Roger and Zapp did very well in pop music. I'm not always a fan of their particular style of pop, but the talk box work that Roger brought was amazing. The way he blended the talk box effect with straight vocals was pretty original.
Roger was born in 1951. Roger played on the final P-Funk album, The Electric Spanking of War Babies as well as playing with numerous other acts. But he's best known as the leader of Zapp, and for his "solo" work as Roger. Here's Zapp on Soul Train, where you can see him operating his talkbox and keyboard:
Roger used several of his siblings in Zapp. Zapp did pretty well, releasing several gold albums. Zapp had their ups and downs throughout the '80's and '90's, and Roger recorded with some well-known rappers, including on Tupac's "California Love". Ice Cube said that his introduction to hip-hop was Zapp's "More Bounce to the Ounce."
But in 1999, Larry Troutman, Roger's brother, shot Roger to death, and then shot himself. No one is sure exactly why, although a business dispute seems most likely.
One of Roger's sons, Roger Lynch Troutman, Jr., sometimes known as "Lynch" also had some musical success, joining Zapp in 1987, and releasing a solo album in 1989 called, "Pinch of Lynch". He was also a member of Mint Condition for a period, and worked with many other acts. Lynch died in 2003, at the age of 32, from head injuries incurred under somewhat mysterious circumstances.
I learned all of this as I was researching music made with vocoders, because I thought (incorrectly) that Roger had used a vocoder. So now, I have a new appreciation for Roger's talents, but I'm saddened by his passing.
Roger was born in 1951. Roger played on the final P-Funk album, The Electric Spanking of War Babies as well as playing with numerous other acts. But he's best known as the leader of Zapp, and for his "solo" work as Roger. Here's Zapp on Soul Train, where you can see him operating his talkbox and keyboard:
Roger used several of his siblings in Zapp. Zapp did pretty well, releasing several gold albums. Zapp had their ups and downs throughout the '80's and '90's, and Roger recorded with some well-known rappers, including on Tupac's "California Love". Ice Cube said that his introduction to hip-hop was Zapp's "More Bounce to the Ounce."
But in 1999, Larry Troutman, Roger's brother, shot Roger to death, and then shot himself. No one is sure exactly why, although a business dispute seems most likely.
One of Roger's sons, Roger Lynch Troutman, Jr., sometimes known as "Lynch" also had some musical success, joining Zapp in 1987, and releasing a solo album in 1989 called, "Pinch of Lynch". He was also a member of Mint Condition for a period, and worked with many other acts. Lynch died in 2003, at the age of 32, from head injuries incurred under somewhat mysterious circumstances.
I learned all of this as I was researching music made with vocoders, because I thought (incorrectly) that Roger had used a vocoder. So now, I have a new appreciation for Roger's talents, but I'm saddened by his passing.
