Born in Huntingburg, Indiana Roland Bennett Stone Jr. RB’s family moved to Ohio when he was 1. Both parents were huge music lovers and he credits them for his versatile musical upbringing. His father a Blues, Boogie Rocker, 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 a 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 making up Blues/Boogie songs over the next years but didn’t get any farther. At 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.

Restless at 23, he sold everything but a truck, some harmonicas and a guitar and headed to Colorado to be a cowboy and play music. Enroute he met a veteran Texas Cowboy who was training horses on an Indian Reservation in Ignacio, Colorado. RB slept in a barn learning horses by day and teaching himself guitar at night. 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 by horseback and entertain them around the campfire at night.

Since those early beginnings his life and career have taken many twists, turns, bumps and bruises accompanied by many accomplishments. Independently he has produced 16 albums, toured 32 countries, 5 continents. He has a song catalog at EMI with “Gwen Gordy of the Motown Dynasty.” He’s had principal roles in national commercials, has had national music videos, songs recorded by artist such as “The Marshall Tucker Band”, Texas great “Gary P. Nunn” and others. He’s also shared the stage with a variety of acts from Jazz Greats “Hiroshima”, “Tab Benoit”, “The Charlie Daniels Band” toured and played harmonica for “Billy Joe Shaver” just naming a few. He has a 14 pc Roots Music Production Show featuring his songs, a Billboard Magazine Songwriting, award and the list goes on.

From writing and recording his first song in 1985 “Fairweather Friends Blues” to his 16th album “Loosen Up” which was produced by multi Grammy winner “Tom Hambridge” and nominated for 2014 “Rock Blues Album of the Year” for the “Blues Blast Awards”, RB continues to bring his versatile talents to the world. He’s been called a Country Bluesman, an Americana Artist, a Roots Rocker and he answers yes to them all.

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