Biographical information 
Roger Chartier - New Bedford, Massachusetts
I was born at 6:31 AM on November 27, 1950 at a very early age.
I got excited about music and thought about being a musician after hearing the Beatles on a tiny transistor radio in 1963. When Ed Sullivan had them on that first night Feb. 9, 1964, I absolutely decided to spend the rest of my life as a musician. See that show here.
So after years of playing in a band and traveling all over North Eastern USA and as a guitar player I decided to become a solo artist on New Years Eve 1979-1980 while we were the house band in a hotel at the top of a mountain in New Hampshire.
It was 40 below zero outside and the band was stuck indoors all day.
I convinced the owner to hire me to entertain the guests who were also stranded as the hay ride scheduled for that day was cancelled.
That was the beginning of the solo career. It had taken me 16 years to get to that point. I had loved playing in bands but found that being a solo artist I could work harder and call the shots as it were. As a solo singer, guitarist, entertainer I have performed all over New England though more so in Massachusetts. I did 2 winter months in Key West as a solo act. I loved it.
One day in the early 1990's my dad told me about a friend's dad, Bill Brennan, who entertained in nursing homes etc. I thought "Well there are probably less customers fighting over the women and nobody is throwing beer bottles etc. so it might be a good idea as a sideline.
The sideline soon became a full time enterprise. Someone might ask what I do for a living and when I tell them they say "Yeah, but what is your day job"...I tell people "But it is my day job".
I am also a recording artist and have created 2 compact discs of traditional sea shanties and maritime songs. See the site www.sailorsongs.com they have sold well.
I have found that entertaining seniors is very rewarding for me as they are a wonderful audience and very appreciative. The one thing I like to think is that as I get older I'll someday be their age, and one day they will all be asking for Beatles songs... but for now I give them what they want and need.
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