I found myself listening to one radio station everytime I played GTA: Vice City for one song; "More bounce to the Ounce".

I love the funky groove but I wish I knew more about this band before I drop $22 on the best of disc.

Anyone know anything?


thanks in advance

Last year Rhino records put out a 2-cd compilation of Roger/Zapp hits. It contains most of their best music, plus several "early" tracks from the "Roger & The Human Body" era.. before "More Bounce"..


Roger & Zapp helped bring the 70's funk of P-Funk, Bootsy et al to the 80s, & to the next level. Roger & Zapp

BROUGHT THE FUNK SO HARD

you had no but to get into it. The vocoder "talk box" had certainly been used before Roger got his hands on it, but I think no performer has been as associated with it as Roger has, & rightfully so.


I was very fortunate to see Roger & Zapp for the 1st time back in early '82. They came on after The Time & before Prince, on the Richmond VA stop of the Controversy Tour. Roger & Zapp put on a high-stepping, very energetic performance, with Roger playing lead & rhythm guitar, as well as (of course) his talkbox.


Eventually, you'll probably want to buy each of his albums, including his 2 solo "Roger" albums: the brilliant, extremely funky "The Many Facets Of Roger" & "The Saga Continues.."


It's IMPOSSIBLE to be a TRUE fan of the funk
&
NOT dig Roger & Zapp..



ge- ge- ge- ge- ge- get on the dance floor, baby..!

Slave2daGroove said:

I know that $22 is worth it!!! Zapp & Roger was the shit!!! R.I.P.

So many producers look up to his sound to this day.

Teddy Riley
Timbaland
DeVante Swing
Bosco

just to name a few.

Slave2daGroove said:

I'm from Dayton Ohio and I used to listen to those brothers rehearse in their basement. Every kid in the neighborhood would be jammin to their stuff. Go get The single disc compilation that came out quite a few years ago. It has a picture of roger holding a globe or something. The two disc one is not as tight.

donnyenglish said:

I was gonna say the same thing. You can get the one disc compilation to get the essentials, plus it only costs about 10 bucks. The only thing the two disc has on the one disc is that the two disc has the long version of Be Alright on it, but you could probably just download that version.

IMHO Roger is one of THE most underrated guitarists ever. The single disc Best Of is definitely gonna leave you hungry for more. Also a lot of the tunes on that one are remixed. So I'd recommend the Rhino double et. has great liner notes and booklet too.

All hail to Roger & Zapp! Don't think about money, think about THE FUNK and buy any album!

My productions are very Zapp and early Prince influenced as well, maybe you've noticed before...

I too have been debating whether to buy their 2-CD set.I already have the single "Best Of" CD,as well as a few of the individual albums.

THANK YOU TO ALL THAT POSTED!

I'm on it. I've not been able to stop listening to the extended version of "More Bounce" for 10 hours straight.

I'm music obsessive, so everything they put out, I'm buying.

Thanks again

hectim said:

Amen. I'd go so far as to say Roger was one of the most underrated multi-instrumentalists. PERIOD. I've seen Roger play more instruments on stage than Prince during the course of his career. He was ALWAYS a top notch performer. The band had one of the best small stage shows I've seen to this day. Nobody could rip a club stage like them. NOBODY. R.I.P. Roger and his son Lynch. They are missed.

Are the songs on any of the compilations edits? Am i better off just buying the full albums?

vgallo6 said:

Go back and buy every Zapp and every Roger Troutman CD you can find. You won't be disappointed.

cool

Zapp & Roger are so funky and awesome that I'm embarrassed that I've just discovered them


Every song on the greatest hits is great. Some is a little ballad-like but just really good. I haven't stopped listening for 4 days.

Thanks again to everyone who posted!

Wow, I really am getting old when some people don't know about Roger and Zapp.

How come I don't hear anybody in the media talk about Roger's death?

intha916 said:

You're not old, I was into Metal when his stuff was popular. I've asked a lot of people and a select few know about Zapp. That's changing by the minute though, it's way 2 funky!

Harlepolis said:

No way! When did he die and how? What a loss.

Slave2daGroove said:

His brother killed him in a murder/suicide.

stymie said:

Yep, it happend 3 or 4 years ago. I neva heard any mention about it in the media, must be ugly!

RIP - This is just so sad to me, I can't say enough. What a senseless loss.

"DAYTON, Ohio (April 26, 1999 11:28 a.m. EDT - R&B star Roger Troutman, known for hits such as "More Bounce to the Ounce" and "I Want to Be Your Man," was shot to death along with his brother in an apparent murder-suicide, police said.

