[7] While Rogers was attending Saltfleet High School, Stoney Creek, Ontario,[8] he started to meet other young people interested in folk music, although at this time he was dabbling in rock and roll, singing and playing bass guitar in garage bands such as "Stanley and the Living Stones" and "The Hobbits".

Sung in his rich baritone, Rogers' songs are often said to have a "Celtic" feel which is due, in part, to his frequent use of DADGAD guitar tuning.

His best-known songs include "Northwest Passage", "Barrett's Privateers", "The Mary Ellen Carter", "Make and Break Harbour", "The Idiot", "Fogarty's Cove", and "White Squall".

[16] Rogers died alongside 22 other passengers most likely of smoke inhalation on June 2, 1983, while travelling on Air Canada Flight 797 (a McDonnell Douglas DC-9) after performing at the Kerrville Folk Festival.

The airliner was flying from Dallas, Texas, to Toronto and Montreal when a fire from an unknown ignition source within the vanity or toilet shroud of the aft washroom forced it to make an emergency landing at the Greater Cincinnati Airport in northern Kentucky.

Upon landing, the plane's doors were opened, allowing the five crew and 18 of the 41 passengers to escape, but approximately 90 seconds into the evacuation the oxygen rushing in from outside caused a flash fire.

Amber Frost claimed: Before most likely succumbing to smoke inhalation, he used his last moments to guide other passengers to safety with his booming voice.

"These legends are verifiably false, as the National Transportation Safety Board ran a full investigation of the incident and interviewed every single survivor, and there is no firsthand account, official or unofficial, of such an occurrence.

For instance, his lyrics have appeared in school poetry books,[citation needed] taking their place alongside acknowledged classics.

The bitter song / The heavy load that I'll never share, tho' the offer's still there / Every time you turn around," forges a link between these Canadian icons.

[citation needed] When CBC's Peter Gzowski asked Canadians to pick an alternate national anthem, "Northwest Passage" was the overwhelming choice.

[25] Stan's son, Nathan Rogers, is also an established Canadian folk artist with a voice and lyrical acumen similar to his father's.

[26] Canadian Celtic rock band Enter the Haggis regularly performs a cover of “White Squall” to end their shows, and included it on their 2011 album Whitelake.

In 2011, the pirate metal band Alestorm released a cover of Rogers' song "Barrett's Privateers" (Label Napalm Records).

[27] In 2017, Canadian Celtic punk band The Real McKenzies released a cover of Rogers' "Northwest Passage" on their album Two Devils Will Talk.

In 2019, Canadian folk punk band The Dreadnoughts released a cover of Rogers' "Northwest Passage", as well as a commemorative song named "Dear Old Stan", on Stomp Records.