Slide guitarist Roy Rogers brings his mix of blues, rock and more to Tyee

It’s rare that The Entertainer spills over on to the Opinion page. Rarer still when it involves a debate about a musician’s identity, or whether he’s even still alive.

That’s just what happened last week, when a reader wrote in to ask if the Box Office listing for Roy Rogers’ upcoming performance wasn’t some kind of typo. Hadn’t the singing cowboy been dead for a number of years now?

My response was simple: That I would gladly pay money to see the original Roy Rogers raised from the dead. Either fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how macabre you are, that wasn’t what the Box Office listing was referring to.

No, slide guitar master Roy Rogers, who’s a mere 58 years of age, is actually the one playing at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17, at Tyee Wine Cellars south of Corvallis. And though Rogers lives in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, the Internet delivered our Opinion page conversation to his door, prompting his own response, as well as responses from several of his local fans.

One of them, from Salem’s Barb Coffey, read thusly:

“Had to laugh about the recent letter regarding Roy Rogers — the real live Roy Rogers is the ‘finest slide guitar player on the planet’ a musician’s musician (has collaborated with and is highly respected by the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Sammy Hagar, Norton Buffalo, and is a producer that produced the last and most acclaimed albums of John Lee Hooker and now produces Ramblin’ Jack Elliott).”

After hearing Barb and others’ impassioned testimonials about Rogers’ feats on slide guitar, I realized that I’d be dropping the ball if I didn’t squeeze an interview into my rapidly filling week.

So, on Tuesday evening, I spoke with him via phone from his home, and learned that not only can the man play slide guitar, but he’s pretty humble for a cat who’s played with the likes of Hooker, to boot.

Among the things he told me:

* The concert at Tyee came about because Rogers originally was going to play a fundraiser for John Frohnmayer, the former head of the National Endowment for the Arts — and author of OSU musical “Spin” — who was briefly running for senator as an independent. Leah Frohnmayer, John’s wife, is Rogers’ cousin. When John dropped out of the race, however, Rogers felt the show should go on, and so it has.

* Rogers was, indeed, named after the cowboy of Dale Evans and Trigger fame.

* “The trio (The Delta Rhythm Kings) is a full-tilt, rockin’ blues kind of thing. It’s much more of a jam situation” than his solo performances or performances with regular partner and harmonica player Norton Buffalo.

* “Slide guitar, I like to say, is one of the most emotional ways you can play guitar because you can play between the notes. You can slide it, and it’s much more voice-like, in a way.”

* When BB King was young, he wanted to learn to play slide guitar like his uncle, Bukka White, but he could never quite get the hang of it, so he tried to recreate the sound of the slide by bending the notes.

* “Slide guitar has the ability within a moment’s notice to be happy or sad.”

* Roy was first drawn to the slide guitar when he heard Robert Johnson records as a kid. “I was so taken aback by the Delta blues and how emotionally strong it was, and what a statement it was, with one guy playing. Slide guitar was an extension of the voice, and vice versa. When a guy like Robert Johnson, or other guys, played in a traditional blues fashion, there was no difference for them. They would start half a line, and they would finish it with a guitar, or they would start a guitar line and then finish it with the voice. It was a part of the extension. It was all together, and that’s a pretty strong statement to make with any instrument.”

* “Good music is about music that communicates to people and speaks something for yourself. I don’t concern myself with any particular style. I’ve played on a lot of people’s records, from rock to jazz to blues. It all works. You don’t want to be boxed into a certain type of music, and that’s all you do. That’s never appealed to me. Music is wide open. It should never be placed in a box, ever.”

* “That experience of performing with and producing John Lee Hooker was a high point, because you learn so much from guys that have been performing that long and are still vibrant guys. John was well into his 70s and was still doing great shows, still boogeying. It’s inspiring. Inspiration is where you find it.”

* Finally, Rogers wanted to make sure to extend a special invitation to the man who wrote in to the Gazette-Times in the first place to ask if he was the famous singing cowboy, and if he wasn’t dead. Rogers says he often tells stories about his namesake, and would love to have the chance to clear the matter up once and for all with the man who first raised it.

Jake TenPas can be reached at jake.tenpas@lee.net or 758-9514.

Check it Out

What: Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘The Mikado’ at Oregon State University

When: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 15 and 16, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17

Where: OSU’s Withycombe Hall main stage, 2901 S.W. Campus Way

Cost: Tickets are $14, $10 for seniors and $7 for students, and are available at the theater box office or online at www.orgonstate.edu/dept/theatre.

For more information, call 737-2784.