James Gamble Rogers IV (January 31, 1937 – October 10, 1991) was an American

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

artist musician and storyteller known for the recurring theme in his songs and stories about characters and places in a fictional Florida county. He was a 1998 inductee into the

Florida Artists Hall of Fame Florida Artists Hall of Fame recognizes artists who have made significant contributions to art in Florida. It was established by the Florida Legislature in 1986. There is a Florida Artists Hall of Fame Wall on the Plaza Level in the rotunda of the ...

Biography

Born in

Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was fo ...

, Rogers was the namesake of two architects in the family – his father

James Gamble Rogers II James Gamble Rogers II (January 24, 1901 – October 30, 1990) was a celebrated American architect practicing primarily in Winter Park, Florida in the middle years of the twentieth century. He is noted for suavely elegant residential and commercia ...

and great-uncle

James Gamble Rogers James Gamble Rogers (March 3, 1867 – October 1, 1947) was an American architect. A proponent of what came to be known as Collegiate Gothic architecture, he is best known for his academic commissions at Yale University, Columbia Univer ...

. As a young man, he chose to become a musician—while on his way to interview for a job at an architecture firm, he attended a

Serendipity Singers The Serendipity Singers were a 1960s American folk group, similar to The New Christy Minstrels. Their debut single " Don't Let the Rain Come Down (Crooked Little Man)" was a Top Ten hit and received the group's only Grammy nomination in 1965. The ...

audition in New York City, borrowed a guitar, tried out, and was admitted to the group. Gamble Rogers began performing around Florida in the 1960s, often performing with other Florida singer-songwriters Paul Champion, Jim Bellew, and

Will McLean Will McLean (1919–1990) was a Florida Folk music, folk singer-songwriter. He was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 1996. McLean also wrote "Osceola's Last Words", a stirring tribute to the Seminole chief. Michael Peter Smith, ...

. By the 1970s, he was a regular fixture at the

Florida Folk Festival Florida Folk Festival is a long-running annual folk music festival in Hamilton County, Florida. It began in 1953. Thelma Boltin was an organizer for the festival. The festival has also featured presentations in the Mikasuki language. References ...

, often as the headliner. He appeared in James Szalapski's 1976

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

documentary film ''

Heartworn Highways ''Heartworn Highways'' is a documentary film by James Szalapski whose vision captured some of the founders of the Outlaw Country movement in Texas and Tennessee in the last weeks of 1975 and the first weeks of 1976.AllMovie entry for Heartworn Hig ...

'', performing an onstage comic monologue followed by "Black Label Blues." By the 1980s, he was often featured on

public television Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

and

public radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

. As a self-described "modern troubadour," Rogers influenced musicians such as

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...

and

David Bromberg David Bromberg (born September 19, 1945) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. David Bromberg biographyat Billboard.com An eclectic artist, Bromberg plays bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock a ...

, with the former dedicating his album '' Fruitcakes'' to him. In their tribute to him, "Song for Gamble," Steve Gillette and his wife Cindy Mangsen describe him: "He had the gift of innocence, and a fondness for the key of 'E'." While Rogers was camping at Flagler Beach, a frightened young girl ran to him, begging him to help her father, who was in trouble in rough surf. Compromised by spinal arthritis that had been worsening since childhood, Rogers nevertheless grabbed an

air mattress An air mattress is an inflatable mattress or sleeping pad. Due to its buoyancy, it is also often used as a water toy or flotation device, and in some countries, including the UK, is called a lilo ("Li-lo" being a specific trademark -- derived ...

and headed into the ocean in a rescue attempt. Both men died in the surf. In honor of his heroism, the

Florida Legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Cons ...

renamed the state park

Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area at Flagler Beach Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area is a Florida State Park in Flagler Beach, Florida, United States, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intra-Coastal Waterway on State Route A1A. It is about north of Daytona Beach and about south o ...

. In St. Augustine, Florida, there is a middle school, Gamble Rogers Middle School, named after him.

Songs and stories

The characters and places in the fictional Oklawaha County, are a recurring theme in Rogers' songs and stories, although his earlier works referenced characters of the same names residing in non-fictional

, and

Habersham County Habersham County is a County (United States), county located in the Northeast Georgia, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 43,041. The county s ...

, Georgia. Through years of onstage apprenticeship, Rogers refined and polished his one-man show into a single story line – a continuum he entitled, ''

Oklawaha County Laissez-Faire James Gamble Rogers IV (January 31, 1937 – October 10, 1991) was an American folk artist musician and storyteller known for the recurring theme in his songs and stories about characters and places in a fictional Florida county. He was a 1998 ...

.''

Oklawaha records

During the years since Rogers' death, his agent and business manager, Charles Steadham, acquired the intellectual property rights to Rogers' work and founded Oklawaha Records in

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

to present this material. Steadham has remastered and re-released most of Rogers' songs and stories, making them available through the website of the not-for-profit Gamble Rogers Memorial Foundation, Inc.

Award

Gamble Rogers was posthumously awarded the Kiwanis Award for bravery, the Carnegie Award for heroism, induction into the Florida Artists Hall of FameFlorida Folk Heritage Award
/ref> and the NSA Lifetime Achievement Award (2001).

References

External links

Gamble Rogers Memorial FoundationRecording of Rogers performing "Orange Blossom Special" at the 1982 Florida Folk FestivalFlorida Folklife Collection; images and recordingsGamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation homepage from the Florida Park Service online guide

Gamble Rogers Folk Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Gamble 1937 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American singers American folk guitarists American folk musicians American male guitarists Deaths by drowning in the United States Folk record labels Guitarists from Florida People from Winter Park, Florida Singer-songwriters from Florida 20th-century American male musicians American male singer-songwriters