Troutman, who with his brother was part of the family group Zapp and recorded as a solo artist under the name Roger, was found outside his northwest Dayton recording studio around 7 a.m. Sunday. The 47-year-old Dayton resident had been shot several times in the torso and died while in surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital and Health Center, police Sgt. Gary White said.

His brother, Larry Troutman, 54, was found dead in a car a few blocks away with a gunshot wound to the head, police said. A handgun was found inside the car, which matched the description of a car leaving the scene of Roger Troutman's shooting, White said.

Detectives are investigating it as an apparent murder-suicide, police said. But family members "can offer no reason or motive," White said.

The brothers were part of the Troutman family of performers that formed the band Zapp and helped pioneer the rock-funk "Dayton sound" in the 1970s.

The band, more recently known as Zapp & Roger, was known for the 1980 hit "More Bounce to the Ounce." The song, which reached the top 20 on the pop charts, was part of the band's debut album in 1980. Among their other hits were "Doo Wah Ditty (Blow That Thing)," "Dance Floor," "Heartbreaker," "I Can Make You Dance" and "Computer Love."

Roger Troutman eventually went solo for a time. As Roger, he hit No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 3 on the pop chart in 1987-88 with the single "I Want to Be Your Man." The family group, by now called Zapp & Roger, had hits in the 1990s with "Slow and Easy" and "Mega Medley."

Roger Troutman also collaborated with hip-hop superstars Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre on the song "California Love - How Do U Want It," which made the top 10 on the charts and was nominated for a Grammy for best rap performance by a duo or group in 1997. Shakur was shot to death in 1996.

"Roger, he was unique," said Ohio Players drummer and leader Diamond Williams. "Very, very talented. The world has lost a truly talented entertainer by another senseless act."

Larry Troutman left performing in the mid-'80s to manage the group full time and assume the presidency of the Dayton-based Troutman Enterprises, which included recording studios, real-estate ventures and contracting."

"Roger Troutman eventually went solo for a time. As Roger, he hit No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 3 on the pop chart in 1987-88 with the single "I Want to Be Your Man." The family group, by now called Zapp & Roger, had hits in the 1990s with "Slow and Easy" and "Mega Medley."

I hate when they have people write stuff they know nothing about. Roger didn't leave the group and go "solo for a time". Every other album he switched off between the name "Zapp" and "Roger" but all his albums had his brothers and the rest of the band playng on them.

And what does this mean?

"Roger Troutman also collaborated with hip-hop superstars Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre on the song "California Love - How Do U Want It," which made the top 10 on the charts and was nominated for a Grammy for best rap performance by a duo or group in 1997. "

The "song" California Love - How Do U Want It? Those are two different songs. As far as I know Roger didn't have anything to do with HDUWI but at the very least this piece mixed up two songs into one.

intha916 said:

Sorry yo, just found it on a tribute web-site because I hadn't heard the world had lost these amazing musicians

Slave2daGroove said:

No reason to be sorry. Wasn't talking about you, only the cat who wrote this piece in the first place.

No one brought FUNK to "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" like Roger...truly an amazing brother, whose groove was right on time in the early eighties. He was DYNAMITE!

"I Can Make You Dance" is one of the best dance songs of all time. "Computer Love" is an 80s masterwork. "Computer Love" STILL gets love and play to this day from so many people. I even hear 15 year old kids sing the song like its new.

History lesson for all you Roger Troutman and Zapp newbies.

They were discovered by George Clinton. The first lp was produced by Roger and Bootsy on Warners. They split the P-Funk empire right before the Mothership came in for a crash landing. He was signed also as Roger and The Human Body to Clinton's Uncle Jam label. Took the record to CBS without Clinton's consent. A huge legal battle with Clinton and labels irrupted. Roger left at the right time.

Smart move Roger and Zapp laid down some of nastiest funk on black radio in the eighties. Sampled by rappers galore. A major lost his music is more famous than he is. R.I.P.

Some more trivia...


The first Zapp album was released in 1980,but Roger actually made his recording debut in 1976.He appeared on the 1976 hit "I Just Wanna Make Love To You (Flick My Bic)" by the funk group Sun.

I sooo miss Roger Troutman He has inspired me as well, as a musician, songwriter, and producer. When I bought my vocoder a couple of years ago and used it for the first time in the studio I almost cried. He IS the most UNDERAPPRECIATED ARTIST/MUSICIAN of the last TWENTY years!
RIP, my brother...Lo.