Stanley Allison Rogers (November 29, 1949 – June 2, 1983) was a Canadian fo… Read Full Bio ↴Stanley Allison Rogers (November 29, 1949 – June 2, 1983) was a Canadian folk musician and songwriter.
Rogers was noted for his rich, baritone voice and his traditional-sounding songs which were frequently inspired by Canadian history and the daily lives of working people, especially those from the fishing villages of the Maritime provinces and, later, the farms of the Canadian prairies and Great Lakes. Rogers died in a fire aboard Air Canada Flight 797 on the ground at the Greater Cincinnati Airport at the age of 33.
Rogers was born in Hamilton, Ontario, the eldest son of Nathan Allison Rogers and Valerie (née Bushell) Rogers, two Maritimers who had relocated to Ontario in search of work shortly after their marriage in July 1948. Although Rogers was raised in Binbrook, Ontario, he often spent summers visiting family in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia.
It was there that he became familiar with the way of life in the Maritimes, an influence which was to have a profound impact on his subsequent musical development. He was interested in music from an early age, reportedly beginning to sing shortly after learning to speak. He received his first guitar, a miniature hand-built by his uncle Lee Bushell, when he was five years of age. He was exposed to a variety of music influences, but among the most lasting were the country and western tunes his uncles would sing during family get-togethers. Throughout his childhood, he would practice his singing and playing along with his brother Garnet, six years his junior.
While Rogers was attending Saltfleet High School, Stoney Creek, Ontario, he started to meet other young people interested in folk music, although at this time he was dabbling in rock and roll, singing and playing bass guitar in garage bands such as "Stanley and the Living Stones" and "The Hobbits". After high school, Rogers briefly attended both McMaster University and Trent University, where he performed in small venues with other student musicians, including Ian Tamblyn, Chris Ward and fellow Hobbit Nigel Russell. Russell wrote the song "White Collar Holler", which Rogers sang frequently on stage.
Rogers signed with RCA Records in 1970 and recorded two singles: "Here's to You Santa Claus" in 1970, and "The Fat Girl Rag" in 1971. In 1973, Rogers recorded three singles for Polygram: "Three Pennies", "Guysborough Train", and "Past Fifty."
In 1976, Rogers recorded his debut album, Fogarty's Cove, released in 1977 on Barnswallow Records. The album's subject matter dealt almost entirely with life in maritime Canada, and was an immediate success. Rogers then formed Fogarty's Cove Music, and bought Barnswallow during the production of Turnaround, allowing him to release his own albums. Posthumously, additional albums were released.[citation needed]
Rogers' songs often had a Celtic feel which was due, in part, to his frequent use of DADGAD guitar tuning. He regularly used his William 'Grit' Laskin built 12-string guitar in his performances. His best-known pieces include "Northwest Passage", "Barrett's Privateers", "The Mary Ellen Carter", "Make and Break Harbour", "The Idiot", "Fogarty's Cove", and "White Squall".
Rogers died alongside 22 other passengers most likely of smoke inhalation on June 2, 1983, while traveling on Air Canada Flight 797 (a McDonnell Douglas DC-9) after performing at the Kerrville Folk Festival. The airliner was flying from Dallas, Texas, to Toronto and Montreal when a fire of unknown ignition source within the vanity or toilet shroud of the aft washroom forced it to make an emergency landing at the Greater Cincinnati Airport in northern Kentucky.
There were initially no visible flames, and after attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful, smoke filled the cabin. Upon landing, the plane's doors were opened, allowing the five crew and 18 of the passengers to escape, but approximately 60 to 90 seconds into the evacuation the oxygen rushing in from outside caused a flash fire. Rogers had initially been one of the passengers to escape, but he at some point re-entered the plane to assist in the effort to help others escape.
