Little Jimmy Dickens

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" ), and his rhinestone-studded outfits (which he is given credit for introducing into live country music performances). He started as a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1948 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983. Before his death, he was the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Dickens was born on December 19, 1920 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. On the radio station, he got his experience with performers such as Mel Steele, Molly O'Day, and Johnnie Bailes. In the 1940s, Jimmy hosted his own radio programs in places including West Virginia, Indiana, Kansas, and even Ohio. 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".

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. 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.

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". 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. A week later, Williams recorded the song himself, jokingly telling Dickens, "That song's too good for you!", 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. During this time, 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.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.