Name | Roger Hodgson |
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Landscape | Yes |
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Background | solo_singer |
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Birth name | Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson |
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Born | March 21, 1950 |
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Origin | Portsmouth, England |
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Instrument | Vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass |
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Genre | Progressive rock, pop rock, art rock |
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Occupation | Musician, songwriter |
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Years active | 1969 - present |
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Label | A&M;, Unichord/Voiceprint, Epic |
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Associated acts | Supertramp, Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band |
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Url | RogerHodgson.com |
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Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson (born 21 March 1950) is a British musician and songwriter, best known as the co-lead vocalist (with Rick Davies), and one of the founding members of, the progressive rock band Supertramp. Hodgson solely wrote and composed and provided lead vocals on many of the band's biggest hits, including "Dreamer", "Give a Little Bit", "The Logical Song", "Breakfast in America", "Take the Long Way Home" and "It's Raining Again." He has enjoyed a solo career since his departure from the group in 1983, inaugurated by the 1984 hit "Had a Dream", and continues to tour internationally to this day. Hodgson was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, in 1950 and grew up in Oxford. He went to Woodcote House (where he was the first boy to learn electric guitar) & Stowe School in Buckinghamshire. He is recognised for his tenor singing voice, which became a trademark of his former band Supertramp, and often writes about spiritual and philosophical topics. He has been given the nickname of Mr. Supertramp by fans.
Biography
1950–1969: Early years
Hodgson began playing guitar at a very young age. His first guitar was a parting gift from his father at age 12 when his parents divorced. He took it to boarding school with him, where his teacher taught him three chords. Right away he began composing his own music and lyrics and within a year gave his first concert at school with nine original songs. Roger's first band at school consisted of him on guitar and his buddy Roy playing snare drums. They were dubbed the "H-bombs" because of their last names, which were “Hodgson” and “Hoby.” Interestingly enough, the only encore was for a non-original cover of "Bachelor Boy" a hit for Cliff Richard in 1964.
At age 19, Roger Hodgson had just released his first single, under the name Argosy, accompanied by session musician Reg Dwight, who later became known as Elton John. Very soon after, in 1969, Hodgson, along with Rick Davies, co-founded the progressive rock band Supertramp.
1969–1983: Supertramp
Songs on the first album "
Supertramp", released in 1970, were composed by Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies, with Richard Palmer writing the lyrics. From "
Indelibly Stamped", released in 1971, and onward, Hodgson and Davies were the band’s lyricists and composers. The hugely successful
Crime of the Century was released in 1974.
Crisis? What Crisis?, released in 1975, was followed by
Even in the Quietest Moments in 1977. In 1979, they released their most successful album,
Breakfast in America. This album has sold over 20 million copies to date. The live album,
Paris, was released in 1980, with
Famous Last Words being released in 1982.
Through 1983, all songs recorded by Supertramp were legally credited with a shared writing credit of Davies/Hodgson. The person who sang the song is the one who wrote and composed it. Roger Hodgson was the writer of hits such as "The Logical Song", "Dreamer", "Give a Little Bit", "Breakfast in America", "It's Raining Again", "Take the Long Way Home" and "Fool's Overture".
Hodgson had been the major songwriter and singer in Supertramp, solely composing and writing 8 of their 10 biggest hits. When he was with Supertramp, he would make a demo of the complete song while alone and then bring it to the band so that they could learn their parts. Roger presented his songs to the band in this way so that the songs were finished and therefore not changed by additions or suggestions regarding the lyrics or music. Hodgson wrote some of his most popular songs like "Breakfast in America", "The Logical Song", and some of "Fool's Overture" at home with a harmonium he had bought from a neighbour when he was 17 years old (this instrument is used in the background of "Breakfast in America", and prominently appears on "Two of Us" and his solo track "The Garden").
1984–present: Solo career
Roger was with the band for 14 years before leaving in 1983. There was much speculation behind the reasons why Roger Hodgson left Supertramp. In an interview, Hodgson stated that the reason he left the band was to spend time with his two small children. At the time of his departure from Supertramp, Hodgson stated that one of the reasons that he and the other band members grew apart was that Hodgson's drug use had caused a rift within the band. In
Rolling Stone Magazine, Hodgson stated that "Taking acid was definitely a life-changing experience. It led me in a direction [Rick] couldn't understand or share." He left Los Angeles and moved his family to Northern California where he built a home studio and produced several successful solo albums.
Hodgson's first solo album, In the Eye of The Storm contained the singles "Had a Dream (Sleeping with the Enemy)" and "In Jeopardy". His second album, 1987's Hai Hai, had a distinctive synthpop-oriented feel, in the vein of the mid-80s trends, but it also maintains a songwriting style true to Hodgson's standards. However, just prior to the release of Hai Hai, Hodgson fell from a loft in his home and broke both wrists, which disabled him from successfully promoting the album. He also took a long break from both touring and recording.
In 1990, Hodgson was approached by Yes to take the lead singer position after Jon Anderson had left to record and tour with ABWH. Hodgson enjoyed working with the group but declined the offer, saying it was unwise to attempt to pass off the music as Yes. One of the songs he co-wrote with Trevor Rabin, "Walls", was released in 1994 on Yes' Talk album, with lyrics revised by Anderson. A version of "Walls" with only Hodgson and Rabin on vocals can be found on Trevor Rabin's 2003 archival release 90124.
