Mothers Drummer Dies

Jimmy Carl Black, 70, drummer and vocalist for Frank Zappa’s band, The Mothers of Invention, has died of cancer in Siegsdorf, Germany.

Black, the self-dubbed “Indian of the group,” was playing with the Soul Giants in Los Angeles when Zappa joined the group in 1964 and, within three days, took it over, changing the band’s name, Black once said, promising 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.

The Mothers disbanded five years later and Black went on to perform in a number of groups including Geronimo Black, The Grandmothers and The Muffin Men.