“Little” Jimmy Dickens Has Passed Away
This story has been updated.
A country music legend, and one of the oldest living country music performers from country’s golden era, is gone. “Little” Jimmy Dickens, one of the most venerable members of The Grand Ole Opry and a country music Hall of Famer, was admitted to the hospital on Christmas for an undisclosed illness, and passed away on Friday, January 2nd. He just turned 94 on December 19th. His last appearance on The Grand Ole Opry was on December 20th. According to the Grand Ole Opry, the 4’11” country star died of cardiac arrest in a Nashville hospital, after previously suffering a stroke. He is survived by his wife Mona Dickens, married since 1971, and two daughters, Pamela Detert and Lisa King.
“The Grand Ole Opry did not have a better friend than Little Jimmy Dickens,” shared Pete Fisher, Opry Vice President & General Manager. “He loved the audience and his Opry family, and all of us loved him back. He was a one-of-kind entertainer and a great soul whose spirit will live on for years to come.”
James Cecil Dickens was born in Bolt, West Virginia, and began his musical career performing on WJLS radio while attending college. In 1948, Roy Acuff heard Dickens on the radio, and introduced him to Columbia Records and The Grand Ole Opry, and soon “Little” Jimmy was a mainstay on the radio show and releasing studio records. The “Little” came from his small stature, but Hank Williams later nicknamed him “Tater” after one of his most recognizable early hits “Take an Old Cold Tater (And Wait).” Hank originally penned his song “Hey Good Lookin'” for Jimmy, but later recorded it himself, saying it was “too good” for his Opry friend.
Dickens formed his band the Country Boys in 1950, and was best known for his novelty songs, or songs that incorporated comedy such as “A-Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed,” “I’m Little But I’m Loud,” and “May The Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose.” He became the first country act to circumvent the globe while on tour in 1964, and in 1965 scored his first #1 hit with “May The Bird of Paradise…” Jimmy was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983.
Later in life “Little” Jimmy became a fixture of The Grand Ole Opry, many times as the comic relief character of the sainted stage, and despite his loss of commercial prominence, was well-recognized and beloved even by younger audiences who knew “Little” Jimmy from appearances on awards shows, videos for Brad Paisley, and other notable cameos.
When Hank Locklin died in 2009, “Little” Jimmy became the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry.
RIP “Little” Jimmy Dickens, one of the last living links to the Golden Era of country music.
UPDATE: A public visitation is set from 4 to 8 PM Wednesday, January 2nd at Woodlawn Roesch-Patton Funeral Home & Memorial Park, located at 660 Thompson Lane in Nashville. A public “Celebration Of Life” service will is scheduled for 11:00 AM Thursday, January 3rd at the Grand Ole Opry House, 2804 Opryland Drive in Nashville. Both events are open to friends, family and the public.
January 2, 2015 @ 7:19 pm
RIP
January 2, 2015 @ 7:46 pm
I had the pleasure of getting to know Jimmy in the last ten years or so. He was a wonderful man who loved people, loved life, and loved his music and comedy.
Jimmy was, of course, small of stature but he was a giant of an entertainer. We have lost a great soul. I’d love to see the welcoming committee as the Pearly Gates.
January 2, 2015 @ 7:47 pm
RIP, Tater.
You will be missed. Thanks for all the great music and Opry moments.
January 2, 2015 @ 7:53 pm
I will never forget the opportunity I got to introduce”Little” Jimmy at the Muddy Roots Festival in 2012. After I said “Ladies and gentlemen, will you please welcome Country Music Hall of Famer and Grand Ole Opry Legend ‘Little’ Jimmy Dickens,” I turned around and he was barreling up to the front of the stage from the back with such ferocity and energy, head down, ready to put on a hell of a show, he almost ran me right over. His guitar was as big as he was. I literally had to jump out of the way. It felt like such an honor to almost get steamrolled by “Little” Jimmy. I snapped this photo of him with Dale Watson minutes before.
January 2, 2015 @ 8:05 pm
Never had a chance to meet Little Jimmy, but I did see him onstage at StageCoach a few years ago. The guy was hilarious. I tell you, they talk about today’s shows being “entertaining”, but this guy kept the crowd going with nothing but stories and song. It was awesome.
That’s the kind of entertainer we need.
RIP
January 2, 2015 @ 8:28 pm
Truly a country music hero. May he rest in peace.
January 2, 2015 @ 9:03 pm
Saw him at the Grand Ole Opry on April 8th in 2011. That’s one day I will never forget. R.I.P Little Jimmy Dickens
January 2, 2015 @ 9:09 pm
It is well worth looking up some of his ballads. He was much more than a comedy song singer.
January 2, 2015 @ 10:32 pm
Didn’t mean to insinuate that he could not sing ballads. Just pointing out that many of his bigger hits happened to be comedy songs. Encapsulating one’s life in a few paragraphs is never an easy task.
