(Born:November 29, 1949 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Died:  June  2 , 1983)

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 is occasionally mistaken for that of Gordon Lightfoot, but  it’s huskier and earthier than Lightfoot’s, and his repertoire — made up of song cycles drawn from  throughout Canada — is also more tradition-oriented and more mystical. Rogers died in a fire aboard  an Air Canada flight in Cincinnati, OH, in June 1983, leaving behind a half-dozen albums. — Bruce  Eder, All-Music Guide On June 2, 1983, Rogers was headed home from the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas. A fire started in the restroom on Air Canada flight 797. It was forced to land in the Greater Cincinatti Airport. Rogers was one of 23 people who died of smoke inhalation. He was 33. ~Stephen Ide (steve@folkie.riva.com) This article ran in The Patriot Ledger