Roland Johnson Is One of This Year's STL 77

This year ​the RFT recognizes ​St. Louis' ​stellar music scene by presenting the STL 77, ​our list of 77 acts who did big things in the last twelve months. From now through June 17, the date of our huge annual music festival ShowcaseSTL, we'll be announcing two ​honorees per weekday on our music blog. For more information on STL 77, as well as the complete lineup for ShowcaseSTL, go here.

Spend enough time at the blues bars along that little strip of Broadway — BB’s, Broadway Oyster Bar, Beale on Broadway — and you’ll come away with a university-level education in the city’s blues and soul heritage. Lifelong musician Roland Johnson has long been its professor emeritus, and his weekly gigs with his group Soul Endeavor are etched in stone on Beale’s calendar. Last year Johnson did something for the first time in his 68 years: He released an album of original material, writing songs alongside producers and musicians Paul Niehaus and Kevin O’Connor. Together, the three turned Johnson’s Imagine This into one of the must-hear local albums of 2016. On it, the singer shows his range, from the tender and heartfelt “Mother” to the sly grooves of “Ain’t That Loving You.” The album is a rare late-in-life gift from a performer with a whole lot of music left to give.

Recommended if you like: Syl Johnson, Otis Redding, Charles Bradley, Lee Fields

Official Website: www.soulendeavor.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rolandjohnsonmusic