Origin Sierra Leone Name S. Rogie Genres Palm-wine music, Highlife Record label Real World Records | Labels Real World Records Died 1994, Russia Years active 1940s–1994 Role Singer | |
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Albums Dead Men Don't Smoke Marijuana, The Palm Wine - Sounds Of S.E. Rogie, The New Sounds of S.E.ROGIE Similar People Adrian Sherwood, Jean Bosco Mwenda, Muyei Power, Koo Nimo, Steady Bongo | ||
S.E. Rogie - Amoo loe lee (Palm wine music from Sierra Leone)
Sooliman Ernest "Rogie" or S. E. Rogie (1926-1994) was a highlife and palm wine guitarist and singer from Sierra Leone.
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Biography
Sooliman Ernest Rogers was born in 1926 in the town of Fonikoh, Pujehun District in southern Province Sierra Leone. He began performing early, while supporting himself as a tailor, and he came to use his nickname "Rogie" as his official surname. In the 1960s, he became a professional musician, singing in four languages. His hits include "Koneh Pehlawo", "Go Easy with Me" and "My Lovely Elizabeth". He formed a band called The Morningstars in 1965. In 1973 Rogie left Africa and travelled to the United States. There he performed at elementary and high schools across California, and received awards from the US Congress and Senate, the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, California.
In 1988, invited by British disc jockey Andy Kershaw, he moved to England, where he bought a home in Finchley. He died in 1994 at the age of 68, shortly after recording his last album, Dead Men Don't Smoke Marijuana. He had undergone heart bypass surgery some months earlier but against medical advice travelled to perform in Russia, where he lost consciousness while performing onstage.
Discography
