Jimmy C. Newman, R. I. P.

Jimmy Yves Newman, known to Grand Ole Opry fans as Jimmy C. Newman, died June 21. He was 86, and suffered from cancer. 

For more than 50 years, Newman was a mainstay on the Opry, where he performed rollicking, Cajun-inflected songs such as Alligator Man and Bayou Talk. He added the "C" to his stage name in the early 1960s, saying that it stood for "Cajun," and he took pride in his designation as the first Cajun artist to join the Opry. His first Top 10 country hit, Cry, Cry, Darling, came 60 years ago, in the summer of 1954.