Music Mogul Lives Double Life as Mechanic

When one walks into the Jiffy Lube on Manchester Road, Wildwood resident Arthur Roland looks like any other employee. He is friendly, attentive and always willing to strike up a conversation as customers wait for their vehicles. But Roland isn't working there for the same reasons as most people, he said.

“The beautiful thing about life is working, but not having to."

He describes his work at as a way to stay occupied when he is not busy with his main career: Writing, producing and performing Grammy Award-winning music.

Born in the small southern town of Madison, GA, music seemed to be embedded into Roland's genes. As a boy in the 1970s, he toured with his five sisters in a musical group that mimicked the success of the Jackson Five and other pop music family acts.

At age 7, his unique experiences prompted a peculiar dream wherein he suddenly had the ability to play guitar. When he awoke, Roland said, he then could play the instrument as soon as he picked one up – an event he still describes as “miraculous.”

That marked the beginning of a seemingly magical 35-year music career. As a young adult, Roland was soon playing blues and gospel music with a distinctly southern feel. Most notably, he toured and performed with The Blind Boys of Alabama – a group he considered mentors, and who years later, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Spending 300 days of the year on the road with the group was “a blur,” he said, although it did give him the chance to travel to exotic places, such as Amsterdam and Tokyo.

To date, Roland's accomplishments have won him six Grammys, and brought him into contact with artists spanning several genres, including rapper Ludacris, gospel duo Mary Mary, as well as Crystal Bowersox, the runner-up from last season’s American Idol. He also has performed at the White House for Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Originally, St. Louis was meant to be just another stop on the road of tours, which frequently led to Powell Symphony Hall for holiday concerts. That changed recently, however, when he met his fiancé and settled down in Wildwood about a year ago.

But the move hasn't stopped him from continuing an aggressive music career. Roland still writes and produces music for several record labels and regularly travels to Atlanta and Memphis for new projects.

Perhaps his most intruiguing project, however, is his plan to reinvigorate St. Louis' music culture. Roland laments that aside from a few scattered bars and club, such as The Pageant and The Old Rock House, the once musically-rich city is now just a shadow of its old self.

“A lot of these [young St. Louis musicians] today don’t even know the history of the music they’re playing,” Roland said.  Because of that, he's intent on seeking out new, undiscovered talent and establishing them as major names in the industry.

Rather than transplant local talent to a bigger market, such as Memphis or Atlanta, Roland said, his goal is to make them stars here, rebuilding St. Louis' reputation in the process. To that end, Roland frequents local music venues, such as the often to keep tabs on anything that could lead to a new discovery.

Despite his own successes and talents, however, Roland remains humble about his career.

“I never thought doing something like this, that I enjoy doing, would take me this far.”