
Screenshot of Trinidadian artist and musician Roger Boothman taken from the TTT Live Online YouTube video ‘Roger Boothman – From Then To Now.’ Fair use.
On the evening of January 9, Trinidadian musical innovator Michael Boothman took to his Facebook page to inform his followers that his 66-year-old brother Roger — artist and songwriter extraordinaire — had “died peacefully in his sleep.”
The nephew of the internationally famous actor Geoffrey Holder and painter Boscoe Holder, Roger Boothman was exposed to the arts from a young age. He began painting in the mid-1960s at Tranquillity Primary School in Port of Spain. By the time he graduated from secondary school in 1975, he had already become a member of the Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago, and had earned himself a distinction in Art.
Another of his brothers, David Boothman, recalled, “He was self-taught in most things, because our household was like an upcoming arts community, so he had all that to influence him. It was just one of those environments where there were a lot of arts conversations, and he picked up the necessary substance from that.”
He was also musically inclined; his sibling David remembered him as “a most awesome composer and freeform pianist who could ad-lib anything for hours [but] I think he's most outstanding as a composer and a lyrical songwriter.”
Indeed, Boothman won both first and second place in the local leg of the 1993 Commonwealth Song Contest, and was the only Caribbean songwriter to win three Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) song festivals. He was also a vocal advocate for copyright in Trinidad and Tobago, especially where the work of local musicians was concerned. The Copyright Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago (COTT) paid tribute to him as “a distinguished and multi-talented songwriter, producer, artist, and entertainer” who served in the Artists Coalition of Trinidad and Tobago from 2009-2014, promoting local artists and musicians, and was a devoted mentor to scores of younger artists.
In 2024, Boothman received a national award, the Hummingbird Medal (Silver), for his service and contribution to the arts and culture. That same year, the Art Society helped host a fundraiser, selling key pieces of his artwork to help him become more liquid in the face of health challenges.
Social media users remembered Boothman as “exceptionally talented” and whose “passion for music and songwriting was unmatched.” Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts Randall Mitchell, meanwhile, called him “a truly gifted artist whose work touched the hearts and minds of so many. […] Through his music and art, he inspired generations, challenging us to see the world through [a] different lens. We celebrate the legacy of a man who brought beauty, thought, and reflection to our lives.”
In response to Boothman's death, Facebook user Nigel A. Campbell posted:
“For our cultural stakeholders, icons and workers, their passing may get an official Ministry press release after a phone call ‘to get some information about the artist.’ All this preamble is to note that this afternoon, one of our finest songwriters passed [and] his passing continues the decimation of legacy in the arts that showed so much promise during our country’s march to Independence. The business model of music has changed, evolved, transformed so much so that stars of yesteryear are cast aside as relics today […]
“Our music ecosystem in the 21st century relegates timeless melodies to the back of the room, only allowing music for a season to be relevant. Finding Roger’s music is equally hard, not much on streaming platforms, if you have a cassette or LP, lucky you. Roger was a songwriter, musician, and an artist of worth, displaying that supernormal trait of creative excellence present in those Holder-Boothman genes. As his family and friends reconcile his legacy noting his more recent struggles, we should look back as we look forward in how we note success or journeyman status in our greatest gift to the world, our words and ultimately our music.”
To Shanelle Carballo Lemessy, Boothman's niece, however, he “wasn’t just the well-known musician, award-winning artist, or the voice you’d always hear on the radio — he was so much more than that”:
“He was the life of the party, the uncle who could turn a dull room into a dance floor, making everyone laugh and loosen up. He was the guy who’d spend his last dollar making his nieces and nephews feel special on their birthdays and the one who always knew how to connect with the younger generation because he lived in the moment and never took life too seriously.
“He was the person who reminded me that family comes first — the one who is known for saying, ‘I love you, let’s make up,’ after any falling-out. He was the man who’d spend hours on the phone telling you about his day and his life story, and how much you mean to him. He often spoke about finding more peace and happiness in his later years, and though we wish he could have stayed here with us, his better place was always with my grandparents in heaven, where his heart truly belonged. Uncle Roger was a family man through and through, and while the world may remember his music and art, we’ll remember his heart.”