Little Jimmy Is One Year Older

It's Little Jimmy Dickens birthday and it seems like most of Music City's who's who came out to celebrate with the big country star.

Friends and fans gathered Wednesday night at Rippy’s to celebrate the 90th birthday of Country Music Hall of Famer and Grand Ole Opry star Little Jimmy Dickens.

Mayor Karl Dean showed up to take part in the festivities and to proclaim Dickens, “A man with extraordinary stature in the music business and beyond.”

Dickens received a slew of well-wishers, while thinking back on his first days in Nashville in 1948.

“The first time I ever came to town was for my first appearance on the Opry,” he said. “I thought, ‘I have gone as far as I could ever go.’ Then I went back to work in Saginaw, Michigan, where I was working at a radio station. A few months later, I got a call to come back and do another appearance, and I thought, ‘Now I’ve really gone as far as I can go.’”

In truth, Dickens went much further. In 1964, he became the first country artist to circle the globe, playing for American troops all over the world. He doesn’t do much traveling these days, preferring to stay in Music City and appear most weekends at the Opry.

Click his image above to see a gallery of photos from the celebration. Video footage from the party follows after the jump.

source: The Tennessean News Paper: Online