LaBarge - Father & Daughter Duo

Biography
Iowa's
Legendary Singer Songwriter
Roger LaBarge

Roger was the kid you think of when you think of Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn. Roger grew up with Iowa rivers in his blood. As soon as he was old enough he had a fishing pole in his hands. He had forts on the islands, homemade pontoons made with old wood and barrels, and old stone railroad bridges that crossed over a number of rivers that he called his own, prowling, fishing, and playing on all thru his childhood days. Roger was born next to the Des Moines River. raised in Cedar Rapids Iowa right next to the Cedar River. He spent many childhood days and weeks in Stone City Iowa at his Grandma Pearl's house next to the Wapsie River as well.

Roger started going to Guttenburg, and Harpers Ferry Iowa to fish as a young boy and
continued into his teens and 20's and now lives in Harpers Ferry Iowa. There he continues to fish the Mississippi, Yellow, Upper Iowa, Turkey, Volga and various trout streams in the area.

Roger LaBarge is a true"River Travilin Man" as he sings in one of his songs. His river songs are well known where he comes from and they are beginning to be known all up and down the Mississippi River in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Roger has had much heartache and many triumphs in his 5 decades of musical experience. He has wrote his own music for almost 4 decades, starting in 1969. Roger's river music is about his experiences on and about the river, river folk, river towns and river life in general. Combine this with all of the other songs Roger has wrote over the years and you end up with over 400 original songs. Roger's original music can make you laugh, bring you to tears and take you on a journey of life's trials and tribulations that will touch your very soul and make you yearn for more.

Now this is where I would like to end with the "Roger LaBarge Story", but so much has been wrote, talked about and who knows what else that simply isn't true, I must tell this next part.

Over the years there have been many things wrote about this one of a kind Iowa Singer Songwriter. Alot of the articles are true, and alot of them have been absolutely false. I thought it time to set the record straight. It is true Roger's life and history are facinating, and his history makes for great conversation.......we only hope that after reading his history and knowing the truth.......and if you wish to converse about Roger LaBarge, you will first get the stories right. Thanks for taking the time to know the real deal along with what is true, and what is not............Kathy LaBarge

Of all the stories about singer songwriting guitar players from Iowa or just about anywhere else this may be the most fascinating and griping story you have ever read. Roger's musical career started in the mid 50's in Cedar Rapids Iowa where his Grandmother buys him an accordion at Boddicker's School Of Music. Roger starts playing accordion at age six. Boddicker's had alot of great to become musicians taking lessons then, cats like Micheal Boddicker, Ronnie DeWit, and Dennis McMurrin joining the Boddicker Crowd in the early 60's as far as great CR musicians go and more. At age seven he plays in a concert with Nashville's then 50's and 60's star Carl Smith. This is a Christmas concert for Wilson's Meat Packing Company where his Grandfather works.The concert is held at the Cedar Rapids Veteran's Memorial Colliseum. What an experience for a little boy. He also does this again and age eight. There is alot of time spent here singing to 45's on his little record player. Roger's Grandmother is also very religious and has him always playing in church, along with a ton of school appearances and many recitals at Boddickers School Of Music. He does this right up until he is about 14, 15 years old. This gives Roger a ton of experience and he aquires an great stage presence. Between ages 15 and 17 he basically stops playing the accordion and just sings alot in his room with his 45's on his little record player standing in front of his mirror, in the car or where ever he can get away with it. At this time he doesn't know it but he was simply born to be an entertainer. About this time Roger takes his first trip to Venice California and is quickly reborn as a hippie, he is almost 17 yrs old. Roger spends about 4 months in Venice and Santa Monica selling hot dogs at Jacks on the Santa Monica Pier and is really turned on to the sounds he is hearing at the little coffee house down on the board walk, the sound he is hearing is a young but soon to be mega star "Bob Dylan" . Roger returns to Iowa and is convinced that he wants and should be a guitar player. He goes to Boddickers School of Music with his Grandmother and they buy a bass guitar, small amp, and he's is ready to start learning this instrument. He gets the bass home and quickly realizes that this really isn't what he wants to play, he would rather have a 6 string guitar, it just seems more inte