Joeseph Rogers.

Joseph had a son Cleveland Rogers that came back home to Farmingdale NJ from the war in 1922. He is the one that wanted to be more than a calf head maker. Joseph Rogers Jr. died in 1929. The earliest Rogers drum catalog was in 1938 and showed Gretsch shells and Gretsch Rocket lugs with Rogers heads and a Rogers badge. Other drum makers throw offs were used. Cleveland sold to Grossman who moved operations to OH early 1950s.

Peace, Gary

Thanks fr that info! So, who was most-responsible for the designs of Rogers drums? Specifically, who was responsible for the Swiv-O-Matic stuff? Who was responsible for the Memriloc? Same guy? Different guy?

Different cats. Mr. Joe Thompson was most responsible for the Swivomatic around 1957. The Memriloc stuff was 1970s by Dave Donahoe.

Cool. Thanks. For me, the Swivo stuff is what defined Rogers' unique style. Before the Swivo design came into being, what hardware did Rogers use?

Ben Strauss was the marketing manager and Joe Thompson designed all that swivo stuff. I believe he had a lab off of his house where he would experiment with stuff. Sounds like he was a pretty remarkable guy!

Gretsch, Leedy, Slingerland, Premier. Peace, Gary