Roy Rogers
& The Delta Rhythm Kings
and
Shana Morrison
Part 114 of the No Stinkin’ Service Charge Blues Series
Saturday May 6, 2023

Roy Rogers & The Delta Rhythm Kings

“Roy Rogers means the modern master in the art of slide guitar…His versatility with the technique is nothing short of astonishing.” – All Music Guide

– Live and Onstage @ World Records Saturday May 6, 2023

Born in Redding, California in 1950, Roy began playing guitar at twelve years of age. A year later at age 13, he was performing in a rock ‘n’ roll band that wore gold lame jackets and played Little Richard and Chuck Berry tunes. He discovered the great blues players early on, especially when his older brother brought home an album by Robert Johnson. Thus began his love of the blues, slide guitar in particular, which had an immediate effect on Roy, who was indeed named after the King of the Cowboys. Through the years he developed a distinctive style of playing slide guitar that not only emerged, but one that is instantly recognizable.

During the 1960’s Rogers frequented the San Francisco rock clubs where he saw many of the blues greats who inspired him. 

Roy performed with various groups until 1976, when he and harmonica player David Burgin formed an acoustic duo and recorded an album Rogers And Burgin: A Foot In The Door for Waterhouse Records. They also played on the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest movie soundtrack before the duet ran it’s course. Rogers then formed his own band in 1980, the Delta Rhythm Kings, hit the club circuit, played a few more movie and television gigs, and toured Europe with the 1982 San Francisco Blues Festival Revue (recording an album with that Revue in Paris).

Shortly after returning from Europe, Rogers was asked to join John Lee Hooker’s Coast to Coast Blues Band. During the four years he toured with Hooker as a featured guitarist/vocalist, Rogers established a strong personal and professional relationship with the venerated blues legend. Said Hooker, “I just can’t say enough good things about Roy. He plays so good. Some of the best slide I’ve heard, best blues I’ve heard. He gets real deep and funky, and he masters whatever he plays.” Near the end of his tenure in Hooker’s band, Roy began to open shows as a solo act, giving him a chance to perform some of the classic country blues and original compositions he’d been perfecting for years. He then went on to produce the historically important four recordings for John Lee Hooker. “The Healer” “Mr. Lucky” “Boom Boom” “Chill Out” – some tracks involving co producer credits with Ry Cooder and Van Morrison.

The duo came back in 1992 with the Blind Pig release Travellin’ Tracks, featuring live performances as well as studio tracks where they are joined by a rhythm section on several cuts.

The dynamic interplay between the pair is undeniable and the release furthered the artist’s already outstanding reputations.

The 2000’s have been a VERY productive recording period for Roy, greatly expanding his collaborations with other artists, as well as his own solo recordings. In 2002, he recorded a last album with Norton Buffalo titled Roots of our Nature. In 2004 he released his first-ever live recording of his own band, featuring some very special guests (the video of which became part of the PBS TV series, Music Gone Public). The self-released Everybody’s Angel was recorded with Shana Morrison who toured with Roy extensively in the early 2000s. In 2006 he collaborated with Reidar Larsen for a release in Norway of The Crossing. In 2009 he recorded Split Decision for Blind Pig records. Roy then teamed up with Ray Manzarek and their joint efforts produced three recordings in eight years – Ballads before the Rain, Translucent Blues and Twisted Tales. Starting out as a duet, they soon formed a band together and toured throughout the U.S. and also in Europe. Their collaboration and friendship has been wonderfully captured in a documentary film to be released in 2017. Roy’s 2015 release Into the Wild Blue (June 2015) proves he and The Delta Rhythm Kings are at the top of their game. StringShot, Rogers’ additional band formed in 2015, features renowned Brazilian guitarist Badi Assad and harpist/violinist extraordinaire Carlos Reyes; their self-titled album debuted in August of 2018.

Shana Morrison

“Vocal powerhouse and songwriting talent Shana Morrison draws her inspiration from a broad range of influences including blues, R&B, country, rock, pop and jazz.” – XYZ

– Live and Onstage @ World Records Saturday May 6, 2023

When people learn that singer/songwriter Shana Morrison is Van Morrison’s adult daughter, the first thing they want to know is how much she has been influenced by her father. Van Morrison’s writing has influenced his daughter’s work, but not tremendously; Shana’s gritty, bluesy, approach to pop/rock and roots rock actually owes a lot more to female singer/songwriters like Bonnie Raitt and Melissa Etheridge.

When Shana’s recordings are playing, one doesn’t think of “Brown-Eyed Girl” or “Moondance” (two of her father’s big hits). One is more likely to think of Sheryl Crow, Joan Osborne, Patti Rothberg, and some of the other female singer/songwriters who emerged in the ’90s.

Nonetheless, Van Morrison did a lot to encourage his daughter’s interest in music. Shana was inevitably exposed to a great deal of music: rock, R&B, blues, jazz, and folk, as well as Irish/Celtic music. Morrison acquired an extensive knowledge of Celtic music thanks to her Irish relatives.

Morrison went on the road with her father’s Rhythm and Soul Revue as a featured artist. She did a lot of songwriting then and after that tour ended in 1994, she formed her own band Caledonia. She soon acquired a small local following in the Bay Area and in 1997, she recorded her debut album, which was also called Caledonia. Her album was originally released on her own label, Belfast Violet.

Morrison’s musical style has been called pop with a side of blues and a side of rock. She has also been known to include other ingredients, like country, R&B, and jazz into the mix. Her material seems to be ever-changing and hard to pin down categorically. What always remains the same is Shana’s unique and wide-ranging voice.

Shana has performed for festival audiences on the main stage both at the Guinness Fleadh in New York and in San Francisco, at the San Francisco Blues Festival, the Ottawa Blues Festival, and the Edmonton Folk Festival. She has also opened shows for Van Morrison, Lyle Lovett, Joe Cocker, Michael MacDonald, War, John Hyatt, Keb ‘Mo, and Bob Weir.

It was also that Morrison collaborated with Northern California bluesman Roy Rogers on the album Everybody’s Angel.

Roy Rogers & The Delta Rhythm Kings
and
Shana Morrison
– Live and Onstage @ World Records Saturday May 6, 2023

Seating Chart