Jail/Prison Top Ten: In the Jailhouse Now (#8)

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Today is unfortunate for the regulars: brain-melting music. I didn’t intend it that way, it just happened. I’m sorry. If this hurts too much go back and listen to the AC/DC song earlier in the countdown. Here’s today’s song with jail or prison in the title. #8: In the Jailhouse Now - Jimmie Rodgers Daddy! Yes, it’s the Father of Country Music and the first inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame, making an appearance today...to the disdain of most of you. Jimmie Rodgers was hardly “the father of country music” the way Bill Monroe started bluegrass. There were plenty of “hillbilly” recordings prior to his discovery at the Bristol Sessions in 1927. However, Rodgers was a major success, selling records even as the Depression hit. Even Louis Armstrong appeared on a Jimmie Rodgers song. As a result of his short (he died from TB in 1933) but prolific career, he’s an inductee in country, rock, blues, and songwriting halls of fame. You’ve probably heard this one by someone else, as it’s one of Rodgers’ most oft-covered tunes. Every now and then you just have to go back to the source. In the Jailhouse Now Written by Jimmie Rodgers and Elsie McWilliams Recorded by Jimmie Rodgers Released as a single, 1928 I was the swellest man in town: