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Artist
Jimmy Carl Black
12+ albums
rockclassic rockblueslegendzappa
about
Jimmy Carl Black (February 1, 1938 – November 1, 2008) was an unusual figure in American rock music as he achieved lasting fame primarily for a single ad libbed line on the third album by the Mothers of Invention: "Hi boys and girls, I'm Jimmy Carl Black and I'm the Indian of the group." Of course there was more to it than just this line, as bandleader Frank Zappa exploited the eccentric character of this Cheyenne Indian musician, realizing that his personality would be fascinating to certain listeners and quite a departure from the usual rock stars of that day. Black also has roots as a Texan, hailing from a town on the border of that state and New Mexico. This birthplace was almost a symbolic indicator of how Black would straddle different musical geographies. Although famous for his avant-garde work with Zappa, he is really more of a roots musician and has worked extensively in blues, Tex-Mex, and country-rock. He comes from a generation of musicians for whom working in a rock & roll band meant playing for strippers, four or five sets per night with more than one version of "Wooly Bully." All this would change in 1964 when his band the Soul Giants, auditioned a young man named Frank Zappa for lead guitarist. Zappa could smell change in the wind big time and eventually suggested the band quit doing covers and let him write some songs specifically for them. The idea was to create an image of the band as the ultimate set of freaks, to cash in on the peace and love hippie
top songs
albums
Where's The $%&§#@' Beer?
When Do We Get Paid?
Is singin' the blues
Locked in a Dutch Coffeeshop
Drummin' the blues
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Can I Borrow a Couple of Bucks Until the End of the Week?
Freedom Jazz Dance
A Lil' Dab'l Do Ya
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If We'd All Been Living in California...
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Brown, Black & Blue
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Black Brown Stone
I'm Not Living Very Extravagantly, I'll Tell You for Sure...