Singer Jimmie Rodgers passed away at the age of 87. With a style of singing and playing guitar that included elements of country, folk and pop, Jimmie had a string of hits in the 50s and 60s including, Honeycomb and Kisses Sweeter than Wine, until spasmodic dysphonia took his singing voice away in 1987.
Jimmie served as an Honorary Director for the National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association. In 2005, he was the Keynote Speaker at the NSDA Symposium where Jimmie shared stories about performing and living with spasmodic dysphonia (pictured left). Jimmie was charismatic and entertaining, keeping the audience laughing. He also did a 9-minute interview with the NSDA called “A Singer Silenced” that includes clips of his hit songs and stories about the music; his challenges with spasmodic dysphonia; along with scenes from the Symposium. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
More on Jimmie’s life and many contributions can be found in these different articles:
New York Times | The Columbian | Los Angeles Times