Rogers' legacy includes his recordings, songbook, and plays for which he was commissioned to write music. His songs are still frequently covered by other musicians, and are perennial favourites at Canadian campfires and song circles. Members of Rogers' band, including his brother Garnet Rogers, continue to be active performers and form a significant part of the fabric of contemporary Canadian folk music. Following his death, he was nominated for the 1984 Juno Awards in the category for Best Male Vocalist. That same year, he was posthumously awarded the Diplôme d’Honneur of the Canadian Conference of the Arts. In 1994, his posthumous live album Home in Halifax was likewise nominated for Best Roots and Traditional Album.
Stan's son, Nathan Rogers, is also an established Canadian folk artist with a voice and lyrical acumen similar to his father's. He has released two critically acclaimed solo discs and tours internationally as a solo act and in the trio Dry Bones.
Rogers was noted for his rich, baritone voice and his traditional-sounding songs which were frequently inspired by Canadian history and the daily lives of working people, especially those from the fishing villages of the Maritime provinces and, later, the farms of the Canadian prairies and Great Lakes. Rogers died in a fire aboard Air Canada Flight 797 on the ground at the Greater Cincinnati Airport at the age of 33.
Rogers was born in Hamilton, Ontario, the eldest son of Nathan Allison Rogers and Valerie (née Bushell) Rogers, two Maritimers who had relocated to Ontario in search of work shortly after their marriage in July 1948. Although Rogers was raised in Binbrook, Ontario, he often spent summers visiting family in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia.
It was there that he became familiar with the way of life in the Maritimes, an influence which was to have a profound impact on his subsequent musical development. He was interested in music from an early age, reportedly beginning to sing shortly after learning to speak. He received his first guitar, a miniature hand-built by his uncle Lee Bushell, when he was five years of age. He was exposed to a variety of music influences, but among the most lasting were the country and western tunes his uncles would sing during family get-togethers. Throughout his childhood, he would practice his singing and playing along with his brother Garnet, six years his junior.
While Rogers was attending Saltfleet High School, Stoney Creek, Ontario, he started to meet other young people interested in folk music, although at this time he was dabbling in rock and roll, singing and playing bass guitar in garage bands such as "Stanley and the Living Stones" and "The Hobbits". After high school, Rogers briefly attended both McMaster University and Trent University, where he performed in small venues with other student musicians, including Ian Tamblyn, Chris Ward and fellow Hobbit Nigel Russell. Russell wrote the song "White Collar Holler", which Rogers sang frequently on stage.
Rogers signed with RCA Records in 1970 and recorded two singles: "Here's to You Santa Claus" in 1970, and "The Fat Girl Rag" in 1971. In 1973, Rogers recorded three singles for Polygram: "Three Pennies", "Guysborough Train", and "Past Fifty."
In 1976, Rogers recorded his debut album, Fogarty's Cove, released in 1977 on Barnswallow Records. The album's subject matter dealt almost entirely with life in maritime Canada, and was an immediate success. Rogers then formed Fogarty's Cove Music, and bought Barnswallow during the production of Turnaround, allowing him to release his own albums. Posthumously, additional albums were released.[citation needed]
Rogers' songs often had a Celtic feel which was due, in part, to his frequent use of DADGAD guitar tuning. He regularly used his William 'Grit' Laskin built 12-string guitar in his performances. His best-known pieces include "Northwest Passage", "Barrett's Privateers", "The Mary Ellen Carter", "Make and Break Harbour", "The Idiot", "Fogarty's Cove", and "White Squall".
Rogers died alongside 22 other passengers most likely of smoke inhalation on June 2, 1983, while traveling on Air Canada Flight 797 (a McDonnell Douglas DC-9) after performing at the Kerrville Folk Festival. The airliner was flying from Dallas, Texas, to Toronto and Montreal when a fire of unknown ignition source within the vanity or toilet shroud of the aft washroom forced it to make an emergency landing at the Greater Cincinnati Airport in northern Kentucky.
