Roger Troutman
| Roger Troutman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 29, 1951 Hamilton, Ohio, United States |
| Died | April 25, 1999 (aged 47) Dayton, Ohio, United States |
| Genres | Funk, Electro, G-funk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, talk box, guitar, keyboard, bass guitar, harmonica, vibraphone, flute |
| Years active | 1975–1999 |
| Labels | Warner Bros., Reprise |
| Associated acts | Zapp, Roger & the Human Body, Prince, Funkadelic, Shirley Murdock, 2Pac, Parliament, A.B. Quintanilla y los Kumbia Kings, EPMD, DJ Quik, The Crusaders, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tech N9ne, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Spice 1, Jesse Rae, Danny Boy |
Roger Troutman (November 29, 1951 – April 25, 1999), also known mononymously as Roger, was an American singer, composer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and the founder of the band Zapp who helped spearhead the funk movement and heavily influenced west coast hip hop due to the scene's heavy sampling of his music over the years. Troutman was well known for his use of the talk box, a device that is connected to an instrument (frequently a keyboard, but most commonly a guitar) to create different vocal effects. Roger used a custom-made talkbox—the Electro Harmonix "Golden Throat," as well as a Moog Minimoog and later in his career a Yamaha DX100 FM synthesizer. As both band leader of Zapp and in his subsequent solo releases, he scored a bevy of funk and R&B hits throughout the 1980s.
Born in Hamilton, Ohio, Roger was the fourth of ten children. He was a late-arriving member of Parliament-Funkadelic and played on the band's final Warner Brothers' album The Electric Spanking of War Babies. The first band Roger was in was THE CRUSADERS. The band played in Cincinnati and recorded a 45 record Busted Surfboard and Seminole. The band members were Rick Schoeny, Roy Beck, Dave Spitzmiller, and Denny Niebold. Troutman had formed various other bands with his four brothers, including Little Roger and the Vels and Roger and the Human Body. In 1977, he and the Human Body issued their first single, "Freedom". Within two years, Roger and his brothers were discovered by George Clinton, who signed the newly christened Zapp to his Uncle Jam Records label in 1979. The original line-up consisted of Roger Troutman, Larry Troutman, Lester Troutman, Terry Troutman, Gregory Jackson and Bobby Glover. Zapp made their professional television debut on the first and only Funk Music Awards show. A year later, as Uncle Jam Records was forced to close, Zapp signed to Warner Bros. Records and released their self-titled debut, which yielded the Bootsy Collins produced & Troutman-composed hit, "More Bounce to the Ounce." The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Soul Singles chart in the fall of 1980. The debut album reached the top 20 of the Billboard 200 and firmly launched Zapp and Roger into the national spotlight.
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