Roger Earl
Celebrating 50 years of Foghat in 2021, Roger Earl is still ferociously banging away! Born in London, England (Hampton Court & raised in Hounslow) in 1946 to a musical family where his father played piano at home and local pubs and there was always music in the house. Although he wanted to play piano, his older brother Colin Earl (keyboard player with the band Mungo Jerry of ‘In the Summertime’ fame) won that right. Roger began to play drums at the age of 12, took lessons for two years, and played with local bands around London while working as a commercial artist. He had a measure of success before auditioning for and joining the British Blues band Savoy Brown at age 20, with whom he recorded 5 albums (1967-1970) and toured the U.S. extensively.
In 1970, Roger and Lonesome Dave Peverett decided to leave Savoy Brown to form Foghat. They enlisted former Savoy bass player Tony Stevens and Slide guitarist Rod Price and the rest has been rock n’ roll history.
Moving from England to the North Shore of Long Island in 1973, the band settled around the Port Jefferson area since their manager lived there. Roger loved the area and being an avid fisherman, especially enjoyed the fishing.
During the 70’s Foghat had a series of hit records such as “I Just Want to Make Love to You”, “Fool for the City”, “Slow Ride”, “Stone Blue”, “Drivin’ Wheel”, “Third Time Lucky” and more. They were known as the hardest working band in Rock n’ Roll since they toured 10 out of 12 months during this period.
In the mid 80’s, Lonesome Dave moved back to England and decided to take a ‘break’. Roger continued touring as Foghat. In 1993 the original band got back together and recorded “Return of the Boogiemen”. They toured on and off until late 1999. Rod Price left the band in early’99 and been replaced by Dave’s good friend &former band mate Bryan Bassett. Unfortunately, Lonesome Dave became ill and passed away on February 7, 2000.
It was an incredibly sad time. To continue after this great loss was the question. But after much thought Roger decided to go on, and called in vocalist/guitarist Charlie Huhn, who had previously worked with Ted Nugent, Humble Pie and Victory. Both Lonesome Dave and Roger Earl had seen Charlie perform a few years earlier with Humble Pie and were impressed.
Since 2000, the band has continued to tour relentlessly, and it just keeps getting better and better. They recorded a studio album in 2003 called “Family Joules”, released a DVD in 2004 “The Official Bootleg DVD Vol.1”, a double Live Album in 2007 called “LIVE II”, and yet another Live CD “Live at the Blues Warehouse” in 2008 which was recorded on Long Island, NY for a live Radio Show with Mark Klein of the Blues Warehouse.
In 2010, the band released a Blues CD called “Last Train Home”. Roger (and Lonesome Dave) had been wanting to do this for many years. It was recorded both at EKO Studios on Long Island and at Foghat’s studio in Florida. Roger’s brother Colin Earl joined in on Keyboards as well as Long Islander Lefty Lefkowitz on Harmonica. He also invited his old friend Eddie “Bluesman” Kirkland (87 years old) to play two of his songs on the CD. (Eddie was unfortunately killed in a car accident on February 27, 2011).
2013 saw the release of a live DVD “Live in St. Pete” and in 2016 the band released another studio album “Under the Influence” with included many special guests (Kim Simmonds, Nick Jameson, Scott Holt & Dana Fuchs). In 2017 they released another Live performance “Live at the Belly Up” and as of this writing are planning a 2021 release of a new CD/DVD/Vinyl project called “8 Days on the Road” which was recorded live at Daryl’s House Club in Pawling, NY.
All the releases since 2000 have received incredible reviews and band is doing very, very well. They tour constantly, doing fly ins and playing 60-75 shows per year in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Europe.
Roger and his wife Linda have also partnered with a winemaker in California and become involved in the wine business. They have thus far released several offerings of their ‘Foghat Cellars’ wine all from Central Coast, California. A 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008 Chardonnay, 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010 Chardonnay and 2010 Pinot Noir and the most current offerings 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2013 Pinot Noir and 2014 Chardonnay with more to come. They are very involved in all aspects of the business from picking the grapes to designing the labels.
