Euclid James Sherwood
Encyclopedia
Jim "Motorhead" Sherwood (b. May 8, 1942, Arkansas City, Kansas
) is an American
rock music
ian notable for playing soprano
, tenor
and baritone
saxophone
, tambourine
, vocals
and vocal sound effects in Frank Zappa
's Mothers of Invention
. He appeared on all the albums of the original Mothers line-up and the posthumous releases Burnt Weeny Sandwich
and Weasels Ripped My Flesh
, as well as certain subsequent Zappa albums. He also appeared in the films 200 Motels
, Video from Hell
and Uncle Meat
.
records. Sherwood sat in with Zappa's first band, R&B group The Black-Outs, at various performances, where he was often a highlight:
Sherwood and Zappa subsequently played together in Ontario
, in rock'n'roll
/R&B
group The Omens. Sherwood also played with the Blackouts in 1957-1962 and The Village Inn Band in 1965. After Zappa's first marriage began to break up in 1964, he bought local producer Paul Buff's Pal Recording Studio
, renaming it "Studio Z", and he and Sherwood lived in the studio for a time. Sherwood first joined The Mothers of Invention as a roadie and equipment manager, also contributing sound effects (using both his voice and saxophone) to their first album, 1966's Freak Out!
He became a full member around the time of the group's experimental residence at the Garrick Theater
in 1967, of which future bandmate Ruth Underwood
, then an audience member, recalls that "there were some nights that you just heard pure music, and other nights, Motorhead'd be talking about fixing his car, with Jim Black
's drum beat in the background".
Zappa disbanded the original Mothers line-up in 1969. Sherwood was one of several members that would play for him again in subsequent years, appearing on 1981's You Are What You Is
, the Läther
box set, and the last album Zappa completed before his death, Civilization Phaze III. In 1971 Sherwood appeared the movie in 200 Motels as Larry Fanoga. In 1973, Sherwood played on For Real!
, the first album of Los Angeles doo-wop group Ruben and the Jets
, who Zappa had granted permission to use the name of his fictional group, also producing
the record and contributing arrangement
s and the song "If I Could Only Be Your Love Again". Allmusic's Bruce Eder notes the record's "beautifully crafted breaks on sax" by Sherwood and Robert "Buffalo" Roberts. Ruben and the Jets toured in support of Zappa on the West Coast in 1972 and produced one other album, but split after lead singer Rubén Guevara was offered a solo recording contract. There were also financial difficulties, Sherwood noting that the group played "too many benefits and not enough paying gigs".
The nickname "Motorhead" was coined by fellow Mothers member Ray Collins
, who observed that Sherwood always seemed to be working on repairing cars, trucks or motorcycles, and joked that "it sounds like you've got a little motor in your head". Sherwood was also occasionally credited as his alter ego
"Larry Fanoga" or as "Fred Fanoga".
In later years, Sherwood has contributed to various projects alongside his fellow Mothers alumni, including records by The Grandmothers, Mothers keyboardist Don Preston
, Ant-Bee
and Sandro Oliva.
Arkansas City, Kansas
Arkansas City is a city situated at the confluence of the Arkansas and Walnut rivers in the southwestern part of Cowley County, located in south-central Kansas, in the central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,415....
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
ian notable for playing soprano
Soprano saxophone
The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
, tenor
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
and baritone
Baritone saxophone
The baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
, vocals
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
and vocal sound effects in Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
's Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention were an American band active from 1964 to 1969, and again from 1970 to 1975.They mainly performed works by, and were the original recording group of, US composer and guitarist Frank Zappa , although other members have had the occasional writing credit...
. He appeared on all the albums of the original Mothers line-up and the posthumous releases Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Burnt Weeny Sandwich is a live and studio compilation album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in 1970 ....
and Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Weasels Ripped My Flesh is an album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in 1970.Given Zappa's already stated penchant for expressing his music in "phases"—We're Only in It for the Money was written up as "phase one of Lumpy Gravy"—conceptually, Zappa fans occasionally label this...
, as well as certain subsequent Zappa albums. He also appeared in the films 200 Motels
200 Motels
200 Motels is a 1971 American-British musical surrealist film cowritten and directed by Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer and starring The Mothers of Invention, Theodore Bikel and Ringo Starr. The film covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town Centerville...
