Jimmy Rogers (Born James Lane)
June 3, 1924 – December 19, 1997
Jimmy Rogers was a blues musician and singer who helped develop the Chicago blues sound as a guitarist in Muddy Waters’ band. Rogers first learned to play the harmonica as a child, and by his teen years, he added the guitar and was well on his way to a career in music. He made his first record in 1948, and within a year, he was playing with Waters with whom he worked while continuing to make his own records on Chess. Rogers left Waters in 1954 and worked as a solo act, but joined up with Howlin’ Wolf in later years. He all but retired from the music business during the ’60s, working as a cab driver and later running his own clothing store. He worked with Waters on a reunion album in 1977 and made a complete comeback during the ’80s On December 19, 1997, Jimmy Rogers died of colon cancer at the age of 73.