January 3, 2015 @ 4:08 am
There’s a really great clip on Youtube of Little Jimmy singing the ballad “Take Me As I Am” from an old TV special hosted by Waylon. (Skip to 2:00 to hear it.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSJ9SnWIYIw
You’re right, I think Jimmy was underrated as a ballad singer.
January 2, 2015 @ 9:35 pm
Agreed, J Burke, he was on great singer and entertainer.
January 2, 2015 @ 10:08 pm
If there’s one thing about being an 89 baby that I’ll never take for granted, it’s being fortunate enough to be exposed to an era of CMT where they just didn’t play the new guys but they played the legends like George Jones, Dolly Parton, Keith Whitley and I remember so vividly seeing Vince Gill’s video for “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slipping Away” at three years old and I think that was my first exposure to Little Jimmy Dickens but at three years old I didn’t know his name at the time until I got a little older and smarter and I thank Country Weekly for at least giving me his name.
Here’s to you Little Jimmy Dickens Rest in Glory.
January 2, 2015 @ 11:02 pm
RIP Little Jimmy. 🙁
January 2, 2015 @ 11:38 pm
I’ve always liked him. He was a great singer who left this world with another big show to fill. He said in one of Brad Paisley’s music videos, “Chicks Dig Rhinestones.” Great comedian too lol. Rest In Piece Jim.
January 4, 2015 @ 9:57 pm
My Dad went to school with little Jimmy We met in west palm beach. after he did fair show they had not seen each other for over 30 years . they a great time.
Bill White
January 3, 2015 @ 3:18 am
I’m proud and privileged to say that I saw Little Jimmy on the Opry stage a few times in person. He was truly a figure who was “larger than life”. His stage presence and wit were unmatched. Country music surely lost a great one, who understood how to make real country music with a comical approach that was accessible and relatable. We will miss you, Tater. Thanks for the great memories!
January 3, 2015 @ 4:17 am
I’m sad to read this news, especially after the most recent report was that Mr. Dickens’ health was improving. One of the last links to the really old days of country music and the Grand Ole Opry is gone. I wish he could have made to 100, but at 94 years old, he obviously lived a long, wonderful, and very active life.
Rest in peace, Little Jimmy.
January 3, 2015 @ 4:57 am
plain old cointry boy, tater eating country boy
January 3, 2015 @ 9:25 am
Funny (not that his passing is funny, so NO ONE GET BENT OUT OF SHAPE!) how the news feed still has the headline that he’s improving!
January 3, 2015 @ 8:15 pm
All of the information Saving Country Music and other outlets have been posting about “Little” Jimmy Dickens has been coming directly from the Grand Ole Opry. I thought it was a little presumptive for The Opry to say he was improving, but it was their press release, and every major country music news outlet reported it because if you don’t, then the accusation is that you’re callous, or only focusing on the negative. I also felt it would be disingenuous to retract the update since it happened, and it is part of the news cycle that surrounded his death. Eventually it cycled out of the news feed, but since the two stories happened so close to each other, I’m not surprised it showed up there. The point of the news feed is to help inform people, and it is a service, just as this entire site is, that is offered to the public for free, and is offered with no pop up, drop down, time out ads, or streaming video.
The fact that you put such effort into sifting through this site, and now even through the news stream to find things to complain about shows a degree of hatred that is troubling. For a site that is apparently wrong-minded and bordering on illegitimate, you sure do put a tremendous amount of time into it.
January 3, 2015 @ 11:55 am
RIP Little Jimmy. You were a legend and your memory will last forever. May God bless you and your family during this time. Now enjoying in the Opry in the Sky with Hank Williams, Faron Young and etc.
January 3, 2015 @ 1:00 pm
He was such a stellar feller. Thanks for the photos.
January 3, 2015 @ 4:25 pm
Major loss for country music and its history.
For those interested in that kind of thing, Ralph Stanley is now the oldest living Opry member at 87.
January 3, 2015 @ 5:58 pm
I was lucky enough to meet jimmy once, a very cool little guy. A life well lived.
January 4, 2015 @ 12:57 am
This morning in Nashville, The Tennessean dedicated the entire front page of the paper to a giant picture of Little Jimmy Dickens, along with the years of his birth and death. (They did the same thing when George Jones passed away.) There was also a lot of good writing on the inside about his life and impact. I criticize The Tennessean a good bit, but in this instance I give them credit for showing proper respect.
January 4, 2015 @ 10:31 pm
Did Dickens really punch out Webb Pierce?
Jimmy would have needed to jump to reach that guy’s jaw.
January 8, 2015 @ 8:34 pm
Grand Ole Opry’s Celebration of Life service for Little Jimmy Dickens:
http://www.tennessean.com/videos/entertainment/music/2015/01/08/6026507/