In the latest segment in the "Honky Tonks, Hymns and the Blues" series, NPR's Paul Brown explores the influence of Jimmie Rodgers. The "father of country music" traveled like a meteor from obscurity, to fame, to early death. Combining blues, vaudeville and Tin Pan Alley with old-time mountain music, he brought the so-called "hillbilly" sound into the mainstream.
Copyright 2003 NPR
