Roger Troutman

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Roger Troutman was an American singer, musician, writer and producer, born in 1951 in Hamilton, Ohio. He grew up as the fourth of nine children and played in various small bands with his brothers. In 1979 George Clinton discovered him and signed his group Zapp to Uncle Jam Records. He then signed with Bootsy Collins to Warner Bros. The debut Zapp came out in 1980, with More Bounce to the Ounce, produced by Collins. In the 1980s more albums followed, and hits such as Dance Floor and Computer Love.

Music and breakthrough

Troutman was known for his talk box, a device connected to an instrument. He used an Electro Harmonix Golden Throat, first with a Minimoog and later with a Yamaha DX100. In this way he made a synthesizer sound like a singing, robotic voice. As a soloist he had a first number one on the R&B chart in 1981 with his funk version of I Heard It Through the Grapevine, and in 1987 I Want to Be Your Man reached number three on the Hot 100. He also produced for others, including Shirley Murdock.

Influence

In the 1990s he worked with hip-hop artists such as Snoop Dogg and 2Pac. In 1995 he appeared on California Love by 2Pac and Dr. Dre, which topped the American Hot 100. His music was sampled heavily and formed a foundation for West Coast hip-hop. In School of Rock his talk box is central to G-funk: slow funk grooves with a singing synthesizer.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1981The Many Facets of Roger
• 1984The Saga Continues...
• 1987Unlimited!
• 1991Bridging the Gap
• 1994L'African Fiesta, Volume 1 (1962-1963)

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 6: Fear of a Black Planet^NL Reader

Mentioned in other articles

• G-funk GenreOn California Love, Roger Troutman sings through a talk box.
• Talk box TechnologyIn funk, Roger Troutman of Zapp had a synthesizer sing through the talk box, and that sound returned in G-funk.