Roulette's family was originally from
New Orleans, but he was born and raised in
Evanston, Illinois. He learned to play the steel guitar in high school. He toured with Musselwhite and backed him on the albums
Tennessee Woman and
Memphis, Tennessee, before relocating to the
San Francisco,
California, area where he has lived ever since. The producer Larry Hoffman brought Roulette to Chicago where the artist recorded his 1997 album, ''Back in Chicago: Jammin' with Willie Kent and the Gents
, backed by the Willie Kent Band featuring Chico Banks on guitar. It was released on Hi Horse Records. The album won an award from Living Blues'' magazine as 'Best Blues Album of 1997'. It was recorded in
Fantasy Studios, in
Berkeley, California, and included strains of
jazz,
country,
soul and
reggae in the overall blues setting. In the same year, Roulette played locally in a small combo including
Mike Hinton. Roulette played at numerous
music festivals over the years, including the
Long Beach Blues Festival, the
San Francisco Blues Festival (1979), and the
Calgary Folk Music Festival (2000). He continued to play club dates in the San Francisco area, often with Mandel. In 2012, ''Jammin' With Friends'' was recorded at three separate studios with various musicians. It was produced by Michael Borbridge, who also played drums on all the tracks. As of 2015, Roulette was still playing with the Daphne Blue Band. Roulette died on December 24, 2022, at the age of 83. ==Discography==