There were initially no visible flames, and after attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful, smoke filled the cabin. Upon landing, the plane's doors were opened, allowing the five crew and 18 of the passengers to escape, but approximately 60 to 90 seconds into the evacuation the oxygen rushing in from outside caused a flash fire. Rogers had initially been one of the passengers to escape, but he at some point re-entered the plane to assist in the effort to help others escape.
Rogers' legacy includes his recordings, songbook, and plays for which he was commissioned to write music. His songs are still frequently covered by other musicians, and are perennial favourites at Canadian campfires and song circles. Members of Rogers' band, including his brother Garnet Rogers, continue to be active performers and form a significant part of the fabric of contemporary Canadian folk music. Following his death, he was nominated for the 1984 Juno Awards in the category for Best Male Vocalist. That same year, he was posthumously awarded the Diplôme d’Honneur of the Canadian Conference of the Arts. In 1994, his posthumous live album Home in Halifax was likewise nominated for Best Roots and Traditional Album.
Stan's son, Nathan Rogers, is also an established Canadian folk artist with a voice and lyrical acumen similar to his father's. He has released two critically acclaimed solo discs and tours internationally as a solo act and in the trio Dry Bones.
Morris Dancers
Stan Rogers Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Stan Rogers:
45 Years Where the earth shows it's bones of wind broken stone…
A Matter of Heart We live in fear of no one to love us Of…
Acadian Saturday Night Uncle Emile, he's gone now nearly ten days He tole his…
At Last They dragged her down, dead, from Tobermory, Too cheap to sp…
Barret's Privateers Oh, the year was 1778, HOW I WISH I WAS…
Barrett's Privateers Oh, the year was 1778 How I wish I was in…
Barrett’s Privateers Oh, the year was 1778, HOW I WISH I WAS…
Billy Green Attend you all good countrymen, my name is Billy Green, And…
Bluenose Once again with the tide she slips her lines Turns her…
Canol Road Well you could see it in his eyes as they…
Cape St. Mary's Take me back to my western boat Let me fish…
Cliffs Of Baccalieu We were bound home in October from the shores of…
Dark Eyed Molly Deep and dark are my true love’s eyes Blacker still is…
Delivery Delayed How early is "Beginning"? From when is there a soul? Do…
Down the Road Sun is rising high, burning into the day, I will say…
Evangeline It's feeling like a wasted night, The piano's dead, the drum…
Famous Inside I can almost hear some of you say, "You'd think he'd…
FIELD BEHIND THE PLOUGH Watch the field behind the plow turn to straight, dark…
First Christmas This day, a year ago, he was rolling in the…
Fisherman's Wharf It was in the spring this year of grace With new…
Fisherman’s Wharf It was in the spring this year of grace With new…
Flying It was just like strapping 'em on and starting again, Coachi…
Fogarty We just lost sight of the Queensport light down the…
Fogarty’s Cove Rogers Stan Miscellaneous Fogartys Cove FOGARTY'S COVE - sta…
Forty-five Years Where the earth shows its bones of wind-broken stone And the…
Free in the Harbour Well, it's blackfish at play in Hermitage Bay From pushthrou…
Front Runner Well was it nine years or ten Since you last saw…
Giant Cold wind on the harbour and rain on the road Wet…
Guysborough Train Now there's no train to Guysborough, Or so the man said, So…
Half of a Heart That one behind you on the padded velvet throne, Don't turn…
Harris & the Mare Harris, my old friend, good to see your face again More…
It All Fades Away An unfinished conversation In a picture of the past, Like th…
Last Watch They dragged her down, dead, from Tobermory, Too cheap to sp…
Leave Her I thought I heard the old man say, "Leave her, Johnny,…
Leave Her Johnny Leave Her I thought I heard the old man say "Leave her, Johnny,…
Lies At last the kids are gone now for the day She…
Lies/Field Behind the Plow Watch the field behind the plow turn to straight, dark…
