(Tom Apathy Photography 2022)

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."