, Video from Hell
Video from Hell
Video From Hell is a video released in 1987 by Frank Zappa. It is a compilation of pieces of music and video from a series of projects that Zappa presumably planned to finish and release for home video, including a companion video for the You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore series of albums, but...
and Uncle Meat
Uncle Meat (film)
Uncle Meat is a film written and directed by Frank Zappa, released directly to video in 1987. Principal photography having never been completed, the videocassette is actually a "making of" documentary showing rehearsals and background footage from 1968 and interviews with people involved with the...
.
Biography
Sherwood and Zappa met in high school in 1956. Sherwood was in a class with Zappa's brother Bobby, who introduced the two after learning that Sherwood was a collector of bluesBlues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
records. Sherwood sat in with Zappa's first band, R&B group The Black-Outs, at various performances, where he was often a highlight:
Sherwood and Zappa subsequently played together in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, in rock'n'roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
/R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
group The Omens. Sherwood also played with the Blackouts in 1957-1962 and The Village Inn Band in 1965. After Zappa's first marriage began to break up in 1964, he bought local producer Paul Buff's Pal Recording Studio
Pal Recording Studio
Pal Recording Studio was an independent recording studio that operated in Cucamonga, California The studio was started by engineer/innovator Paul Buff. The studio is known for its instrumental Surf music recordings like Wipeout and the original demo recording of Pipeline. The original location...
, renaming it "Studio Z", and he and Sherwood lived in the studio for a time. Sherwood first joined The Mothers of Invention as a roadie and equipment manager, also contributing sound effects (using both his voice and saxophone) to their first album, 1966's Freak Out!
Freak Out!
Freak Out! is the debut album by American band The Mothers of Invention, released June 27, 1966 on Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, the album is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa's perception of American pop culture...
He became a full member around the time of the group's experimental residence at the Garrick Theater
Garrick Theatre (New York)
The Garrick Theatre was a 910 seat theatre built in 1890 and located on 67 West 35th Street New York. Designed by Francis Hatch Kimball and commissioned by Edward Harrigan, who managed the theatre, originally named Harringan's Theatre, until 1895. Richard Mansfield took over from Harrigan, renaming...
in 1967, of which future bandmate Ruth Underwood
Ruth Underwood
Ruth Underwood is a retired professional musician, best known for playing xylophone, marimba, vibraphone and other percussion instruments in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention from 1967 to 1977....
, then an audience member, recalls that "there were some nights that you just heard pure music, and other nights, Motorhead'd be talking about fixing his car, with Jim Black
Jimmy Carl Black
Jimmy Carl Black , born James Inkanish, Jr., was a drummer and vocalist for The Mothers of Invention.-Career: 1960s-1990s:Born in El Paso, Texas, Black was of Cheyenne heritage...
's drum beat in the background".
Zappa disbanded the original Mothers line-up in 1969. Sherwood was one of several members that would play for him again in subsequent years, appearing on 1981's You Are What You Is
You Are What You Is
You Are What You Is is a double album by Frank Zappa. It was originally released as a two-record set in 1981 and later by Rykodisc as a 20-song CD. The album relies on a heavy use of overdubbing. This album was the first one to feature material recorded using Zappa's home studio Utility Muffin...
, the Läther
Läther
Läther is an album by Frank Zappa which was released on CD posthumously in 1996. Produced by Zappa in 1977, the recordings contained in Läther were made between 1972 and 1977 . A collection of these tapes was delivered to Warner Bros...
box set, and the last album Zappa completed before his death, Civilization Phaze III. In 1971 Sherwood appeared the movie in 200 Motels as Larry Fanoga. In 1973, Sherwood played on For Real!
For Real!
For Real! is the debut album of Ruben and the Jets. Released in 1973, the album was produced by Frank Zappa, whose Cruising with Ruben & the Jets album was the source of the band's name...
, the first album of Los Angeles doo-wop group Ruben and the Jets
Ruben and the Jets
For the celebrity photographer go to Tony Duran Ruben and the Jets was a Los Angeles-based doo-wop, rhythm and blues and rock and roll band active between 1972 and 1974. Led by Ruben Guevara, band members included Tony Duran, Robert "Frog" Camarena, Johhny Martinez, Robert "Buffalo" Roberts, Bill...
