And in the early 90's, he was embraced as a rap and rhythm-and-blues father figure. In the late 80's, new-wave bands like Scritti Politti recorded hits with him. Troutman's and Zapp's records alternately flopped and generated hits (like ''Computer Love''), he never faded from the pop eye. Troutman donned flashier outfits and guitars with nearly each song. In concert, the band's members were master showmen, working crowds into feverish excitement as Mr. The family's strategy for longterm success was to avoid crossing over to a white audience, to use the vocoder on as many singles as possible and to deliver rousing live shows. By the end of the 80's, Troutman Enterprises encompassed a construction company, a bus company, a recording studio, a touring operation, a booking agency and a music production company. Troutman appeared on the Funkadelic album ''The Electric Spanking of War Babies'' and recorded a solo album.Īs the eccentric singer and guitarist became the musical leader of the family band, his brothers helped turn Zapp into a family business with Larry in charge. ''Zapp'' is considered a sprawling funk masterpiece and generated the robotic party anthem ''More Bounce to the Ounce.'' Before recording his next album, Mr. In 1980, the band's mentors, George Clinton and Bootsy Collins of Parliament-Funkadelic, took Zapp to Detroit to record its first record for Warner Brothers records. Troutman used to say that he began using the vocoder in concert in order to sing hits originally performed by women. Influenced by James Brown, Jimmy Reed, Duke Ellington and Jimi Hendrix, as well as by the thriving regional funk scene, he formed Zapp with three of his brothers - Lester, Larry and Tony (who changed his name to Zapp) - in the late 70's. Roger Troutman grew up in Hamilton, Ohio. The group's music has been sampled on dozens of hit rap singles. Zapp is probably best known for its use of the vocoder or talkbox, a device that makes vocals sound robotic, and for influencing musicians from rockers like Lenny Kravitz to rappers like Tupac Shakur. The police said they were investigating the possibility of a murder-suicide. Troutman's older brother Larry, a former bandmate and business partner, was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound the same day in a car nearby. Gary White of the Dayton police department said. Troutman was shot several times in the torso on Sunday and died during surgery, Sgt. Roger Troutman, a renowned funk-music innovator who recorded with his brothers in the band Zapp in the early 80's, died on Sunday at the Good Samaritan Hospital and Health Center in Dayton, Ohio.
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