It used to be a daily occurrence to hear the notes of George Rogers’ skillful accordion drifting across the water, as the tour boats circled Bermuda. He worked for the late Commander Geoffrey Kitson as an entertainer on the Bermuda Island Cruises (BIC) for over 50 years, playing alongside singers such as Stan Seymour, George Symonds and Ted Ming.
He grew up in Somerset. His parents and siblings enjoyed singing and music, and although he had no formal music training, he was blessed with a great ear for music.
His career started inauspiciously not long after he married Viola “Pinkey” Goins in 1945. Wally Cross, a guitarist who had a Calypso trio called the ‘Serenaders’ asked him to help them perform at a wedding. He took along maracas. At the end of the day the guests tipped his fellow musicians but not him because maracas were not considered proper instruments. He decided to find himself something more lucrative to play. He bought his first accordion or “squeezy box”, as he calls it, from Professor Anderson’s music shop on Reid Street. It was £7 pounds, a lot of money in those days and he had to save up for it before he could buy it. Once he finally owned it, the next challenge was learning to play it. His wife played the piano, and she helped him learn his basic chords. A local musician called Red Smith also tutored him.
Once his playing was perfected to his satisfaction he joined Mr. Cross’s trio and in 1953 they landed a residency at Castle Harbour Hotel. After Mr. Cross left the band in 1958, George formed his own quartet with Osmond ‘Ozzie’ Mouchette, Eric ‘Cody’ Bean and Eustace Ingham and continued his residency for another six years. They bought music scores from a local Somerset drug store and developed their repertoire by listening to both calypso albums and the radio. At Castle Harbour they alternated with musicians Harry Nickson, Freddy Matthews and the Talbot Brothers. Meanwhile, George also drove a taxi and gained the nickname “Flight” because he was so speedy.
Years later he formed ‘The Calypso Rythmaires’ which included George ‘Red’ Mears, Chalkie Virgil and his cousin Stanley ‘Kima’ Rogers. They played at numerous local hotels and guest houses. In the winter of 1963 George and his band gained international status when they were invited to perform overseas at Rock Door Hotel in Drummond Ville, Quebec, Canada. The tenure was for six nights a week over a four month period and remunerations included airfare, wages and hotel expenses.
Mr. Rogers recalled that their first time in Drummond Ville. The manager came down to meet them at the plane. They reached the hotel and when they were going up the steps there were three white ladies, who passed them and started to laugh. When they asked the manager why the ladies were laughing, he said it was because it was the first time they had ever seen black people, so Mr. Rogers was a trail blazer in more than one way.
One of the songs he was well known for was a song called ‘Bermuda Holiday’ penned for him by Commander Kitson. “Flight” would often have several engagements in one day, playing on the cruise boats by day and in the hotels by night. His daughters remembered having to pedal their bicycles to the ferry terminal to meet him with whatever change of clothes or shoes he needed for the evening, and then receiving a delicious cold bottle of coca cola in return. He was very popular with Bermuda’s visitors. Some of his fondest memories included the repeat guests who would call him by name. Honeymooners would often return with their families.
Mr. Rogers is now 87. He retired as an entertainer in 1996. Despite his success in music, he has always put his family first. He was offered the opportunity to go to New York to make records, but at that time he didn’t want to leave his family. “So I stayed like I was,” he said.
These days he takes inspiration from the Holy Scriptures and sings God’s praises Sundays in his church, The First Church of God on Sound View Road in Somerset. Mr. Rogers and his wife have four children including Jonathan, Mikail Abdur Rashid, Anthea Earls, and Georgia Symonds. He said one of the highlights of his career was playing music with his two sons.
He received the Adlev award, and in 2006 he was included in an art exhibition at the Masterworks Gallery celebrating the veteran musicians who helped to put Bermuda on the world tourism map.
