Paul Rodgers and his story

There is hardly anyone among the countless rock vocalists who is even slightly similar to Paul Rodgers. Who not only released magnificent studio solo albums, but was also the leader of three internationally renowned bands. It was his immortal masterpieces that received the status of timeless hits, and the artist himself was dubbed "The Outstanding Voice of Rock", thanks to his extraordinary vocals... Rodgers is rightly considered the king of characterful performance. And any listener who has ever seen Paul in action will surely confirm this: take, for example, his tour with the legendary Queen or his own solo tour... So who really is this Paul Rodgers and why has he become a cult hero in the world of rock?

The beginning of the journey

Paul Bernard Rodgers was born in December 1949 in the conservative English town of Middlesbrough. As a teenager, Rogers was very curious to learn the guitar given by his parents, as well as the piano and drum kit, while composing the first lines of songs in his life. As soon as Paul turned thirteen, he was already rocking out with the crowds in local clubs, and immediately after leaving school he set off to conquer the capital with its famous Big Ben as the vocalist of The Roadrunners.

The band "Free"

After The Roadrunners, the new stage in Rogers' career was the rhythm and blues bands The Wildflowers and Brown Sugar, but it was the latter that became something more than just an experience for Paul. It was there that he met Paul Kossoff, the guitarist who seduced him into forming his own collaborative project called Free. And, as it is easy to guess, the idea took real shape, and very clear... Along with the then famous Led Zeppelin, Free became the most popular British supplier of heavy blues. Throughout their history, the band released a huge number of unique works, among which the famous rock anthem "All Right Now" stood out.

Bad Company

Curiously enough, already in the early noughties the number of radio airplay for this track, co-written by Rogers and Andy Fraser, was off the charts, generously exceeding several million! After the break-up of the band, together with guitarist Mick Ralphs, Rogers organised a new band called Bad Company. The project proved to be no less successful than the previous one, and even longer lasting. During the ten-year period of Bad Company's existence, six excellent multi-platinum records were recorded and released. At that time, Paul had already revealed to the world his famous hits such as "Bad Company", "Feel Like Making Love", "Shooting Star", "Run With The Pack" and many others...

In addition, Rogers has made a name for himself not only as a unique and very powerful vocalist, but also as an outstanding guitarist and keyboardist. In 1983 Paul recorded the first solo album of his dazzling and promising career, produced and instrumentalised by himself. Cut Loose was lavishly packed with heavy guitar boogies and heartfelt romantic slow songs... However, there was still something missing for ordinary listeners who were not among the ardent fans of Paul Rodgers and rock music in general. Unfortunately, the maximum record that the release achieved was only 135th position in Billboard.

Meet Jimmy Page and "The Firm."

Soon afterwards, the musician met the renowned guitar wizard Jimmy Page, with whom they founded The Firm. Although the band didn't last long, their work created a real sensation in the world of rock: the band had several sold-out tours and produced two stunning platinum records, thanks to which the world recognised such timeless hits as "All The King's Horses", "Radioactive" and "Satisfaction Guaranteed".

Meet Kenny Jones

The dawn of the nineties brought Rodgers an important new acquaintance - with Kenny Jones, former drummer of Who and Faces. Their joint project became famous for breaking through the top of the Billboard AOR chart with the resounding single "Laying Down The Law".

"The Hendrix Set" and "Muddy Waters Blues."

The musician's subsequent solo works were tribute albums. The first of them - "The Hendrix Set" - was dedicated to the great genius of guitar solos Jimi Hendrix, and the second - to the outstanding bluesman of all times Muddy Waters. The "Muddy Waters Blues" record, which featured iconic musicians of the day Jeff Beck, Richie Sambora, David Gilmour, Steve Miller, Brian May and many others, was a Grammy nominee.

https://youtu.be/Znr7VqB4nwM

"Now" and "Live"

The second half of the nineties was marked by the release of such worthy albums as "Now" and "Live". Each of the discs was published both separately and in combination with each other. Such a move was quite justified: although the works were full of fresh stuff, they also contained a lot of old Free and Bad Company songs, which undoubtedly pleased fans of both bands. With the release of the new records, Rodgers organised a world tour in support of them, and also released the acclaimed single "Soul Of Love", which was stuck on the radio for more than six months.

Bad Company and Electric

Towards the end of the last century, Paul took part in the reunion of the classic Bad Company line-up. However, as his influence as a solo artist grew, without straying far from the stylistics of his old bands, Rogers returned with the sumptuous solo album Electric. The song "Drifters", released as a single from the aforementioned record, spent two months in the top ten.

Brian May and Queen

Over the next three years the musician travelled the world, both with Bad Company and on his own. In 2004 Rogers took part in the Fender Stratocaster's fiftieth anniversary celebrations, along with other celebrated artists including Brian May, the long-time guitarist of Queen. Together the two performed "All Right Now", which was a new milestone in both their careers and collaborations.

Not even a couple of months after that performance, Paul, in the company of the two Queens, left to tour under the project "Queen + Paul Rodgers". This tour resulted in the release of the sumptuous live album "Return Of The Champions". But in 2009 Rodgers announced that he was leaving the project to develop as a solo artist. The following years the musician spent tours together with the reunited Bad Company, gave solo concerts and even prepared a stunning programme called "The Royal Sessions", in which he boldly declared his interest in the soul genre.

Paul Rodgers is an independent, strong and uninhibited performer. His voice is a bright touch in the history of rock of the last century....