Frank Zappa Drummer, Jimmy Carl Black Dies

Jimmy Carl Black, drummer, vocalist and self-anointed "Indian of the group" of Frank Zappa’s the Mothers of Invention, has died at age 70.

Black, a native of El Paso, Texas, died Saturday of cancer in Siegsdorf, Germany, according to Roddie Gilliard, a British musician who performed with him.

Born James Inkanish Jr. on Feb. 1, 1938, Black had Cheyenne Indian ancestry through both parents. He changed his name legally to Jimmy Carl Black in 1958, adapting the name of his stepfather, Carl Black.

He was playing in the Soul Giants in Los Angeles in 1964 when the group recruited Zappa. "He joined the band and three days later he took it over," Black once said.

Zappa changed the group’s name and, according to Black, boasted that "if you guys learn my music, I’ll make you rich and famous." "He took care of half of that promise, because I’m damn sure I didn’t get rich," Black recalled.

Source Billboard

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