Healing the Healer

The Blues for Docs with the Blues

Roy Rogers, Bluesman

As a professional musician, I have performed around the world for many years now, having played in all types of venues—from clubs to festivals and casual parties to formal affairs. Through it all I have also been fortunate to meet all kinds of people, and I have come to realize the great importance of music in people’s lives. In fact, in the truest sense of the word, music can “heal” people.

Many years ago, I performed regularly at The Saloon, a small club in North Beach, San Francisco. It was a classic blues joint. The patrons were from every conceivable social strata, from the regulars (who started way too early) to the never-ending stream of tourists visiting The City from around the world, plus the many music lovers in between. They all came to The Saloon, which is on record as the oldest bar in the city. It was truly amazing to see such a wide array of people from such diverse backgrounds come together on a Friday or Saturday night to have a great time.

There were hookers, down-and-out war veterans, housewives, street people, businessmen, and, yes, doctors—emergency room doctors, to be specific. At The Saloon, they were known as the ER Docs. They would come into The Saloon after their long shifts in the emergency rooms. With the music wailing, these Docs let loose. Why? Because they needed to, like everyone else. Often I would talk to them during my breaks, and they would tell me stories about their difficult jobs administering to sick and sometimes dying patients in the emergency rooms of the Bay Area. I cannot imagine a more high-stress job than that of an ER doctor. To have someone’s life in your hands is the ultimate responsibility. Everyone can have a “hard day” at work sometimes. But I can only imagine what a “hard day” in an ER room would be like: traumas of all kinds, accident survivors, gunshot wounds, burn victims, heart attack patients—just to mention a few. Plus people with psychological problems who come to hospitals because they’re sick. And, of course, sometimes the most severe cases never make it out of the ER.

Over the years quite a few ER Docs became friends of mine. On one particular night, one of them came up to me and said that he just wanted to thank me, because he considered me his “therapist.” I was his “healer.” And although I had never been referred to this way before, I immediately understood what he meant.

Now, looking back, I think that the whole scene of the club was part of the healing for most of the people there—not just the music, but the atmosphere, the dancing, the “vibe” of experiencing music in a collective way with a group. I have been fortunate to witness this many times in a variety of places around the world, and it will never get old, that’s for sure. It is one of the reasons I play. Most of all, I still fondly recall some of those rockin’ nights at The Saloon, and getting the thumbs-up sign and smiles of approval from those ER Docs. They always kept coming back for their “healing,” I’m happy to say.

I realize now how fortunate I was to understand the power of music at an early age—how it can move people—because I myself was moved by what I heard. For me, it was the blues, and although my musical horizons have expanded, the blues still moves me the most. I am known for a particular style of slide guitar, and with more than twelve recordings of my own, I am fortunate to be able to make the music and tour worldwide. I am no doctor, but I do know that music is a healer, and that the experiencing of it can be theraputic, as revealed by my doctor friends some years ago. When the music is cookin’ and everyone is smiling and dancing and having a great time—they are happy, and that is good for them on any number of levels. It must also have something to do with renewal as well as purging some of the “bad stuff” from your mind and body. Ultimately, life is about renewal, is it not? If we don’t renew ourselves physically and mentally, we will die. Music can help. It is for us to explore.

I leave you with a line John Lee Hooker and I wrote together for the song The Healer: “The blues is a healer all over the world, all over the world. It healed me and it can heal you.”