Roosevelt Dean was born in either Georgia or in Alabama,
depending upon who you ask. He's anywhere from 53 to 62 years old, again
depending upon who's doing the talking. But, even if we're not sure where he was
born and how old he is, we know one thing--he sure can play the blues! Rosie (as
his friends call him) is living his dream in his second career as a Blues man
fronting his own band. After working for 30 years at Syracuse China, he retired
and began to do seriously what he'd started to do some 10 years earlier, perform
and record the blues in his adopted city of Syracuse.
Roosevelt attributes his loves of the blues to growing up in the
South and listening to live blues from a neighboring club, visited by the likes
of Muddy Waters, Bobby "Blue" Bland, and B. B. King. While earlier in
his music career he drifted from soul to R&B, Rosie is now firmly entrenched
in the blues. With his voice it's a natural marriage!
To learn more about Rosie, here are a few quotes from fans,
critics, band members, and "The Voice" himself:
"I won't sing a song if it doesn't move me.
If it moves me, then it's good, and if it's good
I feel it all in my bones, and in my blood.
That's what you see me project on stage."
Roosevelt Dean
"The blues just doesn't get any better than this. Roosevelt Dean's
soulful singing--that declarative drawl that
can only emanate from a southerner is alone worth the price..."
-Russ Tarby-
"Talk about blues, Roosevelt Dean is the genuine article!
There's a depth and conviction there that you don't get
with some younger musicians. You can't take a college course
in the blues--you gotta split up with your woman, get your car
stolen--that's Rosie's whole life."
-Dave DeWitt-
(Rosie's Trombone Player)
"I always get the attention, it seems, but I gotta figure out
a way to give my band the recognition they deserve.
Without the Spellbinders, what would I have?
There's no way I could've done this without 'em."
Roosevelt Dean