For over 50 years I have written songs because I had no choice. They were in my head and they needed to escape. At a young age rock and roll grabbed me when I saw Elvis on our tiny black & white television at our home in the western suburbs of Chicago. But because I played sports I never got around to playing guitar until 1971, the year I graduated from the University of Kansas. My guitar-playing goal was to write songs. Then I fell under the spell of the country blues greats, including Blind Blake, Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Charlie Patton. It was time to sell my rock albums and replace them with re-issued collections from Biograph, Yazoo, Columbia and the Library of Congress.

Guitaring seemed like a soulful endeavor that my life was missing, giving me a sense of purpose, of communication while providing the deepest feeling one can have: a discovery of one’s own self. My guitar-playing goal was to write songs to provoke, to encourage dance, laughter and thought. I have recorded seven songs this year (2023) with Geoff DeMuth. Right now we’re putting on the finishing touches and I hope they are ready by early 2024. Check out rogerbainmusic.com