Ronald Bruce Rogers (born November 5, 1952), better known as Ron Rogers or Ronnie Rogers, is a songwriter, composer, recording artist and
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
from
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
. His career spanned from the late 1970s until the 1990s.
Life and career
Rogers was born in
Soundview
Soundview is a neighborhood on the Clason Point peninsula, on the southern section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, White Pl ...
,
South Bronx
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Mott Haven, Melrose, and Port Morris.
In the early 1900s, the South Bronx was or ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
in 1952.
After recording a debut
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ar ...
LP entitled ''Gichy Dan’s Beachwood # 9'', co-produced with songwriter
August Darnell
Thomas August Darnell Browder (born August 12, 1950), known professionally as August Darnell and under the stage name Kid Creole, is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He co-founded Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band and subsequently f ...
, Rogers composed the words and music to
Don Armando's hit "
Deputy of Love", which reached number one on the
Billboard U.S. dance chart. Following this initial success,
Michael Zilkha
Michael Zilkha (born 1954) is a British-born entrepreneur, the co-founder of ZE Records.
Early life
He was born in 1954, the son of Selim Zilkha, the founder of Mothercare, one of the UK's largest retail chains (and the grandson of Khedouri Zilkh ...
, founder of
ZE Records
ZE Records was originally a New York-based record label, started in 1978 by Michael Zilkha and Michel Esteban. It was reestablished by Esteban in 2003.
History
Michael Zilkha (b. 1954) is a British-born Oxford graduate of Iraqi descent, the ...
, began publishing Rogers' compositions through
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, an ...
. The compositions were recorded on 24-track
analog recording
Analog recording is a technique used for the recording of analog signals which, among many possibilities, allows analog audio for later playback.
Analog audio recording began with mechanical systems such as the phonautograph and phonograph. ...
decks by New York
session musicians
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
, including Rogers
multitracking on piano, drums and vocals. Among the disco-inspired recordings were: "Spooks In Space" by
The Aural Exciters
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...
, written by Rogers;
Gichy Dan's "Cowboys and Gangsters", written and produced by Rogers; and Rogers' own solo EP "Don't Play With My Emotions", all released on
ZE Records
ZE Records was originally a New York-based record label, started in 1978 by Michael Zilkha and Michel Esteban. It was reestablished by Esteban in 2003.
History
Michael Zilkha (b. 1954) is a British-born Oxford graduate of Iraqi descent, the ...
/
Arista Records
Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertain ...
/ Island Records.
Rogers went on to compose, produce and perform on recordings including "The Lifeboat Party", lead track of the
Kid Creole and the Coconuts album ''
Doppelganger'';
[Kid Creole Website](_blank)
/ref> "Gina Gina", from Kid Creole's ''Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places
''Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places'' is the second album by Kid Creole and the Coconuts, released in 1981.
Overview
''Fresh Fruit in Foreign Places'' is a concept album in the form of a musical travelogue. Describing the album's concept to ''The Ne ...
'' LP; "City Nights/ Manhattan Cafe's" and "In The Middle Of The Night", released on Rogers' own Blue Chip record label, featuring vocalist Cory Daye
Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band was a big band- and swing-influenced disco band that was formed in the Bronx, New York. The band is best known for its number-one US dance hit " Cherchez La Femme/ C'est si bon," from its self-titled debut a ...
of Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band
Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band was a big band- and swing-influenced disco band that was formed in the Bronx, New York. The band is best known for its number-one US dance hit "Cherchez La Femme/C'est si bon," from its self-titled debut alb ...
; and Elbow Bones and the Racketeers
Elbow Bones and the Racketeers was an American big band-era styled male/female vocal group, created by August Darnell, and best known for their hit single
A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song ...
' UK Top 40 hit "A Night In New York", co-written with lyricist D. Clarkin and released on EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, ...
. In total Rogers has writing or production credits on over 30 recordings.Discogs
/ref>
Selected discography
* '' (#)X'' = denotes re-issues/remixes+number of releases
References
External links
Ron Rogers SONGS .COM
Ron Rogers Discography
Listen To: “The Lifeboat Party”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Ron
1952 births
Living people
People from the Bronx
Musicians from New York City
Record producers from New York (state)
ZE Records artists