He also focused on community development in some of the poorest sections of Dayton. Roger turned more to producing, working with such artists as Eric Benet and Dr. But both rebounded with big hits, as Zapp scored in 1985 with "Computer Love," the group's biggest crossover hit to date, and Roger hit even higher with "I Want to Be Your Man."īy the time the 90s arrived, Zapp had lost much of its momentum, though a couple greatest hits collections kept the group charting. Even better was the follow-up single, "Do Wah Ditty," a funked up dance song that was perhaps the group's most accessible track to date.īoth Zapp and Roger continued to chart with their next albums, but some of the initial enthusiasm around the act had waned. Troutman was back in the fold in 1982 for the hit "Dance Floor" and the group's sophomore album, Zapp II. Roger Troutman - simply labeled as "Roger" - released his solo debut, The Many Facets of Roger, the following year and topped the singles chart with a twisted cover of Marvin Gaye's "Heard it Through The Grapevine." It became a Zapp trademark sound, and was the vocal basis for a string of danceable hits that took the 70s Parliament/Bootsy sound to an even more aloof, futuristic level. Although he died in 1999, you can still hear his effects in music today and will do I’m sure, for many years to come.Another of the great groups that arguably made Ohio the funk capital of the US in the 80s, Zapp was one of the most popular bands of the 80s and also launched a notable solo career for its leader, Roger Troutman.įormed in the late 70s in Dayton by brothers Roger, Lester, Larry and Tony Troutman, Zapp exploded out of the box with their 1980 self-titled debut album, which featured the #1 hit "More Bounce to the Ounce." Produced by funk legend Bootsy Collins, the song featured Roger Troutman's lead channeled through a "talk box," which twisted the vocals into a mechanized, computerized sound. In the year 2000, Thump Records released a tribute to Roger Troutman, which featured Hip-Hop and R&B songs that sampled his work. Larry later committed suicide by turning the gun on himself. Roger’s life ended tragically on 25th April 1999 aged 47 at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, after being shot several times by his brother Larry. Unfortunately in the 90’s, they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As the hits waned for both Troutman and the Zapp & Roger group, the brothers opened a housing business headed by their brother Larry. Zapp & Rogers’s hits were sampled by an array of Rap and Hip-Hop artists in the 90’s, including Janet Jackson, H-Town, Ice Cube, Ralph Tresvant and Snoop Dogg. Dre & 2pac’s top ten 1996 single ‘California Love’. Roger continued to produce and play with other artists and it was his voice box which graced Dr. In the mid-80’s Troutman opened a state of the art recording studio in Dayton called ‘Troutman Sound Labs’. Roger’s 2nd solo album was released in 1983 ‘The Saga Continues’ then came his 3rd album ‘Unlimited’. Roger’s cover of ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’ with the distinctive sounds of the vocoder talk box earned the album gold status. In 1981 Roger worked on Funkadelic’s ‘The Electric Spanking of War Babies’ and released his solo debut album ‘The Many Facets of Roger’. Zapp hit the Top 20 pop charts in 1980 with their single ‘More Bounce to the Ounce’. His 1st singles having been released under the name of ‘Little Roger and the Veils’. Together, they started touring the Midwest and soon expanded the band with backing vocalists, keyboard players and a horn section.Īs a solo artist, Roger released his 1st LP in 1976 under the band name ‘Roger and the Human Body’ on his own Troutman Records label. The group were greatly influenced by their hometown heroes the Ohio Players as well as other funk groups. Roger formed a group with his brothers Lester, Larry and Tony and called it the ‘Zapp & Roger Group’ with whom he had success through Warner Brothers & it’s subsidiary label Reprise in the 70’s and the 80’s. What had previously been used for gimmicky effects, Troutman often used to take along with him to radio interviews, entertaining the listeners with his amazing skills on the instrument. Roger was master of the vocoder voice-distortion box, a keyboard synthesiser that created robotic sounding vocals for which he later became renowned. Funkster and creative genius, Roger Troutman was born on 29th November 1951 in Hamilton Ohio.
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