Background
When I began corresponding with Aubrey Atwater about the possibility of interviewing her, she sent me a song from Sally’s first album, and told me that the whole thing was fantastic- and she was right. She also told me that Sally was wonderful. (Which is an understatement if ever there was one!) Aubrey introduced me to Sally, who readily agreed to be interviewed.
Biography
Rogers began her career as a full-time touring musician in 1979, after encouragement from Stan Rogers, the legendary Canadian singer-songwriter. That was followed by an invitation from Garrison Keillor to appear on A Prairie Home Companion. She appeared more than a dozen times on that show, which launched her performing career. Her travels have since taken her to Europe, China, Hungary and Poland, England and Scotland and across the United States.
Sally has released fourteen albums, including several collaborative projects with other artists. Her first album, The Unclaimed Pint, has stood the test of time and continues to be a big seller. Her second album, In the Circle of the Sun, received the Best Folk Album of 1982 award from the National Association of Independent Record Distributors (NAIRD). Her 1987 album, Closing the Distance, recorded with fellow singer/songwriter Claudia Schmidt, was voted by many public radio stations throughout the country as among the ten most popular albums of the year.
Sally reached a new audience with her first children’s recording, Peace by Peace, in the spring of 1988. As one of the first albums to introduce children to the concept of peace on a day to day basis, Peace by Peace received wide critical and popular acclaim. Sally’s second children’s album, Piggyback Planet: Songs for a Whole Earth (Round River Records), featuring environmental songs for children, received the 1990 Parents’ Choice Gold Award for Audio Recording. Sally’s latest recording, What Can One Little Person Do? (Round River Records), offers empowerment to young people, teaching them that each and every one of them is important as an individual. That recording won the 1993 NAIRD Award for Best Children’s Recording and yet another Parents’ Choice Gold Award. Soon afterwards, Sally released a compilation of traditional and original lullabies for toddlers and infants called At Quiet O’Clock (Thrushwood Kids Records). This recording, too, has received its share of awards including the NAIRD Award for Best Children’s Recording of 1994.
In 1994 Rogers released a children’s video produced by Academy Award-winning cinematographer George Pickow. Her children’s picture book, Earthsong, was published by EP Dutton of New York (the people who brought us Winnie the Pooh). Sally’s long-awaited recording for adult audiences, We’ll Pass Them On (Red House Records) is her last solo endeavor. On this recording, Sally performs half original material and half traditional ballads and songs. Her last two albums with Claudia Schmidt, Evidence of Happiness and We Are Welcomed were released in 2014 and 2016. She is currently working on a long overdue solo recording to mark her forty year career.
Rogers has now returned to the life of a self-employed musician, after spending the last 20 years focusing her energies on school residencies and concerts. She works through Arts for Learning Connecticut and the Connecticut Office of the Arts She performs solo and also with her singing partner of over 30 years, Claudia Schmidt, and her husband, Howie Bursen. Her gorgeous singing voice, boundless energy and good humor are welcomed from coast to coast.