Short Biography
Roger Hodgson was born in Portsmouth, England on March 21, 1950. At age 19, Hodgson had just released his first single, under the name Argosy, accompanied by session musician Reg Dwight, who later became known as Elton John. Very soon after, in 1969, Hodgson, along with Rick Davies, co-founded the progressive rock band Supertramp.
Songs on the first album Supertramp, released in 1970, were composed by Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies, with Richard Palmer writing the lyrics....
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Short Biography
Roger Hodgson was born in Portsmouth, England on March 21, 1950. At age 19, Hodgson had just released his first single, under the name Argosy, accompanied by session musician Reg Dwight, who later became known as Elton John. Very soon after, in 1969, Hodgson, along with Rick Davies, co-founded the progressive rock band Supertramp.
Songs on the first album Supertramp, released in 1970, were composed by Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies, with Richard Palmer writing the lyrics. From Indelibly Stamped, released in 1971, and onward, Hodgson and Davies were the band's lyricists and composers. The hugely successful Crime of the Century was released in 1974. Crisis? What Crisis?, released in 1975, was followed by Even in the Quietest Moments in 1977. In 1979, they released their most successful album, Breakfast in America. This album has sold over 20 million copies to date. The live album, Paris, was released in 1980, with Famous Last Words being released in 1982.
Through 1983, all songs recorded by Supertramp were legally credited with a shared writing credit of Davies/Hodgson, much in the same way as Lennon and McCartney did with the Beatles. While their songs are frequently referred to as Supertramp songs, they are actually Roger Hodgson and Richard Davies songs, as they individually wrote and composed their respective songs. The person who sang the song is the one who wrote and composed it.
Roger was with the band for 14 years before leaving in 1983 in order to raise his two small children. He left Los Angeles and moved his family to Northern California where he built a home studio to continue to be creative and produced several successful solo albums, In the Eye of The Storm - 1984, Hai Hai - 1987, Open the Door - 2000, and a #1 DVD, Take the Long Way Home - Live in Montreal - 2006.
Hodgson had been the major songwriter and singer in Supertramp, solely composing and writing 8 of their 10 biggest hits. Hodgson gave us the eternal classics such as "The Logical Song", "Dreamer", "Give a Little Bit", "Breakfast in America", "It's Raining Again", "Take the Long Way Home", "School", and "Fool's Overture", plus so many more. His songs have remarkably stood the test of time and have earned Roger an adoring worldwide following and made Supertramp a household name. He is a multi-talented musician performing on keyboard, guitar and piano, doing solo, band, and orchestra concerts worldwide.
In-depth Biography
Best known for his stint fronting art pop hitmakers Supertramp, Roger Hodgson was born in Portsmouth, England, on March 21, 1950. He co-founded Supertramp in 1969, serving as their primary singer and songwriter for 13 years. Originally funded by Dutch millionaire Stanley August Mieseages, the group lost his patronages after their first two albums failed to generate much interest. However, 1974's Crime of the Century was a major hit, launching the radio favorites "Dreamer" and "Bloody Well Right." After scoring an international hit in 1977 with "Give a Little Bit" from the album Even in the Quietest Moments..., Supertramp reached their commercial peak with 1979's chart-topping Breakfast in America, which yielded the smashes "Take the Long Way Home," "The Logical Song," and "Goodbye, Stranger" on its way to selling close to 20 million copies. In the wake of 1982's ...Famous Last Words..., Hodgson left Supertramp to mount a solo career, issuing his debut effort, In the Eye of the Storm, in 1984. Within days of issuing the follow-up, 1987's Hai Hai, Hodgson fell and broke both of his wrists; the accident kept him out of action for several years, and he did not resurface until co-writing several songs on Yes' 1994 album Talk. A live solo album, Rites of Passage, followed three years later and featured Hodgson collaborating with son Andrew. Open the Door, his first new studio effort in 13 years, appeared in the spring of 2000. The album received positive responses from critics and fans alike, and Hodgson was subsequently recruited to tour with Ringo Starr as a member of the All-Starr Band. He continued to play solo shows as well, releasing a DVD of one such performance (=Take The Long Way Home -- Live in Montreal) in summer 2006. The DVD would go platinum in Canada by that October. ~ Jason Ankeny & Andrew Leahey, Rovi
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