Biography
The letter “C” in Jimmy C. Newman’s stage name stood for Cajun. Although his earliest country recordings contained scant trace of swamp textures, several albums he cut during the 1960s blended the two styles and positioned him as an early pioneer of Cajun-country fusion. Born August 27, 1927, in High Point, Louisiana, he grew up favoring Gene Autry over regional Cajun sounds yet still performed several Cajun numbers while a teenager in Chuck Guillory’s Rhythm Boys. Late-1940s sessions for J.D. Miller’s Feature label went nowhere, but Nashville legend Fred Rose later offered him an audition. After cutting four tracks in 1953, Newman landed a Dot Records contract and scored his first hit when “Cry, Cry, Darling” climbed to number four on the country chart in 1954.
That success earned him a regular slot on the Louisiana Hayride. Four consecutive Top Ten singles followed, among them the 1955 releases “Daydreamin’,” “Blue Darlin’,” and “God Was So Good.” He joined the Grand Ole Opry roster in 1956 and issued “A Fallen Star” the next year; the single, his biggest, spent two weeks at number two on the country list and crossed into the pop Top 25. Dissatisfied with his Dot deal, Newman switched to MGM in 1958. By November he had another Top Ten entry, “You’re Makin’ a Fool Out of Me,” and closed the decade with three additional Top 30 singles plus the number-ten “Grin and Bear It” in July 1959.
Early-1960s momentum at MGM brought “A Lovely Work of Art” to number six and “Wanting You to Be With Me” to number eleven. Seeking greater leverage, he moved to Decca in 1961. Now an established act, Newman folded Cajun elements into Top 25 singles such as “Alligator Man” and “Bayou Talk.” His 1963 album Folk Songs of the Bayou Country marked a turning point in the mainstream acceptance of Cajun music, spotlighting accordionist Shorty LeBlanc and regular fiddler Rufus Thibodeaux. “D.J. for a Day” reached the country Top Ten late that year. Subsequent releases largely reverted to the Nashville sound, though 1967’s Louisiana Saturday Night remained an exception. Two final Top Ten singles—“Artificial Rose” and “Back Pocket Money”—arrived within six months of each other in 1965–1966. Scattered Top 30 entries followed for three more years, the last being 1970’s “I’m Holding Your Memory (But He’s Holding You).”
After his chart run ended, Newman returned to Cajun repertoire, issuing albums on La Louisianne, Swallow, and Rounder. His concerts continued to draw enthusiastic audiences across Europe and the United States, while a fifty-year tenure at the Grand Ole Opry kept him active until his death in June 2014.
That success earned him a regular slot on the Louisiana Hayride. Four consecutive Top Ten singles followed, among them the 1955 releases “Daydreamin’,” “Blue Darlin’,” and “God Was So Good.” He joined the Grand Ole Opry roster in 1956 and issued “A Fallen Star” the next year; the single, his biggest, spent two weeks at number two on the country list and crossed into the pop Top 25. Dissatisfied with his Dot deal, Newman switched to MGM in 1958. By November he had another Top Ten entry, “You’re Makin’ a Fool Out of Me,” and closed the decade with three additional Top 30 singles plus the number-ten “Grin and Bear It” in July 1959.
Early-1960s momentum at MGM brought “A Lovely Work of Art” to number six and “Wanting You to Be With Me” to number eleven. Seeking greater leverage, he moved to Decca in 1961. Now an established act, Newman folded Cajun elements into Top 25 singles such as “Alligator Man” and “Bayou Talk.” His 1963 album Folk Songs of the Bayou Country marked a turning point in the mainstream acceptance of Cajun music, spotlighting accordionist Shorty LeBlanc and regular fiddler Rufus Thibodeaux. “D.J. for a Day” reached the country Top Ten late that year. Subsequent releases largely reverted to the Nashville sound, though 1967’s Louisiana Saturday Night remained an exception. Two final Top Ten singles—“Artificial Rose” and “Back Pocket Money”—arrived within six months of each other in 1965–1966. Scattered Top 30 entries followed for three more years, the last being 1970’s “I’m Holding Your Memory (But He’s Holding You).”
After his chart run ended, Newman returned to Cajun repertoire, issuing albums on La Louisianne, Swallow, and Rounder. His concerts continued to draw enthusiastic audiences across Europe and the United States, while a fifty-year tenure at the Grand Ole Opry kept him active until his death in June 2014.
Albums
Singles
