A Biography of Stan Rogers

When Canadian folk music hero Stan Rogers died in an airplane accident in 1983, he was just 33 years old. It was a loss that devastated family and friends and saddened music fans from coast to coast.

But the impact of his brief career continues to grow. Rogers was gifted with a powerful voice and a passion for storytelling, and his songs have earned him a place of honour in Canada’s musical history. Songs like “Northwest Passage,” “Barrett's Privateers” and “The Mary Ellen Carter” are cultural standards. But it isn’t just as a performer and songwriter that Rogers is remembered: he was one of the first independent artists to make his mark on Canadian music, and it's almost impossible to imagine the east coast Celtic music boom without Stan Rogers leading the way.

Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul and Mary, called Stan “an extraordinary talent, the likes of which we haven’t seen since Bob Dylan.” Pete Seeger called him “one of the most talented singers and songwriters in North America.” But Rogers defies all comparison. He was a unique artist, whose art and presence personified an entire country, and lifted the abstract notion of “Canadian culture” to the highest levels of art.

Chris Gudgeon is the author of Stan Rogers: Northwest Passage.

Comments (3)

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Stan's 12-String Guitar

Went to a one-man show at Arrowwood, near Melbourne Ontario, featuring Paul Mills who along with one of Grit Laskin's 6-String guitars, also had Stan's Grit Laskin 12-String guitar (from 1978). Without question and far and away, that guitar has the most magnificent Pearl and Shell inlay that I have seen anywhere! Utterly brilliant workmanship which seems fitting for this similarly utterly brilliant Writer and Performer. Saw him a couple of times associated with the annual Home County Folk Festival, in London, which is now the annual Home County Music & Art Festival (mid-July), in it's 46th year!

Chuck Reid more than 4 years ago

Stan Rogers' death

Steve... It is true that Stan was assisting others to deplane when he succumbed to smoke inhalation. That detail was confirmed both by the inquest and I have it directly from Stan's widow, Ariel.
And yes, those actions were very much in character. He was a large and tall man with an equally large heart, and one can easily see him concerned for other "slighter" humans on the burning plane.

Grit Laskin more than 10 years ago

Stan Rogers death

I thought I had read or heard it said that when the plane crashed Stan helped other passengers escape first, which cost him his life. Such heroism and self-sacrifice would certainly be in character for the man who wrote The Flowers of Bermuda, but is there any factual basis for this anecdote?

Steve Guth more than 11 years ago