Celebrating 53 years of Foghat in 2024, Roger Earl still pounds the drums with passion! Born in London, England (Hampton Court, raised in Hounslow) in 1946, Roger grew up in a musical household where his father’s piano playing both at home and in local pubs ignited his early love for music. Despite his initial desire to play piano, that role was claimed by his older brother Colin Earl, a renowned keyboardist with Mungo Jerry of “In the Summertime” fame. Undeterred, Roger took up drumming at age 12, receiving lessons and performing with local bands across London while also pursuing a career as a commercial artist.

At 20, Roger joined the British blues band Savoy Brown, recording five albums and touring both the UK/Europe and the U.S. from 1967 to 1970. In 1970, Roger and Lonesome Dave Peverett departed Savoy Brown to form Foghat, recruiting former Savoy Brown bassist Tony Stevens and slide guitarist Rod Price, thus shaping rock ‘n’ roll history.

Relocating to Long Island’s North Shore in 1973, the band settled around Port Jefferson, drawn by their manager’s residence in the area. Roger, an avid fisherman, quickly fell in love with the locale and its abundant fishing opportunities. The proximity to New York City and Bearsville, NY, where their record company was located, also cemented their move to the states.

During the 1970s, Foghat achieved commercial success with hits like “I Just Want to Make Love to You,” “Fool for the City,” and “Slow Ride,” earning a reputation as one of the hardest-working bands in rock ‘n’ roll, touring 10 months out of the year.

In the mid-1980s, Lonesome Dave returned to England for a hiatus while Roger continued to tour with Foghat. The original band reunited in 1993 to record “Return of the Boogiemen” and toured until late 1999. Rod Price left the band in early ’99 and was replaced by Dave’s good friend and former bandmate 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, Foghat has maintained a rigorous touring schedule and released notable albums like “Family Joules” (2003), “LIVE II” (2007), and “Live at the Blues Warehouse” (2008). Beyond music, Roger and his wife Linda ventured into winemaking in 2007, launching Foghat Cellars with a variety of acclaimed wines from California’s Central Coast.

In recent years, Foghat has continued to innovate, releasing albums such as “Last Train Home” (2010), “Under the Influence” (2016), and the live recording “8 Days on the Road” (2021). Roger also got involved in a side project “Earl & the Agitators” with his good friend/guitarist/vocalist, Scott Holt. Roger met Scott in 2014 when a mutual friend introduced Scott to the band when they were seeking stand-ins for band members in case of illness or other scenarios where a member couldn’t play.

Roger, Scott, and Bryan hit it off immediately. Roger invited Scott down to the Foghat Studio (Boogie Motel South) in Florida, and they all began to jam and write a bunch of songs! Since Bryan is not only Foghat’s guitarist but also their engineer and producer, they recorded all the tracks. (Scott sang and played on three songs on Foghat’s last studio album UNDER THE INFLUENCE).

In 2015, they had an opportunity to work on an audio engineering graduation project at Dark Horse Institute in Franklin, Tennessee, where they wrote and recorded six more songs and now had a repertoire of music and nothing to do with it! So, over a couple of glasses of wine Bryan deemed the new project “Earl & the Agitators” …they threw Foghat bassist Rodney O’Quinn and guitarist Tony Bullard and percussionist Mark Petrocelli into the fray and started doing some live performances (many of them as the opening act for Foghat).

With all this material in the can, the band decided to release SHAKEN & STIRRED which is comprised of 13 studio tracks and five cool live tracks!

In January 2022, Roger welcomed Scott Holt into the band as permanent lead singer/guitarist, following Charlie Huhn’s retirement, leading to a creative resurgence that culminated in the chart-topping success of their 17th studio album, “SONIC MOJO,” in November 2023, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues Charts and remained in the top 10 for 27 weeks!

This release also contained three songs that were given to Roger as a ‘gift’ from long-time friend and ex-band member, Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown. Sadly, before Kim could play on this record, he passed away, but the songs have been very well received by fans and critics alike!

Now, in 2024 at 78 years old, Roger remains at the peak of his career, enjoying every moment with Foghat’s current lineup, which tours extensively and consistently creates new music. With multiple gold and platinum records to his name, Roger embodies the enduring spirit of rock ‘n’ roll, echoing Lonesome Dave’s words:

“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

“8 Days on the Road” 2021

“Sonic Mojo” 2023

“Permission to Jam” 2024

“Slow Ride”- Cleopatra – 2024

 

 

Earl & The Agitators

“Shaken & Stirred” 2018

 

Other Artists:

Christ Jaggers first album “Chris Jagger” 1973

Mungo Jerry “Electronically Tested/Baby Jump” 1971

Daniel Wentworth – “I’m on a Mission” – 2010

(with Derek St. Holmes)Top of Form

Bottom of Form