Mary Davis & Warren Zanes "Waiting For A Train: Jimmie Rodgers's America" (Rounder)

Jimmie Rodgers, aka The Singing Brakeman and The Blue Yodeler, wasn’t bluegrass. In fact, bluegrass didn’t exist as a genre during Rodgers’ short career. But in the time since his death, including today, bluegrass artists have embraced his songs and have given them new life.

Now, a new book from the Rounder Records group gives a fresh look at Rodgers’ life. Written by Mary Davis and Warren Zanes, the book is entitled “Waiting For A Train: Jimmie Rodgers’s America.” Among its many contributors are Dave Alvin, Rodney Crowell,  Bob Dylan and Marty Stuart.

Although his career spanned only seven years, Rodgers reigned as one of America’s first music superstars. From the summer of 1927, when he made his initial historic recordings with Ralph Peer in Bristol, Tenn., to May 1933, when, fighting tuberculosis, he cut his last records in New York City, Rodgers created a string of hits that define American music.

Blending white country, black blues, Tin Pan Alley, traditional ballads and his signature yodels, he captured the spirit and sound of his generation while heralding the musical styles and genres that would prevail long after his death.

According to Rounder publicists, the book grows from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s American Music Masters series, which honored Rodgers in a week of events focused on his life and legacy. With contributions from a range of scholars, critics, and musical artists, it offers new perspectives on Rodgers, his music and his influence, bringing “America’s Blue Yodeler” and his uniquely American gifts into fresh relief.