Lock-Keeper You say, "Well-met again, Lock-keeper! We're laden even deep…
Lock-Keepers You say, "Well-met again, Lock-keeper! We're laden even dee…
Lookout Hill There's a spot far away you all know well, A place…
Louise I would have been here sooner, Your note came yesterday, B…
Louise's Song I would have been here sooner, Your note came yesterday, But…
Love Letter Now here's a picture of me, writing you a love…
MacDonnell on The Heights (Another unsung hero of Canadian history . . . The…
Maid on the Shore There is a young maiden who lives all alone She lives…
Make & Break Harbour How still lies the bay in the bright western airs Which…
Make and Break Harbour How still lies the bay in the bright western airs Which…
Man With Blue Dolphin It was just like him. He had to pick A boat…
Mary Ellen Carter She went down last October in a pouring driving rain The…
Music in Your Eyes When I was younger in the days of my youth, I…
Night Guard Forty-four's no age to start again But the bulls were getti…
Northwest Passage CHORUS: Ah, for just one time I would take the North…
Oh No A Newfoundland sailor went walking on the strand He spied a…
Past Fifty Some living, no one time for giving, I ain't got…
Pharisee There used to be, a Pharisee, Cynical and wise, telling rich…
Rolling Down to Old Maui It's a damn tough life, full of toil and strife,…
Sailor (CHORUS 1) It's acrimony down in the card room With winning …
Scarborough Settler Away wi' Canada's muddy creeks And Canada's fields of pine Y…
Second Effort I've been sitting here crying since long before the day…
So Blue I saw her cold in the morning light as we…
Song of the Candle I took up my pen tonight. I couldn't seem to…
Straight and True At Lincoln Center, a freak o' weather brought a taste…
Strings And Dory Plug I'm going to tell a story, a funny one you…
Take it from Day to Day Well, it's not the hours of watch-on-watch, And it's not the…
The Badger Drive There is one class of men in this country that…
The Field Behind The Plow Watch the field behind the plow turn to straight, dark…
The Flowers of Bermuda He was Captain of the Nightingale Twenty-one days from Clyde…
The House of Orange I took back my hand and I showed him the…
The Idiot I often take these night shift walks When the foreman's not…
The Jeannie C Come all ye lads, draw near to me, that I…
The Last Watch They dragged her down, dead, from Tobermory, Too cheap to sp…
The Maid on the Shore There is a young maiden, she lives all a-lone She lived…
The Mary Ellen Carter She went down last October in a pouring driving rain The…
The Nancy The clothes men wear do give them airs, the fellows…
The Puddler They neither know of night or day, They night and day…
The Rawdon Hills The worn-down shacks of labour past on a hill of…
The White Collar Holler Well, I rise up every morning at a quarter to…
The Witch of the Westmorland Pale was the wounded knight, that bore the rowan shield Loud…
The Woodbridge Dog Disaster There was an old woman in Woodbridge there was So proper…
The Wreck of the Athens Queen We were drinking down to Reedy's house When first we…
Three Fishers Three fishers went sailing out into the west, Out into…
Tiny Fish For Japan Where Patterson Creek's muddy waters run down Past the penny…
Try Like the Devil So it's come to the alley And playing in bars Coming on…
Turnaround Bits and pieces you offered Of your life; I didn’t think…
Two Bit Cayuse Now I've been twistin' broncos Ever since I hit the trail, …
Up In Fox Island It's up in Fox Island, prosperity lies Mackerel are plenty, …
Watching the Apples Grow It's early up Ontario farm, Chicken crow for day I wish…
White Squall Now it's just my luck to have the watch, with…
Workin' Joe I used to love these lazy winter afternoons; Starting out t…
Wreck of the Athens Queen We were drinking down to Reedy's house When first we…
You Can't Stay Here You can't stay here. Your company's good, I know But I mus…
Your When I was younger in the days of my youth, I…
Your 'Laker's' Back in Town I see it in your eyes, Searching through the harbour, And …
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