With eight Gold, two platinum and one multi platinum record under his belt and many other projects in the works, Roger Earl quotes the late Lonesome Dave when he says “I’M GONNA ROLL ‘TIL I’M OLD, GONNA ROCK ‘TIL I DROP”.
Roger is endorsed and uses DW Drums, Paiste Cymbals and Pro-Mark sticks.
His current setup:
DW Drums
23” & 22” Bass Drums
13” & 14” Rack Toms
15” & 16” Floor Toms
5-1/2” x 13” Alloy Snare
5-1/2” x 13” Wood Snare
DW Direct Drive Double Pedals (Ferraris for the feet)
All Shells are Maple and Mahogany and the finish is Stainless Steel paint
Paiste Cymbals
14″ Medium Signature Series HiHats with Foghat logo.
18″ Signature Series Precision Thin Crash with Foghat logo.
18″ Signature Series Fast Crash with Foghat logo.
22″ Prototype Roger Earl Slow Ride.
20″ Signature Series Dark Energy Mark I Ride.
22″ Masters Series Swish.
18″ PST X Series Medium Crash.
Roger’s Discography:
SAVOY BROWN
“Getting to the Point” 1968 – Decca
“Blue Matter” 1968 – Decca
“A Step Further” 1969 – Decca
“Raw Sienna” 1969 – Decca
“Looking In” 1969 – Decca
Warren Phillips & The Rockets*
“The World of Rock & Roll” 1970 – Decca
FOGHAT (45’s)
What A Shame/Hole to Hide 1972 – Bearsville
Long Way to Go/Ride Ride Ride 1974 – Bearsville
Step Outside/Maybellene 1974 – Bearsville
Slow Ride/Save Your Lovin’ (For Me) 1976 – Bearsville
Drivin’ Wheel – 1976 – Bearsville
Third Time Lucky (First Time I Was A Fool) 1980 – Bearsville
Wide Boy – 1981 – Bearsville
All I Want For Christmas is You – 1981 – Bearsville
Slipped, Tripped, Fell in Love – 1982 – Bearsville
Going Home For Christmas/Santa Claus is Back in Town – 1986
FOGHAT (LP’s)
“FOGHAT” (Self- titled, first album) 1972 – Bearsville
“FOGHAT” (Rock & Roll) 1973 – Bearsville
“Energized” 1974 – Bearsville
“Rock & Roll Outlaws” 1974 – Bearsville
“Fool for The City” 1975 – Bearsville
“Night Shift” 1976
“LIVE” 1977
“Stone Blue” 1978
“Boogie Motel” 1979
“Tight Shoes” 1980
“Girls to Chat & Boys to Bounce” 1981
“In the Mood for Something Rude” 1982
“Zig-Zag Walk” 1983
“Return of the Boogie Men” 1994
“Road Cases” 1998
“The Best of Foghat” 1991 – Sequel NEX CD 141
“The Best of Foghat – Vol 2″ 1992 – Rhino RZ 705160
“The King Biscuit Flower Hour” 1999 – King Biscuit Flower Records
“Family Joules” 2003
“Official Bootleg DVD” – 2004
“LIVE II”2007
“Live at the Blues Warehouse”/ “NOT Live at the BBC” 2007
“Last Train Home” 2010
“Live in St. Pete DVD” 2013
“Under the Influence” 2016
“Live at the Belly Up” 2017
Coming 2021 – 8 Days on the Road – DVD/CD/Vinyl – Recorded live at Daryl’s House Club.
Earl & The Agitators
“Shaken & Stirred” 2018
Other Artists:
Christ Jaggers first album “Chris Jagger” 1973
Mungo Jerry “Electronically Testes/Baby Jump” 1971
Daniel Wentworth – “I’m on a Mission” – 2010
(with Derek St. Holmes)
