The Never Ending Pool

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Blues guitarist Roy Rogers (Bob Hawkins/Publicity Photo)

Bluesman Roy Rogers' side job: Oral history of folk legend, Ramblin' Jack Elliott

By Jerry Fink

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Blues musician Roy Rogers probably should be hyping his new album or his shows in Las Vegas on Thursday and Friday.

Instead he's talking about a nonmusical project that is dear to his heart, an oral history of the legendary folk performer Ramblin' Jack Elliott that Rogers is producing.

"He was the last guy to hit the road with Woody Guthrie," Rogers says. "Ramblin' Jack is truly a folk icon if ever there was one. He has the greatest stories on the planet."

The 77-year-old Elliott grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and left home at the age of 15. He joined the rodeo, learned to play guitar and performed on the streets for a living. His nickname doesn't come from traveling but from the countless stories he tells.

"This is a guy who would stand by the side of the road and put his thumb out and when someone asked, 'Where you going?' he'd say, 'Well, where are you going?'"

Rogers won't be finished anytime soon.

"I've been working on it for a couple of years," Rogers, 58, says from his home in the mountains near Nevada City, Calif., about 40 miles from Truckee. "I'm cutting some new teeth editing this guy. But it will be worth it in the end."

Rogers figures he has one or two more sessions with Ramblin' Jack and then he'll start editing more than 20 hours of stories into a two-CD set, which should be available in fall 2010.

Rogers produced two of Elliott's music albums, "Friends of Mine" and "The Long Ride," as well as albums for Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt and John Lee Hooker.

Rogers doesn't rush his albums.

His latest album, "Split Decision," is the first studio recording with his band, the Delta Rhythm Kings, in seven years.


NOTE: For more about Rogers and his new album, click on the link.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/21/bluesmans-side-job-oral-history-folk-legend/