S. E. Rogie

Sierra Leonean Palm-wine Music Pioneer

West African highlife and palm wine guitarist and singer from Sierra Leone. Born: 1926 in Fonikoh, Pujehun District, Sierra Leone, West Africa Died: July 4, 1994 in Lewisham Hospital, South London, England Sooliman Ernest "Rogie" or S. E. Rogie began performing early, while supporting himself as a tailor, and he came to use his nickname "Rogie" as his official surname. In the 1960s, he became a professional musician, singing in four languages. His hits include "Koneh Pehlawo", "Go Easy with Me" and "My Lovely Elizabeth". He formed a band called The Morningstars in 1965. In 1973 Rogie left Africa and travelled to the United States. There he performed at elementary and high schools across California, and received awards from the US Congress and Senate, the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, California. In 1988, invited by British disc jockey Andy Kershaw, he moved to England, where he bought a home in Finchley. He died in 1994 at the age of 68, shortly after recording his last album, Dead Men Don't Smoke Marijuana. He had undergone heart bypass surgery some months earlier but against medical advice travelled to perform in Russia, where he lost consciousness while performing onstage.