Jimmy Carl Black dies at 70; original drummer in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention

[n2doc]

By Randy Lewis
8:56 PM PST, November 5, 2008
Jimmy Carl Black, the original drummer in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention, a band that helped define the sub-genre of art rock, died of cancer Saturday. He was 70.

He died in Siegsdorf, Germany, according to Roddie Gilliard, who performed with Black in recent years as part of the Muffin Men, a British group that specialized in performing Zappa's music live.

A note on Black’s official website stated, "Jimmy passed away peacefully. . . . Jimmy says hi to everybody and he doesn't want anybody to be sad."

He moved to Germany in the 1990s after marrying a German woman following the death of his first wife. "I like the lifestyle," he said in 1995. "I can make a living playing music in Europe, and I haven't been able to do that in the States since the 1960s."

James Inkanish Jr. was born Feb. 1, 1938, in El Paso, but was reared in nearby Anthony, N.M. He changed his name after his mother married Carl Black, Anthony's first mayor. He lived in Anthony for 19 years, started playing piano at age 6 and took up trumpet in high school but switched to drums when he joined the Air Force in 1958 because "there weren't any trumpets in rock 'n' roll."

Black moved to Los Angeles in 1964 and formed the Soul Giants with Roy Estrada and Ray Collins. When the group's guitarist was drafted, they hired Zappa, who took over as leader and changed the band's name to the Mothers of Invention, promising, "If you guys will learn my music, I'll make you rich and famous."

"He took care of half of that promise," Black quipped later, "because I'm damn sure I didn't get rich."

more:

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-black6-2008nov06,0,4496764.story

[DBoon]

1. "I'm Jimmy Carl Black and I'm the Indian of the group"

RIP Geronimo Black

[Chemical Bill]

6. You beat me to it. n/t

[HughBeaumont]

2. We're Only In It For the Money = one of the greatest albums of the past 40 years.

As was Uncle Meat. Sad. His rant to Zappa on Uncle Meat's "If We'd All Been Living in California..." kind of says it all about how musicians are treated.

R.I.P., Injun Jim.

[alfredo]

5. Here's a good photo of him He's in the middle

[vogonity]

3. Thanks for posting this

What a bummer.

[charlie]

4. Sad

The cancer seemed to have taken him down pretty quick. His boys James and Geronimo have a band that gigs regularly here in El Paso, and Jimmy did a guest spot with them not too long ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLIpQS9orTk

[n2doc]

7. kick n/t