After a long break, he launched into his first tour since 1984 and released 1997's live Rites of Passage to document the tour. The live album was recorded at the Miners Foundry in Nevada City, California. He performed with a full band including his son Andrew, and Supertramp sax player John Helliwell. He then embarked on his first world solo tour in 1998.
Hodgson played King Arthur in the rock opera Excalibur: La Legende Des Celtes, and appeared on the album for two songs: "The Elements," and "The Will of God." The project was headed by Alan Simon and released in 1999.
In 2000, Hodgson contributed vocals on a track titled "The Moon Says Hello" by Carlos Núñez, on the CD Mayo Longo.
Hodgson's third solo effort Open the Door was released in 2000 and continued in the vein of his previous work. He collaborated again with Alan Simon on the album. In August 2000, Hodgson guested with Fairport Convention at that years Cropredy Festival. He performed "Breakfast In America", "The Logical Song", "Open The Door" and "Give A Little Bit".
In 2001, Hodgson toured as a member of the All-Starr Band in 2001, playing lead guitar, and has since collaborated with Trevor Rabin (who appears on the track "The More I Look" on Open the Door) and Ringo Starr.
Hodgson is still giving concerts, often playing alone, but from time to time he is joined by other musicians or has a full orchestra accompanying him. He has taken part in the Night of the Proms concert series in Belgium and Germany in late 2004, as well as the rock festival, Bospop in 2005.
In May 2006, Roger Hodgson was honoured by ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) in recognition of his song Give A Little Bit being one of the most played songs in the ASCAP repertoire in 2005.
On 30 November 2005, he held his first concert in England in over twenty years, at Shepherd's Bush, London. While that performance was filmed and scheduled for a DVD release, the plan was scrapped. Instead, the concert recorded at the Place Des Arts in Montreal, Canada on 6 June 2006 was his first DVD, released on 22 August 2006, entitled Take The Long Way Home - Live In Montreal. In October 2006, the DVD was certified multi-platinum by the CRIA (Canadian Recording Industry Association).
Hodgson participated as a mentor on Canadian Idol along with Dennis DeYoung. He continued mentoring several of the finalists during his 2006 Canadian Tour.
Hodgson performed at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium , UK on 1 July 2007. He sang a medley of his most popular songs: "Dreamer", "The Logical Song", "Breakfast in America" and "Give A Little Bit".
On 18 September 2007, Eagle Vision released the DVD Take The Long Way Home - Live In Montreal worldwide, achieving gold in Germany and France.
On 9 April 2008, Hodgson received an ASCAP award for the Gym Class Heroes' song "Cupid's Chokehold", recognised as being one of the most played songs in ASCAPs repertoire from the fourth quarter 2006 through to the fourth quarter of 2007.
Though Hodgson's former bandmates in Supertramp announced a 40th Anniversary reunion tour, he was not invited to join them. The agreement between Hodgson and Davies upon Hodgson's departure from the band was that Davies would keep the band’s name, Supertramp, while Hodgson would keep his songs in order to carry on as an artist. Another important component of this agreement was that Davies would no longer perform any songs written and composed by Hodgson. Davies has performed Hodgson's songs on every tour since the latter's depature, and this led to the departure of bassist Dougie Thompson out of principle.
Hodgson toured the US, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Europe, and Canada on his own 2010 World Tour, whilst Davies mainly concentrated on touring around Europe during Supertramp's 40th anniversary tour. Both Hodgson and Supertramp released live versions of their tour material on download only on their websites. Hodgson is again planning a worldwide tour in 2011 and has released some dates on his website and facebook page.
Trivia
Before joining Supertramp, Hodgson recorded a single in 1969 under the name "Argosy". The sole single, "Mr. Boyd" b/w "Imagine", was issued on the DJM (U.K.) and Congress (U.S) record labels, and remains quite rare and sought after. Musically, it's a bit more pop and slightly psychedelic compared to his work with Supertramp, but it's instantly recognisable as being Hodgson. Other musicians on the record were Caleb Quaye - guitar, Nigel Olsson - drums, and Reginald Dwight (better known as Elton John) - piano. "Mr. Boyd" was covered in 1997 by Jake Shillingford and his band My Life Story on their album "The Golden Mile".
There are at least four versions of the song "Land Ho". The first version was an early demo which was then edited and recorded as a "B" side of the song "Summer Romance" - a single that was released in 1973 when the most popular version of Supertramp came to be, a third version which was yet another edit and was a contender for Supertramp's "Crisis What Crisis?" in 1975 but never included on the album and released on The Supertramp Anthology - A Retrospectacle, and finally, the version that "introduced" the song to most fans on Hodgson's second solo album Hai Hai in 1987.
Discography
''For his work with Supertramp, see
Supertramp discography between 1969 and 1982
References
External links
Official website
Official Facebook page
Official Twitter page
rogerhodgson.co.uk - UK Fansite
Category:1950 births
Category:Living people
Category:English male singers
Category:English songwriters
Category:English rock guitarists
Category:English keyboardists
Category:People from Portsmouth
Category:Old Stoics
Category:Supertramp members
Category:English expatriates in the United States
Category:Ivor Novello Award winners