Roland Janes, 1933-2013

New Album by Melissa Etheridge

Pre-order RISE - out March 27

Global rockstar and cultural icon Melissa Etheridge presents her new album Rise on Sun Records. The project contains heartfelt and triumphant songs produced by Shooter Jennings and Melissa Etheridge at Sunset Sound in LA. Eleven brand new songs include “Don’t You Want a Woman”, “Bein’ Alive”, “Call You”, and “The Other Side of Blue”, co-written by and featuring Chris Stapleton. As Melissa sagely notes, “sometimes you’re gonna taste the dirt, but then you’re gonna rise.”

October 30, 2013

Roland Janes, 1933-2013

While he may not have had as much public acknowledgement as he deserved, Roland Janes was a key part in the foundation of the Rock ‘n’ Roll genre in the 50s. He was a studio musician, playing guitar on many of the Jerry Lee Lewis and other Sun rock sessions. He was a touring musician, playing guitar with Jerry Lee in the peaks and valleys early on in his career. The stress of the road eventually drove him to working mainly in recording studios. He eventually built his own, Sonic Recording, with the same mentality as Sun Studio. There, he helped usher in the garage rock era in Memphis.

Roland eventually tired of running a studio all by himself, and re-joined the Phillips family in 1982. He’s been there just about every day since. Last week, Roland left this world, leaving his legacy to live on.