the radio station, he got his experience with performers like Mel Steele, Molly O'Day and Johnnie Bailes.[2] In the 1940s, Jimmy hosted his own radio programs in places like West Virginia, Indiana, Cincinnati, Kansas and even Ohio. [2] 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
Dickens in 1955
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.[2] 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.[4]
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".[5] 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.[6] A week later, Williams recorded the song himself, jokingly telling Dickens, "That song's too good for you!",[7] 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. It was during this time that 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.[8]
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", which reached number 1 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.[9] That same year, he married his wife, Mona,[10][11] and in 1975 he returned to the Grand Ole Opry. In 1983. Dickens was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.[12]
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 was released by Sonlite and MGM/UA and was one of the most popular Christmas releases of 1991 and 1992 with Southern retailers.
Dickens performing at the Grand Ole Opry House in 2004. Notice the six-foot circle of oak which was cut from the corner of the Ryman Auditorium's stage and inlaid into center stage at the Grand Ole Opry House
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.[13] They had two daughters, Pamela Detert and Lisa King.[14]
Death
Dickens was hospitalized after a stroke on December 25, 2014, six days after marking his birthday in what would be his last appearance on the Opry.[1] He died of cardiac arrest on January 2, 2015, at the age of 94.[15] 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.[16]
