Little Jimmy Dickens
Little Jimmy Dickens is the master of the country novelty song, as well as a renowned ballad singer. He also known for his diminutive stature -- he's less than five feet tall -- and his affection for flamboyant, rhinestone-studded outfits and country humor. Although he never had a consistent presence on the charts, he managed to have hits in every decade between the 1940s and the 1970s, and he became one of the Grand Ole Opry's most popular performers.
Dickens was the 13th child of a West Virginian farmer. During his childhood, he fell in love with music and had a dream of performing on the Grand Ole Opry. He began performing professionally while he was a student at the University of West Virginia in the late '30s, singing on a local radio station. Dickens left school shortly after he received his regular radio job. He began traveling around the country, singing on radio shows in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan under the name Jimmy the Kid. Roy Acuff heard Dickens sing on a radio show in Saginaw, MI, and invited him to sing on the Grand Ole Opry.
In 1949, Dickens -- who was now using the name Little Jimmy Dickens -- became a permanent member of the Grand Ole Opry. That year, he also signed a record contract with Columbia Records, releasing his first single, "Take an Old Cold Tater and Wait," in the spring of 1949. The song became a Top Ten hit and launched a string of hit novelty, ballad, and honky tonk singles that lasted for a year, including "Country Boy," "A-Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed," "Hillbilly Fever," and "My Heart's Bouquet." Early in the '50s, he formed a band called the Country Boys, which featured a steel guitar, two lead guitars, and drums. With their spirited traditional country approach and vague rockabilly inflections, the band didn't sound like their Nashville contemporaries. Perhaps that's why Dickens only had one hit between 1950 and 1962: 1954's "Out Behind the Barn."
Dickens bounced back to the Top Ten with the ballad "The Violet and the Rose" in 1962. Three years later, he had his biggest hit, "May the Bird of Paradise Fly up Your Nose." The single topped the country charts and crossed over to number 15 on the pop charts. Although his next single, "When the Ship Hit the Sand," was moderately successful, Dickens wasn't able to replicate the success of "May the Bird of Paradise Fly up Your Nose." In 1968, he stopped recording for Columbia, signing with Decca Records, where he had three minor hits in the late '60s and early '70s. In 1971, he moved to United Artists, which resulted in two more small hits, but by that time he had begun to concentrate on performing as his main creative outlet. Dickens continued to tour and perform at the Grand Ole Opry into the '90s, becoming one of the most beloved characters in country music.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Big Man In Country Music
Country - Released by Columbia Nashville Legacy on 1 Jan 1968
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16 Biggest Hits
Country - Released by Columbia - Legacy on 1 Jan 2006
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May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose
Country - Released by Columbia - Legacy on 20 Nov 2015
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Handle with Care
Country - Released by Columbia Nashville Legacy on 11 Sep 2015
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Hits, Vol. 3
Country - Released by Shami Media Group 3 on 16 Feb 2016
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Essential Masters
Country - Released by Master Classics Records on 24 Sep 2013
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All the Best
Country - Released by Vintage Jukebox on 26 Jul 2019
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Little Jimmy Dickens, Vol. 2
Country - Released by Country Music Group on 7 Jan 2013
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We Could Country, Vol. 2
Country - Released by Shami Media Group 3 on 4 Apr 2016
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Closing Time
Country - Released by Golden Bridge Records on 16 Nov 2019
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Greatest Hits
Blues - Released by Classic Music International on 13 Jul 2010
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"Little" Jimmy Dickens, Vol. 1
Country - Released by Country Music Group on 6 Jan 2013
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Hits, Vol. 5
Country - Released by Shami Media Group 3 on 21 Mar 2016
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Hits, Vol. 4
Country - Released by Shami Media Group 3 on 4 Mar 2016
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Hits, Vol. 2
Country - Released by Shami Media Group 3 on 3 Feb 2016
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Hits, Vol. 1
Country - Released by Shami Media Group 3 on 19 Jan 2016
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Little Jimmy Dickens Country, Vol. 1
Country - Released by Shami Media Group 3 on 1 Jan 2015
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Jimmy the Kid
Country - Released by Sharp Edge Records on 15 Sep 2014
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Take up Thy Cross
Country - Released by Age Of Empire on 8 Nov 2019
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Roses and Ribbons
Country - Released by Music Today Records on 10 Feb 2015
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"Little" Jimmy Dickens, Vol. 5
Country - Released by Country Music Group on 10 Jan 2013
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