Willie B. Rodgers, Jr., most notably known as – more lovingly known as – Duchie Rodgers, passed away on April 8 as a result of a brain aneurism at the age of 59.
The longtime left-handed guitarist and R&B singer is a name known throughout much of Milwaukee's music community as a solo artist, session musician, and member of Black Earth Plus. Duchie began his music career playing in church, as so many people of his generation did.
Recently, Duchie had a brief resurgence in popularity after cutting the single "Put It On Me" with producer/engineer Chris "Godxilla" Taylor in 2006. Due to the success of the song, Godxilla felt that it was time to get Duchie to do a new album, and finally in 2009 the album "Heat" was released via Xilla's label Ton Of Soul Records. This was a second wind for the seasoned veteran.
The record itself is a very up-tempo album that brought Duchie up-to-date with today's modern sounds, similar to the recreation of Ronald Isley and the Isley Brothers, and Charlie Wilson.
Who was Duchie Rodgers to his friend and final producer, Taylor?
"He was Milwaukee. He was creative freedom. He was never a great singer, but he was a damn good guitar player and he was the hardest worker."
Rodgers, as many longtime musicians, had a storied history that includes living in London for a year, touring with Edwin Starr, and even performing with Aretha Franklin when her guitarist took ill before a gig. Duchie was also cousins with legendary Blues artist B.B. King, and after playing gigs around the country and world for several decades, there's no telling how many other legendary artists he sat in with and practiced with.
Diane Rodgers, Duchie's sister – who also sang with him in his band from 1971 to 1975 – also took some time to discuss with me who her brother was to her.
"He was one in a million," she began. "He was a family man, he loved his guitar, he loved his music, he loved singing. He was one in a million and that million isn't here."
"I listen to the music and the joy just comes through. He didn't make it like the O'Jays and he wasn't a star in some people's eyes but he was a star in my eyes," Diane said, showing the depth of her love for her brother.
Duchie also affected the next generation of Milwaukee musicians and artists through conversations and playing sessions.
"A lot of these Milwaukee musicians came through him. Steve-O [formerly of Infinite Recordings, the label that Coo Coo Cal was a part of during the height of his popularity] would come and talk to Duchie about business. Now this is a story that Duchie told me himself. He would come over and talk to Duchie about the music industry to learn about it."
"Everybody had to play for Duchie," Taylor continued, listing off a laundry list of local artists that had played in front of Duchie to receive his approval. However, this was not in a Godfather kind of way as much as it was a Grandfather type of thing. He was a sage, a grizzled vet, and a man who had knowledge of the world beyond Milwaukee.
In a moment of true clarity, Taylor ended our conversation by saying, "When I decided to do a record with Duchie, I saw a treasure that had been forgotten. Milwaukee is filled with those treasures and they need to be rediscovered."
The time is ticking on a lot of these treasures, so I echo Taylor's sentiment. There is no time like the present to appreciate Milwaukee's past, especially when her list of living legends seems to be dwindling each year.
Duchie's Rodgers music, and more information about him can be found on his Web site.
I also tracked down a nice video of Rodgers performing at Summerfest in 2009, a festival that he religiously played since it began, and it shows a then 57 year old Duchie energetically delivering "Put It On Me." Enjoy.
Born in Milwaukee and raised in the Milwaukee suburb of Brown Deer, Concordia University Wisconsin alumnus Poppe has spent the majority of his life in or around the city and county of Milwaukee.
As an advocate of Milwaukee's hip-hop community Poppe began popular local music blog Milwaukee UP in March 2010. Check out the archived entries here.
Though heavy on the hip-hop, Poppe writes about other genres of music and occasionally about food, culture or sports, and is always ready to show his pride in Milwaukee and Wisconsin.
