Elsie McWilliams (nee Williamson, June 1, 1896 – December 30, 1985) was a songwriter who wrote for Jimmie Rodgers. McWilliams, even though she is only officially credited with writing twenty songs, actually wrote or co-wrote 39 songs for Rodgers.[1][2] McWilliams was his most frequent collaborator.[3] She was the first woman to make a career as a country music songwriter.[4]
Elsie McWilliams | |
|---|---|
| Born | Elsie Williamson June 1, 1896 Harperville, Mississippi |
| Died | December 30, 1985 (aged 89) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | songwriter |
| Known for | Jimmie Rodgers |
| Notable work | Blue Yodel |
Biography
editMcWilliams was born in Harperville, Mississippi into a musical and religious family.[1] She graduated from high school in 1917 in Meridian and afterwards, taught school until she married.[5]
Her sister, Carrie, married Jimmie Rogers and in 1920, she and Rogers formed a dance band.[1] McWilliams played piano and sang in the band.[4]
Rodgers asked McWilliams to help him with songwriting after he secured a recording contract and McWilliams agreed, traveling to recording sessions and collaborating.[1] Rodgers could not read music, so McWilliams would play the songs and he would learn them by ear.[6] The first song she wrote for Rodgers was A Sailor's Plea.[6] Many of her songs became top hits.[6] McWilliams's ideas for her songs often "came from conversation" and she said that "When an idea hit me, I would have to write it down that minute or it would get away."[6]
Part of the reason he needed help was because his health was poor.[5] Even though McWilliams helped him write songs, she only took credit for some, stating that she wanted the full amount of the money to go to Rodgers and his family.[7] Sometimes when she received payment for her work, she would turn the royalties back over to Rodgers.[6]
After Rodger's death in 1933, McWilliams focused more on her family and her church.[6] In 1938, she and her sister made recordings in memory of Rodgers.[8] In 1979, she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.[9] In 2010, a marker on the Mississippi Country Music Trail was created to honor her work.[10]
Works
edit- Blue Yodel
- Cowhand's Last Ride,[11]
- Daddy and Home
- Everybody Does It In My Hawaii,[11]
- Hobo Bill's Last Ride,[6]
- Home Call,[11]
- Lonesome Blues,[11]
- Lullaby Yodel,[11]
- My Little Home in New Orleans
- My Little Lady,[11]
- My Old Pal,[11]
- My Rough and Rowdy Ways,[11]
- The Never No Mo Blues,[11]
- Nobody Knows But Me,[11]
- A Sailor's Plea,[6]
- That's Why I'm Blue
- Tuck Away My Lonesome Blues
- Waitin' For the Train,[6]
- Yodeling Cowboy,[11]
- You and My Old Guitar,[11]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Elsie McWilliams". Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ Mazor, Barry (2009). Meeting Jimmie Rodgers: How America's Original Roots Music Hero Changed the Pop Sounds of a Century. Oxford University Press. pp. 305. ISBN 9780199716661.
- ^ Wade, Howard Mitchell (1 July 2012). "Jimmie Rodgers: The Life and Times of America's Blue Yodeler". Journal of American Folklore. 125 (497): 379–381. doi:10.5406/jamerfolk.125.497.0379. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2016 – via HighBeam Research.
- ^ a b "Elsie McWilliams – Meridian". Mississippi Country Music Trail. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ a b Chadbourne, Eugene. "Elsie McWilliams". All Music. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Cotton, Gordon (13 November 1973). "In-Law Aided Jimmie Rodgers". Lubbock Morning Avalanche. Retrieved 10 January 2016 – via Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Mullins, Daniel (24 May 2012). "Rodgers Remembrance Vol !V: My Old Pal". Bluegrass Today. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ "Records in Memory". San Antonio Light. 26 July 1938. Retrieved 10 January 2016 – via Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Country Songwriter Elsie McWilliams". Chicago Tribune. 1 January 1986. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ "Around the Region". The Commercial Appeal. 8 September 2010. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2016 – via HighBeam Research.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "103 Songs Composed by Jimmie Rodgers". Billboard. 16 May 1953. p. 22. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
External links
edit- Mississippi River Blues (video)
- Never No Mo' Blues (video)