Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

1949

Stan Rogers came from Hamilton, Ontario, a six-foot-four poet who started out as a rock bassist before turning to folk music. With his rich voice, he used his music to call to life all of the wonder and mysticism of his native Canada. His singing was occasionally mistaken for that of Gordon Lightfoot, but it was huskier and earthier than Lightfoot's, and his repertoire -- made up of song cycles drawn from throughout Canada -- was also more tradition-oriented and more mystical. Rogers died in a fire aboard an Air Canada flight in Cincinnati, Ohio in June 1983, leaving behind a half-dozen albums. ~ Bruce Eder