Roger Bartlett

Roger is the original guitarist of Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band. In the early days it was Jimmy and Roger; two acoustic guitars and vocals. Also on his list of credits, he is the writer/performer of “Fool for a Blonde,” from the classic
horror movie " The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." As a singer/songwriter/lead
guitarist Roger leads his own band delivering original music with elements of Rock, Blues, Funk, and Jazz. His distinctive voice, lead guitar work and twisted sense of humor, make his music unique.

Roger started in Little Rock, Arkansas playing blues, rhythm & blues and rock in clubs,
roadhouses, and colleges all over the South. Inspired on the guitar by B.B. King and Eric Clapton, by songwriters like The Beatles and Steve Cropper, his songwriting fueled these early bands. They took him to Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and finally to Nashville, teaming up with hit songwriter Bill Callery to form the acoustic duo, Lusaza Guse. Eschewing the Nashville orthodoxy, Roger and Bill migrated to Austin, Texas. Down in Austin, when Lusaza broke up, Roger happened to sign on with Jimmy Buffett for some of the most memorable gigs of his life. When Roger left the Coral Reefer Band, he migrated to New York City, playing gigs with his band, doing studio work as a guitarist, producer and recording engineer, and writing music for film, TV and albums. Now he lives and works out of sunny St. Petersburg. Florida.

He has earned two platinum and gold records for his work as a session guitarist, played on movie soundtracks for Urban Cowboy, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Rancho Deluxe (with Jeff Bridges and Sam Waterston). Roger played on albums by Jimmy Buffett (including the Margaritaville album, Changes in Lattitudes) and many other artists. He has opened for Little Feat, Three Dog Night, The Eagles, The Doobie Brothers, James Taylor, Lightning Hopkins, Heart, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jerry Jeff Walker, The Persuasions, Count Basie, Bill Haley and the Comets, Jackie Wilson and many others.