D.J. Rogers

D.J. Rogers is best known for the tender acoustic piano-based ballad "Say You Love Me," a charting single from his 1976 debut RCA album It's Good to Be Alive. Natalie Cole's cover of the song was the first single from her album Snowfall in the Sahara, released by WEA/Elektra Entertainment in June 1999. Like most soul singers, DeWayne Julius Rogers began singing and playing piano in church in his native Los Angeles. He later worked with Rev. James Cleveland when he was the director of the Watts Community Choir and a member of the Los Angeles Community Choir. The gospel influence was very evident in Rogers' later secular releases, with many of his songs filled with inspirational messages. After signing with RCA Records, Rogers' debut album It's Good to Be Alive was released. Initially gaining radio airplay as an album track, the single "Say You Love Me" peaked at number 51 R&B on Billboard's charts in spring 1976. The 45 was a "turntable hit," meaning that it received a substantial amount of radio play, but for whatever reasons the exposure didn't translate into the single being a big seller. The lackluster chart success of "Say You Love Me" (and his other RCA releases) lead to Rogers' angry tirades in an article in the premier Soul Magazine, as he attributed the label's seemingly slothful attitude towards his music as a result of the record division's main purpose as being that of a "tax write-off." After listening to "Say You Love Me," one would have to wonder why the record wasn't a bigger hit. Besides the aforementioned Cole and others, Jennifer Holliday covered the song; her version can be found on Best of Jennifer Holliday, UNI/Geffen. Another track from It's Good to Be Alive that received radio play was the poignant tale of "Bula Jean," a girl that had beauty that...