Originally Published on Sept. 18, 2018
The Song of the Day is:
Zapp – “Doo Wah Ditty (Blow That Thing)”
From the album Zapp II (1982)
Said, “I wanna blow” (Doo wa)
Just let me blow (Doo wa ditty)
Blow my thing, baby
Blow my thing (Doo wa ditty)Roger Troutman – Larry Troutman
Just like yesterday’s Roxy Music selection, this song tends to get a little bit bonkers. I am pretty convinced that this song is mostly just Roger Troutman playing around in the studio, overdubbing himself countless times over. Zapp is an Ohio funk band that featured bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Roger Troutman, and his band which, among other band members, included three of his brothers. Troutman released solo albums concurrently to the Zapp albums, under the moniker “Roger” (the two entities are often anthologized together). In fact, the “Roger” album is partially credited with sinking the P-Funk empire, as George Clinton produced the demos and sank a ton of money into it, and Troutman took his demos and split for another label, leaving Clinton empty-handed and numerous others unpaid. Troutman was not know for his sound business dealings. Troutman was, however, known to be a musical visionary and he and his electronic sound brought funk music into the 1980’s. Troutman’s talk-box altered vocals became a signature of the band. By the late eighties, their sound had fallen out of fashion, but in the next decade it caught a gangsta rap resurgence. Rappers such as Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and especially Tupac Shakur grew up listening to Zapp and Roger. Troutman even made an appearance on Dre & Tupac’s “California Love” record. Remember those unscrupulous business dealings that I mentioned, though? Apparently his financials with his brother and bandmate Larry Troutman had gotten increasingly strained. In 1999, Larry Troutman killed his brother Roger and then turned the gun on himself. Tragic.
Hear Today, Grown Tomorrow 