Roger Hodgson

Roger Hodgson is an English artist best known as the lead vocalist of the group Supertramp, one of the best known progressive rock bands today. Added to being this group’s vocalist he was also one of its founders. He is also a musician who plays guitar, keyboards and bass as well as a songwriter. His music also contains influences of art rock and pop rock added to being progressive rock. He has been present in the world of rock music since 1969 and has been signed onto record labels such as Epic Records, A&M and Voiceprint Records. Aside from Supertramp, he has been associated with groups such as Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band and Argosy. As a live performer, he is known for attracting crowds filled with Roger Hodgson tickets possessing fans and thus his live shows are one of a kind.
 
Roger Hodgson, former frontman of Supertramp, has been the composed and singer of some of the best hit songs of this band. These include songs such as Dreamer, The Logical Song, Give a Little Bit, Breakfast in America, It's Raining Again and Take the Long Way Home. In 1983, he started a very successful solo career and released two albums. He then retired for some time but was back in 1997 playing live music as part of several years. He is noted for his tenor singing voice which was signature to the sound of Supertramp and is also an avid writer on philosophical and spiritual issues. He was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire and grew up in Oxford within England. He studied at Woodcote House where he became the first person to learn how to play the electric guitar at the age of twelve when he was taught how to play by his teacher. He then began composing his own music while in boarding school and performed his first concert where he sand nine of his own songs.
 
Roger Hodgson formed his first band while at school with Roby Hoby and played the snare drums. After graduating from school, he joined the People Like Us as a guitarist and was then signed onto Island Records where he became the vocalist of Argosy, a pop band consisting of Nigel Olsson, the famous Sir Elton John and Caleb Quave. This group released the single Mr Boyd and was written by Roger Hodgson. In 1969, after Argosy broke up, he joined Supertramp. This band then released its first album in 1970 and was then made up of Rick Davies and Richard Palmer. In 1974, the band released the album Crime Century which became very popular and was followed by two more albums released in 1975 and 1977. In 1979, the band released the album Breakfast in America, an album that went on to sell over twenty million copies.
 
In 1981, Roger Hodgson moved to Northern California from Los Angeles and in 1984, he released several solo albums. In 1997, he released the album Rites of Passage, a live album based on his tour. This album ranked at the top of the charts in Germany and was followed by him playing a role in Excalibur: La Legende Des Celiers, a rock opera by Alan Simon. In 2001, he joined the All Starr Band and toured with it as the lead guitarist. He then went on to collaborate with Ringo Starr and with artists such as Trevor Rabin. Since his comeback in 1997, he began touring and today performs live music at many events. He performs with other musicians and also with complete orchestras. He has performed at many festivals including Bospop and Night of the Proms, a series of concerts held in Germany and Belgium.
 
Roger Hodgson has received many awards and honors. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, ASCAP, ranked two of his songs amongst its Most Played Songs list two times. He has been a mentor on Canadian Idol and performed live at the Concert for Diana which attracted many people through Roger Hodgson tickets.  All in all, this is an award winning artist behind an album that has sold over twenty million copies and has been on tour all over the world including the US, South America, Canada, New Zealand, South America and much of Europe.