, who Zappa had granted permission to use the name of his fictional group, also producing
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
the record and contributing arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s and the song "If I Could Only Be Your Love Again". Allmusic's Bruce Eder notes the record's "beautifully crafted breaks on sax" by Sherwood and Robert "Buffalo" Roberts. Ruben and the Jets toured in support of Zappa on the West Coast in 1972 and produced one other album, but split after lead singer Rubén Guevara was offered a solo recording contract. There were also financial difficulties, Sherwood noting that the group played "too many benefits and not enough paying gigs".
The nickname "Motorhead" was coined by fellow Mothers member Ray Collins
Ray Collins (rock musician)
Ray Collins was born on November 19, 1936 and grew up in Pomona, California singing in his school choir, the son of a local police officer. He quit high school to get married. He started his musical career singing falsetto backup vocals for various 'doo-wop' groups in the Los Angeles area in the...
, who observed that Sherwood always seemed to be working on repairing cars, trucks or motorcycles, and joked that "it sounds like you've got a little motor in your head". Sherwood was also occasionally credited as his alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
"Larry Fanoga" or as "Fred Fanoga".
In later years, Sherwood has contributed to various projects alongside his fellow Mothers alumni, including records by The Grandmothers, Mothers keyboardist Don Preston
Don Preston
Donald Ward Preston also known as Dom DeWilde or Biff Debrie born September 21, 1932 in Flint, Michigan. Preston is an American jazz and rock and roll musician.-Biography:Preston was born into a family of musicians and began studying music at an early age...
, Ant-Bee
Ant-Bee
Ant-Bee, also known as Billy James, was born on November 11, 1960 in Charlotte, North Carolina.-Biography:Billy James, an author of rock biographies and a musician in his own right, reassembled great musicians from the psychedelic era in his own Ant-Bee project...
and Sandro Oliva.
With the Mothers of Invention
- Freak Out!Freak Out!Freak Out! is the debut album by American band The Mothers of Invention, released June 27, 1966 on Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, the album is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa's perception of American pop culture...
(VerveVerve RecordsVerve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
, 1966) - Absolutely FreeAbsolutely FreeAbsolutely Free is the second album by The Mothers of Invention, led by Frank Zappa. Absolutely Free is, again, a display of complex musical composition with political and social satire. The band had been augmented since Freak Out! by the addition of saxophone player Bunk Gardner, keyboardist Don...
(Verve, 1967) - We're Only in It for the MoneyWe're Only in It for the MoneyWe're Only in It For the Money is the third studio album by The Mothers of Invention, released in March 1968. The album peaked at number thirty on the Billboard 200...
(Verve, 1967) - Cruising with Ruben & the JetsCruising with Ruben & the JetsCruising With Ruben & The Jets is an album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in December 1968, and controversially reissued in an alternate mix with newly recorded bass and percussion in 1984.-Concept:...
(Verve, 1968) - Uncle MeatUncle MeatUncle Meat is the fifth studio album by the Mothers of Invention, released in 1969. It is billed as a supposed "soundtrack" to a film by The Mothers of Invention which was, in the end, never made. The front cover, designed by Cal Schenkel, included the words ""...
(BizarreBizarre RecordsBizarre Records was a record label formed for artists discovered by rock musician Frank Zappa and his business partner/manager Herb Cohen.Bizarre was originally formed as a production company...
, 1969) - Burnt Weeny SandwichBurnt Weeny SandwichBurnt Weeny Sandwich is a live and studio compilation album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in 1970 ....
(Bizarre, 1970) - Weasels Ripped My FleshWeasels Ripped My FleshWeasels Ripped My Flesh is an album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in 1970.Given Zappa's already stated penchant for expressing his music in "phases"—We're Only in It for the Money was written up as "phase one of Lumpy Gravy"—conceptually, Zappa fans occasionally label this...
(Bizarre, 1970) - Ahead of Their TimeAhead of Their TimeAhead of Their Time is a live album by The Mothers of Invention. It was recorded at the Royal Festival Hall, London, England on October 25, 1968 , and released in 1993 on CD by Barking Pumpkin...
(RykodiscRykodiscRykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
, 1993)
With Frank Zappa
- Lumpy GravyLumpy GravyLumpy Gravy is the first solo album by Frank Zappa, originally released in 1967, but not generally available until May 1968. Zappa was credited as conductor on the album cover and he described the contents as "a curiously inconsistent piece, which started out to be a BALLET, but probably didn't...
(Verve, 1967) - You Are What You IsYou Are What You IsYou Are What You Is is a double album by Frank Zappa. It was originally released as a two-record set in 1981 and later by Rykodisc as a 20-song CD. The album relies on a heavy use of overdubbing. This album was the first one to feature material recorded using Zappa's home studio Utility Muffin...
(Barking PumpkinBarking Pumpkin RecordsBarking Pumpkin Records was a record label created by Frank Zappa in 1981. The label was initially distributed by CBS Records from 1981–1984 and Capitol Records from 1984 - 1993. Records sold outside of the US and Canada were distributed by the Music for Nations label. In 1993, after Zappa's death,...
, 1981) - You Can't Do That on Stage AnymoreYou Can't Do That on Stage Anymore- For the Frank Zappa live compilations see :*You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1*You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2*You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3*You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4*You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5...
(sampler) (Rykodisc, 1988) - You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 is a double disc set of live tracks by Frank Zappa. It was released in 1988 under the label Rykodisc.-Disc one:#"The Florida Airport Tape" – 1:03...
(Rykodisc, 1988) - You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4 is a two-CD set of live recordings by Frank Zappa, recorded between 1969 and 1988, and released in 1991.-Disc one:#"Little Rubber Girl" - #*...
(Rykodisc, 1991) - You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5 is a double compact disc collection of live recordings by Frank Zappa. Disc one comprises performances by the Mothers of Invention spanning the period from 1966 to 1969. "My Guitar" had been previously released as a single in 1969...
(Rykodisc, 1992) - Civilization Phaze III (Barking Pumpkin, 1994)
- LätherLätherLäther is an album by Frank Zappa which was released on CD posthumously in 1996. Produced by Zappa in 1977, the recordings contained in Läther were made between 1972 and 1977 . A collection of these tapes was delivered to Warner Bros...
(Rykodisc, 1996) - Mystery DiscMystery DiscMystery Disc is a compilation album by Frank Zappa. It was released on CD in 1998, compiling tracks that were originally released on two separate vinyl records and included in the mail order Old Masters box sets, which were released in three volumes between 1985 and 1987...
(Rykodisc, 1998) - The MOFO Project/Object (Zappa, 2006)
With The Grandmothers
- Grandmothers (Line, 1981)
- Lookin' Up Granny's Dress (RhinoRhino EntertainmentRhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes...
, 1982) - A Mother of an Anthology (One Way, 1993)
With Ant-Bee
- Snorks & Wheezes (K7, 1993)
- The @x!#*% of.... (K7, 1993)
- With My Favorite "Vegetables" and Other Bizarre Music (DivineDivine RecordsDivine Records is a record label owned by Colm Walsh. Early in its career it was associated with bands like Just A Philistine, The Intoxicating Rhythm Section and The Poets That Know It, later a collaboration with Martin Heath and Rhythm King Records resulted in the first three The Sultans of Ping...
, 1994) - Lunar Musik (Divine Records, 1995)
Filmography
- 200 Motels200 Motels200 Motels is a 1971 American-British musical surrealist film cowritten and directed by Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer and starring The Mothers of Invention, Theodore Bikel and Ringo Starr. The film covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town Centerville...
(1971) - Video from HellVideo from HellVideo From Hell is a video released in 1987 by Frank Zappa. It is a compilation of pieces of music and video from a series of projects that Zappa presumably planned to finish and release for home video, including a companion video for the You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore series of albums, but...
(1985) - Uncle MeatUncle Meat (film)Uncle Meat is a film written and directed by Frank Zappa, released directly to video in 1987. Principal photography having never been completed, the videocassette is actually a "making of" documentary showing rehearsals and background footage from 1968 and interviews with people involved with the...
(1987) - The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 MotelsThe True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 MotelsThe True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels is a video documentary film released in 1989 by Frank Zappa, detailing the making of Zappa's 1971 film 200 Motels.-Cast:Appearing as themselves:*Theodore Bikel*Jimmy Carl Black*George Duke...
(1989)
External links
- [ Jim Sherwood] at Allmusic