12 Years Ago Today, We Said Goodbye to the Cajun Country Pioneer Who Gave up His Opry Slot for a Teenage Country Star

In 1959, a 13-year-old girl arrived unannounced at country music’s most sacred venue, fully prepared to show the Grand Ole Opry what she was made of. One problem—they were fully booked. Fortunately, Opry staple Jimmy C. Newman agreed to surrender one of his two regular Saturday performance slots so that the aspiring artist could get some stage time.

That 13-year-old girl was Dolly Parton, and she received three encores for her performance of George Jones’ “You Gotta Be My Baby”. Nearly seven decades later, we call her the “Queen of Country Music”. And the “Jolene” singer still credits Jimmy C. Newman with helping kickstart her prodigious career.

Newman died 12 years ago on this day (June 21) in 2014 after battling cancer. He was 86 years old.

Today, we’re examining his contributions to country music and his Cajun heritage.

The Story of Jimmy C. Newman

Jimmy Yves Newman was born on August 29, 1927, near Big Mamou, Louisiana.

Although he listened more to Gene Autry as a child than the jaunty Cajun music of the surrounding region, Newman carried the bayou with him into his musical career. In fact, the “C.” in Jimmy C. Newman stands for “Cajun.”

In the 1940s, Newman recorded a few sides for influential Cajun producer J. D. “Jay” Miller’s Feature Records. Those went nowhere, but Miller talked industry executive Fred Rose into giving the young artist another shot.

Signing with Dot Records in 1953, Newman’s musical break arrived the following year when he reached number four on the country charts with “Cry, Cry, Darling”.

The song’s success landed Newman a regular role on the popular Louisiana Hayride program in Shreveport.

After his next four records all cracked the top 10, the Grand Ole Opry welcomed Newman into its ranks.

In 1957, he scored his biggest hit with “A Fallen Star”, which spent two weeks at number two and also entered the top 25 of the Billboard Hot 100.

Once he gained name recognition, Newman began integrating his Cajun roots into his music—most notably on the early-1960s cut “Alligator Man”, which became his theme song for Opry performances.

“His role became the Cajun fellow at the Opry, and that’s great,” Marty Stuart told the Tennessean after Newman’s death. “But if you go back to his 1950s recordings of ‘Cry, Cry, Darling’ and ‘Seasons of My Heart,’ you’ll witness a country music architect at work. He was a brilliant singer, a brilliant designer of country music.”

[RELATED: 4 Country Stars Who Made It to the Grand Ole Opry Before They Turned 30]

Once his commercial popularity waned, Newman returned to Cajun music, forming his Cajun Country band and continuing to charm Opry audiences until his death.

Featured image by David Redfern/Redferns

The post 12 Years Ago Today, We Said Goodbye to the Cajun Country Pioneer Who Gave up His Opry Slot for a Teenage Country Star appeared first on American Songwriter.