Named after - but not to be confused with - the country and western cowboy singer / actor of the same name, Delta blues slide guitarist Roy Rogers was born in Redding, California on July 28, 1950. Inspired by classic rock and roll artists like Chuck Berry and Little Richard, he began playing guitar at the age of 12. However, after hearing an album by Robert Johnson, he switched his attention to blues music. He was further inspired when he managed to see many of the blues greats when they played San Francisco clubs in the 1960s. After playing in several groups throughout the 1970s, he formed a duo – Rogers and Burgin – with harmonica player David Burgin and released the album A Foot in the Door (1978) and provided music for the soundtrack to the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. After the duo split, Roy Rogers formed a backing band that he called the Delta Rhythm Kings and began playing clubs and touring internationally. Roy Rogers released his critically acclaimed debut album, Chops Not Chaps, in 1985. The album was followed by two more albums – Slidewinder (1987) and Blues on the Range (1989) – which were released while he was also a member of John Lee Hooker’s Coast to Coast Blues Band. During his time with Hooker, he produced the blues icon’s albums The Healer (1989), Mr. Lucky (1991), Boom Boom (1992), and Chill Out (1995). While continuing to release his own albums – Slide of Hand (1993), Slide Zone (1994), Rhythm & Groove (1996), Pleasure + Pain (1998), Split Decision (2009), and Into the Wild Blue (2015) – Roy Rogers collaborated with several artists, recording albums with Norton Buffalo and Ray Manzarek (The Doors), and appearing on albums by Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Sammy Hagar, Steve Miller, Elvin Bishop, Carlos Santana, and many others. Roy Rogers then joined forces with guitarist Badi Assad and violinist / harpist Carlos Reyes and formed the Latin / blues rock band StringShot. The group released their self-titled album in 2018.
