Foghat rise to rock fame hardly a slow ride: What to know about upcoming SW FL concert

Foghat co-founder Roger Earl was born in England but he doesn't waver when he says which country gave birth to popular music.

“America is where music comes from," said Earl from his home on Long Island, New York.

Foghat performs at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, at Caloosa Sound Amphitheater in Fort Myers.

It all started with enslaved Black people in America who created the blues, Earl said.

"Then jazz, bebop, rock and roll, country music, hillbilly music, gospel music, folk music," he said. "Here in the states, you have this beautiful melting pot of music."

Where it all began for Roger Earl

Earl said he began playing drums at age 12, about the same time his father took him to his first concert, Jerry Lee Lewis, in 1962 in London.

"I was never the same after that," Earl said about how that concert hooked him for good on becoming a musician.

For years before, he was listening to American blues from legends Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and others. Earl said he also was a huge Johnny Cash fan and recalled a recent rock cruise on which The Who's Roger Daltrey sang Cash songs and learned for the first time that his fellow Brit enjoyed the American icon's music too.

"What I really dug about Johnny Cash when I was a kid, even though he didn’t have a drummer in his band in the early years, was the rhythm and there was always a story in his songs," he said.

"Johnny Cash told stories and that’s what I loved. I could hear them and I could understand them.”

Band tryouts, Foghat formed

Earl played in his first band at age 16 and a few years later auditioned to play drums in the Savoy Brown Blues Band, a London band that later was known as Savoy Brown and scored hits including "Hellbound Train" and "Tell Mama."

For the audition, Earl said he played for more than two hours, packed up his drums and a Savoy Brown member said, "Where are you going?" They needed him to play with the band in Birmingham, England, that night.

Earl and fellow member "Lonesome Dave" Peverett left Savoy Brown in 1971 and formed Foghat. The band's first hit was a cover of the Willie Dixon hit "I Just Want to Make Love to You" on its debut 1972 album.

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Other Foghat hits through the years included its most recognizable song, "Slow Ride," along with "Driving Wheel," "Fool for the City" and "Stone Blue."

Earl has been the only member of the band from the beginning. Peverett remained a great friend through the years until his death in 2000, Earl said.

"Sonic Mojo" is Foghat's latest album

Foghat's 17th studio album, "Sonic Mojo," will drop in November on purple vinyl. The band has released a few of the songs, including "“Drivin’ On,” co-written by Kim Simmonds from Savoy Brown. Simmonds died last December.

The other Foghat members are guitarist and lead singer Scott Holt, who played with blues legend and pioneer Buddy Guy; lead guitarist Bryan Bassett, who was in Wild Cherry when it recorded the 1976 hit "Play That Funky Music"; and bassist Rodney O'Quinn, who for nearly a decade played in the Pat Travers Band.

The group has its own recording studio in DeLand and his fellow bandmates live in Florida, Earl said.

Earl still 'driving wheel' behind Foghat success

As Earl reflects on his career, he remembers those musicians who influenced him. When he attended the funeral for Eddie "Bluesman" Kirkland in Macon, Georgia, in 2011, Earl said, he loved how people celebrated his life.

“Maybe all churches should sing about life and all it is," Earl said. "Music brings people together."

He also reflected on the times he enjoyed with "Lonesome Dave," performing on stage with him and sharing stories and laughs like they did one time with Dixon at his home Chicago's South Side after a show.

“We were there until the early hours of the morning," Earl said. “Without Willie Dixon, without Chuck Berry, there would be no rock and roll."

Now 77, Earl said he's not slowing down.

"I'm gonna roll till I'm old and gonna rock till I drop," he said. "This is a great job. You finish working and everyone claps for you.

”I’m grateful I’m still here. For me it was always about the music.”

What to know about the show

Where: Caloosa Sound Amphitheater, 2101 Edwards Drive, Fort Myers

Cost: All that remained as of Oct. 3 were tickets for $68 ($77.11 after fees) or $85 ($96.13)

Parking: Parking garages are near the venue. The Luminary Hotel & Co. also offers valet parking. Street parking is another option but head downtown early to find a good spot.

More: caloosasoundamp.com or (239) 314-3757

Dave Osborn is the regional features editor of the Naples Daily News and News-Press. Follow him on Instagram and Threads @lacrossewriter.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Foghat concert in Fort Myers this month: Here's what to know