Supertramp frontman Roger Hodgsonand his band are inviting South Florida to “Breakfast in America,” his latest tour, at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on March 7 at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale, now.
Roger Hodgson has been recognized as one of the most gifted composers, songwriters and lyricists of our time. As the legendary voice of Supertramp and composer of many of the band’s greatest hits, he gave us “Give a Little Bit,” “The Logical Song,” “Dreamer,” “Take the Long Way Home,” “Breakfast In America,” “It’s Raining Again,” “School,” “Fools Overture” and so many more. Hodgson’s trademark of setting beautiful introspective lyrics to upbeat melodies resonated and found its way into the hearts and minds of people from cultures around the world.
With Hodgson at the helm, Supertramp became a worldwide rock phenomenon. To date, the band has sold over 60 million albums. In Canada alone, sales for Crime of the Century and Breakfast in America reached diamond status; meaning one in 15 Canadians owned both albums. The wildly successful album Breakfast in America hit #1 in countries around the world and stayed on the top of the charts for a full year, becoming one of the biggest selling albums of all time.
Born in Portsmouth, England, Hodgson spent much of his childhood at boarding school where his guitar became his best friend. He began writing songs at the age of 12 eventually adding piano, bass, drums and even cello to his musical accomplishments. It wasn’t long after his final school year that he recorded his first studio record, Mr. Boyd with a session band including pianist Reg Dwight, later to become known as Elton John. Shortly after, Roger met Rick Davies, and the nucleus of Supertramp was born. Their initial collaborations attracted the attention of A&M Records and their first album Supertramp was released in 1970.
From their second album, Indelibly Stamped, forward, Hodgson and Davies began writing and composing separately. They no longer relied on a lyricist. However, like Lennon/McCartney they maintained a joint writer’s credit throughout their Supertramp career. In 1974, the band released the album Crime of the Century with Hodgson’s song “Dreamer” becoming their first hit and driving the album to the top of the charts.
For the next nine years, Supertramp saw four studio albums, numerous tours, and the worldwide success of Breakfast in America which has sold over 20 million copies. Three of Roger’s songs became worldwide hits – “The Logical Song,” “Take the Long Way Home” and “Breakfast in America.” Many awards followed, among them the Ivor Novello Award in 1980 from The British Academy of Composers and Songwriters for “The Logical Song.” To this day, that hit also has the distinction of being one of the most quoted lyrics in schools.
Roger parted company with Supertramp in 1983 after the Famous Last Words album. His first solo album In the Eye of the Storm was released in 1984 and became an international hit, selling over 2 million copies.
In 1987, the same week that Hodgson’s second album Hai, Hai was released, he shattered both of his wrists. Doctors told him he would never play music again. Yet, with faith and a long period of self-healing and physical therapy, Hodgson proved them wrong.
In 2000, he released his next studio album, “Open the Door,” and in 2001, joined Ringo Starr in his All-Starr Tour. He also released a 2006 DVD from one of his live solo concerts – Take The Long Way Home – Live in Montreal which went platinum in just seven weeks and hit #1 in Canada.
In 2007, Hodgson accepted an invitation by Princes William and Harry to sing “Give a Little Bit” (one of Princess Diana’s favorite songs) at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium. It proved to be one of the highlights of the evening when the Princes and entire audience stood up and sang along to honor Princess Diana. Thirty-five years after writing this classic song, Roger received an award for the song being one of the most performed songs in the 2005 ASCAP repertory. That same year, he received this award, again, for a remake of “Breakfast in America.” Hodgson has donated his time and signature song “Give a Little Bit” to help raise funds for Tsunami Relief, Red Cross, UNICEF, World Vision, Hurricane Katrina efforts and other worthy causes.
Hodgson’s most recent album is Classics Live, a collection of hit songs from concerts recorded around the world in 2010. For more information, please visit www.RogerHodgson.com.
Tickets cost $69, $54 and $44*; all seats are reserved and available at all Ticketmaster outlets online at www.ticketmaster.com or charge by phone: 1-800-745-3000. Doors open one-hour prior to show start time. *Additional fees may apply.