Roger Steffens

Roger Steffens (born June 17, 1942) is an American actor, author, lecturer, editor, reggae archivist, photographer, and producer. Six rooms of his home in Los Angeles house reggae archives, which include the world's largest collection of Bob Marley material. Based on these archives Steffens lectures internationally with a multi-media presentation called The Life of Bob Marley. His radio career began in New York City in 1961, and he co-hosted Reggae Beat on KCRW in Los Angeles and was syndicated on 130 stations worldwide in the 1980s.

Early life and education Steffens was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Westwood, New Jersey. He graduated in 1960 from Bergen Catholic High School, where he had competed in public speaking competitions.

Music industry employment Steffens was National Promotions Director at Island Records in 1982/83, in charge of all reggae and African music promotions including Bob Marley Confrontation, King Sunny Ade Juju Music and Synchro System, Gregory Isaacs Night Nurse, Black Uhuru, and Michael Smith.

He worked in National Reggae Promotions at Elektra Records in 1982, for Steel Pulse's True Democracy and Sunsplash '81: Tribute to Bob Marley. He worked in National Reggae Promotions at EMI-America in 1985/86, for the first two Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers albums. He worked in National Reggae Promotions at Slash Records in 1986, for Burning Spear's People of the World.

Photography Steffens served in Vietnam and spent a year in Morocco before visiting Jamaica for the first time in 1976. He has a large collection of photographs covering his Vietnam service and Jamaican musicians, including many slides which were digitized and released via Instagram in 2013. "The Family Acid presents his often transcendent vision and life as a psychedelic pioneer on the order of Timothy Leary and Hunter S. Thompson beginning with his work in Vietnam and moving through his ever revolving circle of friends and characters made up of Rastas, beatniks, musicians, artists, gonzo journalists, his family, and himself. The portraits, scenes, and freewheeling experimentation with the medium of photography coalesce into a body of work that both parallels and defines the countercultural ethos of Steffens' generation."

Acting and narrating Steffens has been involved with a large amount of acting and narration work, both credited and uncredited. He provided narration in The Flight of the Gossamer Condor and the television documentary Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam, and he portrayed Ben Veelchez in Dean Quixote, Daniel Golan in the 1999 film Deterrence, and a radio technician in Rollercoaster. In addition, Steffens has been involved with many other films and television shows in an uncredited role, including Forrest Gump, Ghosts of Mississippi, CHiPS, and Empty Nest.

Radio

Steffens co-hosted Reggae Beat on KCRW from 1979 to 1987, and Reggae Beat International from 1983 to 1987, which was syndicated internationally to 130 stations.

Contributing writer A Magio do Reggae, São Paulo: Martin Claret, 1997 "Bob Marley: Rasta Warrior" in Chanting Down Babylon: The Rastafari Reader, Temple University Press, 1998 Dictionnaire des chansons de Bob Marley, Paris: Tournon, 2005 "Reggae in the Seventies" in Rolling Stones The Seventies Introduction to Bob Marley Reader (DaCapo, 2004); "Nine Meditations on Jimi and Nam" in The Ultimate Hendrix, NYC: Macmillan Bob Marley: The Complete Annotated Bibliography with Joe Jurgensen, Haras, Prospect, 2009

Photography The Family Acid. 2015. .

Contributing photographer Jamaica, Lonely Planet Guide Book, 2000 Couleur Reggae, Paris: Tana, 2001 Sur la Route avec Bob Marley, Mark Miller, Scali, France, 2007

Recordings Miriam Makeba: The Sangoma Interview with Roger Steffens, Warner World Music Sampler writer/narrator, Warner/Reprise/Sire David Byrne: Rei Momo: Words and Music, interviewer, Sire Occupy Los Angeles: Narration & Continuity, Reel Intellect/Good Feel