Little Jimmy Dickens is the master of the country
novelty songs, as well as a renowned ballad singer. He is 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.
The oldest of 13 children, Jimmy Dickens was born in Bolt, West Virginia, in
1920. He began performing professionally, while he was a student at the University
of West Virginia in the late '30s, singing on local radio at age 15 and then
going on to stations 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 — which inspired his friend
Hank Williams to nickname him "Tater". The song became a Top Ten hit
and launched a string of hit novelty, ballad and honky tonk singles that lasted
for a year, which included "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.
