ABBA

He taught himself to play the guitar while still young and picked up country music from his family. Continuing this interest in music he and his brother Sherman formed the bluegrass band The Green Mountain Boys after he left high school.

He became active in the music industry in 1960 when he joined up with the Country Boys and was taught to play the upright bass when the band’s bass player left in 1961. The Country Boys renamed themselves and became The Kentucky Colonels and Roger performed live and recorded with them until they split up in 1965.

In 1966 he joined up with Clarence White and Bart Haney to perform in their ensemble called Trio and in 1970 he became a member of the Dillard & Clark Expedition. He remained with them after it had become the Doug Dillard Expedition following the departure of Gene Clark.

At the beginning of the 1970s he founded the group Country Gazette with Kenny Wertz and Byron Berline and they toured and became members of the Flying Burrito Brothers in 1971/2. They also performed on the 1971 album Last of the Red Hot Burrito Brothers.

Country Gazette were joined by Alan Munde on the banjo in 1972 and that same year they recorded Traitor in Our Midst. The band went through another member change with Kenny Wertz left and Roland White who had been a co-member on The Kentucky Colonels and was the brother of Clarence White. Roger left the band at the end of 1975 to pursue other things.

His busy recording career has seen him appearing on many albums that include Bluegrass Special and Banjo Sandwich by Country Gazette, Banjo Album by Doug Dillard, Live in Amsterdam by the Flying Burrito Brothers, Hobo’s Lullaby by Arlo Guthrie, Appalachian Swing and New Sound of Bluegrass by The Kentucky Colonels, Intakes by Rick Nelson, Kindling by Gene Parsons, Stanley Series, Vol. 2 #4 by The Stanley Brothers, Manassas by Stephen Stills, Flatpick by Clarence White and the compilation Silver Meteor.

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