Born in Huntingburg, Indiana Roland Bennett Stone Jr. RB’s family moved to Ohio when
he was 1. Both parents were huge music lovers are who he credits for his versatile musical
upbringing. His father a Blues/ Boogie, Rock n Roller, loved music that made you move like,
Little Richard, James Brown and Jerry Lee Lewis. His mother listened to Tennessee Ernie Ford, Janis Joplin, Herb Alpert, Johnny Cash, Sly and the Family Stone, Elvis and the variety of hits from the 60’s. The highpoint of his week was going to the record store to buy new 45’s with his allowance, and playing them until his mother made him go to bed.
At 12, his mother showed him some chords on the piano and Bill Withers’ hit “Lean On Me”
was the first song he learned and the ball started rolling. He started amking up Blues/Boogie songs over the next years. 18 and just out of High School, music was still a dream that seemed to belong to others, so he hired on with the Railroad traveling the Midwest with a 90 man rail gang 4 days a week living in 10 man camp cars. After 2 years with the Railroad he accepted an offer as an Assistant Manager at a Plumbing, Electric and Heating store in Ohio, 2 1/2 years later he had a house, 2 cars, 2 trucks, 2 motorcycles and was Managing his own store.
RB with former President Jimmy Carter, Jim and Jon Hager after a benefit concert for secret service agent Dennis Tanner, Plains, Georgia.
Restless at 23, he sold everything but a truck, some harps and a guitar and headed to
Colorado to be a cowboy and play music. Enroute he met a horse trainer on an Indian
Reservation in Ignacio CO. where he slept in a barn learning horses by day and teaching
himself guitar at nite. A few months passed, he got good enough at both skills and started
getting hired by local outfitters to pack their clients in the Mountains, wrangle the horses and entertain the guests around the campfire at nite.
RB with Smokey Robinson after Smokey's performance at the Delmar Fair, California.
Since those early beginnings his life and career have taken many twists, turns, bumps and
bruises accompanied by many accomplishments. Independent flying under the radar he has
produced 15 albums, toured 32 countries, 5 continents selling over 40,000 albums most of
them at his shows. He has a song catalog at EMI with “Gwen Gordy of the Motown Dynasty.” He’s had principal roles in national commercials, his national music videos, songs recorded by artist like “The Marshall Tucker Band”, has worked with a wide variety of acts from Jazz Greats “Hiroshima” to “The Charlie Daniels Band”, he has a 14 pc Roots Music Production Show featuring his songs, a Billboard Magazine Songwriting award and the list goes on.
RB and Chris Ledoux on bus after their show at Cyotes, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Blues music has always been a part of his life from jamming on his mother’s piano, to
writing and recording his first Blues song in 1985 which was “Fairweather Friends”, the song is on his 2011 acclaimed/charting “Lonesome Traveler’s Blues” album. He’s had a core of Blues Radio DJ’s across the country who have both inspired and supported him playing his songs on their shows, and has been called a Country Bluesman, Americana, a Roots Rocker and he answers yes to them all.
Being recruited as an Honorary Member of the MALS 12 Fighter Squadron by Col. Jon Gallinetti, Iwakuni, Japan Officers Club.
