Country, western superstar James Rozells passes away

LANGKAWI — After battling health issues stemming from meningitis and stroke, Eurasian heritage pioneer and musician James Rozells has passed away. He was 67.

After travelling to and fro from Langkawi for the past few years with his partner, Kathleen Rodrigues, they decided to settle down on the resort island where he breathed his last.

Penang House of Music (PHOM) director Paul Augustin, who is a family friend and ex-band member, told The Vibes that he was very zealous about preserving Eurasian heritage.

Rozells was the one who mooted the Eurasian Heritage Fiesta that stands as part of the annual George Town Festival held during the third quarter of every year.

“I first met him when I was very young, and my first memory of him was at a friend's house where he and a few other guys were playing the guitar.

“Then, we were in a band together in the mid-80s, at the Feringghi Beach Hotel, now known as DoubleTree Hotel. We were wearing pink shirts as part of our uniform.

According to Augustin, Rozells was taken to the hospital a few weeks ago after a fall, then he fell ill. However, he was discharged shortly after.

Unfortunately, he was brought back into the hospital a few days later when he was down with a high fever. He was found to be suffering from meningitis and later had a stroke in hospital.

Rozells fell into a coma last week when his family members flew to Langkawi to see him. They had hoped that he would recover fully.

“He had a lot of dreams and always had a vision to do many things. One of them was to preserve and make the Eurasian heritage known.

“Though there is a small number of us in Penang, he was always trying to work on keeping the heritage alive.

“That was why he started the Eurasian Heritage Fiesta that revolved around the Eurasian culture of music and food,” he told The Vibes.

Another ex-band member, Michael Kay, told The Vibes that he is very saddened about Rozells' passing. Kay had played music with him in the late 80s and early 90s.

“He has always been the fun guy. When we were in the band, we used to spend eight hours together every day to practice music.

“Unfortunately we don’t have any band pictures together because, in those days, we had to go to the photo studios to get our shots taken. And then it is given to the hotels, and we don’t know what they do with the pictures after we stop performing there,” he said.

Rozells and Rodrigues shared their love for all things Eurasian through their bar and restaurant named Americs, where old Eurasian food such as sugee cake, jam tarts, salted fish pickle and devil curries were sold.

Music also took centre stage at their food outlet. Known as a household name among country and western music lovers in Penang, Rozells will be dearly missed. – The Vibes, October 27, 2021