Out
Behind The Barn by
Little Jimmy Dickens
1954
Little Jimmy Dickens is the master of the country novelty song, as well as a renowned ballad singer. He 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.
Dickens was the
13th child of a
West Virginian farmer. During his childhood, he fell in love with music and had a dream of performing on the Grand Ole Opry. He began performing professionally while he was a student at the
University of West Virginia in the late '30s, singing on a local radio station. Dickens left school shortly after he received his regular radio job. He began traveling around the country, singing on radio shows 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. The song became a Top Ten hit and launched a string of hit novelty, ballad, and honky tonk
singles that lasted for a year, including "
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. ~
Stephen Thomas Erlewine,
All Music Guide
- published: 30 Nov 2007
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