Napoleon Murphy Brock
Encyclopedia
Napoleon Murphy Brock is an American
singer, saxophonist and flute
player who is best known for his work with Frank Zappa
in the 1970s, including the albums One Size Fits All
, Roxy and Elsewhere, and Bongo Fury
. His own most memorable vocal accomplishments are illustrated on the songs "Village of the Sun" and "Florentine Pogen."
's Thing-Fish
album. He has also performed with George Duke
, Captain Beefheart
and more recently with Neonfire and http://www.dimensiononerecords.com/index.php/roster/robertkramer. He remains a regular performer at Zappanale.
Brock appeared in the 2005 film Rock School
, a documentary about The Paul Green School of Rock Music
, an extracurricular music program that he and Project/Object have closely supported for several years.
In 2006, he toured with Frank Zappa's son Dweezil
on the latter's Zappa Plays Zappa
shows. He also regularly tours with fellow Zappa alumnus Ike Willis
and others with Andre Cholmondeley's Project/Object. Other Zappa related projects he's been involved with include the Tampa, Florida
based band Bogus Pomp, and the 16 piece Ed Palermo Big Band
from New York City.
He is most frequently seen fronting the Grande Mothers Re-Invented with Roy Estrada
and Don Preston
(the only Frank Zappa alumni from the Mothers of Invention regularly performing the music of Frank Zappa). They have over 91 performances since 2002.
His own most recent release is the 2003 album Balls.
Mr. Brock is mentioned in the 2007 memoir, "My Lobotomy" by Howard Dully
and Charles Fleming, which describes Mr. Dully's experiences before and after undergoing an icepick transorbital lobotomy
in 1960, at 12 years of age. Mr. Brock, while studying psychology and music at San Jose State University, was employed in the mid-1960s as a counselor at Rancho Linda, a "residential center for special education" where Mr. Dully lived after the having the procedure and being released from juvenile hall and a mental asylum. Mr. Dully had fond memories of Mr. Brock, and described him having "played all kinds of instruments" and as "cool."
on February 8, 2009, Napoleon won a Grammy
for his performance of the song "Peaches en Regalia
" with the band Zappa Plays Zappa, which also featured Steve Vai
. The song originally appeared on Zappa's 1969 Hot Rats
LP.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer, saxophonist and flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
player who is best known for his work with 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...
in the 1970s, including the albums One Size Fits All
One Size Fits All
One Size Fits All is a 1975 rock album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. It is the last Zappa album to be released with the subheading of "Mothers of Invention". A special four-channel Quadraphonic version of the album was prepared and advertised, but not released...
, Roxy and Elsewhere, and Bongo Fury
Bongo Fury
Bongo Fury is a mostly live album released by Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart in 1975. The live portions were recorded on May 20 & 21, 1975 at the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, Texas...
. His own most memorable vocal accomplishments are illustrated on the songs "Village of the Sun" and "Florentine Pogen."
Career
Napoleon Murphy Brock's early days numerous performances include the role of the "Evil Prince" on ZappaFrank 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 Thing-Fish
Thing-Fish
-1995 Rykodisc CD Release:- Cast :*Thing-Fish—Ike Willis*Harry—Terry Bozzio*Rhonda—Dale Bozzio*The Evil Prince—Napoleon Murphy Brock*Harry-As-A-Boy—Bob Harris*Brown Moses—Johnny "Guitar" Watson*Owl-Gonkwin-Jane Cowhoon—Ray White- Musicians :...
album. He has also performed with George Duke
George Duke
George Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
, Captain Beefheart
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
and more recently with Neonfire and http://www.dimensiononerecords.com/index.php/roster/robertkramer. He remains a regular performer at Zappanale.
Brock appeared in the 2005 film Rock School
Rock School (film)
Rock School is a 2005 documentary film directed and produced by Don Argott.The documentary exhibits The Paul Green School of Rock Music through the eyes of its founder, Paul Green. A New York Magazine film critic said "Paul Green is letting his students in on a secret of life that goes beyond...
, a documentary about The Paul Green School of Rock Music
The Paul Green School of Rock Music
School of Rock is a performance-based music program for those between the ages of 8 and 18. This for-profit educational company operates and franchises after-school music instructional programs in the United States and Mexico...
, an extracurricular music program that he and Project/Object have closely supported for several years.
In 2006, he toured with Frank Zappa's son Dweezil
Dweezil Zappa
Dweezil Zappa is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor.-Early life:Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of musician Frank Zappa and Adelaide Gail Sloatman, who worked in business. He is the second of four siblings: his older sister, Moon, younger sister Diva and younger...
on the latter's Zappa Plays Zappa
Zappa Plays Zappa
Zappa Plays Zappa is an American tribute act led by Dweezil Zappa, the eldest son of the late American composer and musician Frank Zappa, devoted to performing the music of Frank Zappa.- History :...
shows. He also regularly tours with fellow Zappa alumnus Ike Willis
Ike Willis
Ike Willis is a singer and guitarist who was a regular sideman for Frank Zappa, first joining Zappa's band for the fall 1978 tour and remaining in the band for several years. He did not tour with Zappa in 1981 and 1982 for personal reasons, but returned to touring with Zappa for his final two...
and others with Andre Cholmondeley's Project/Object. Other Zappa related projects he's been involved with include the Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
based band Bogus Pomp, and the 16 piece Ed Palermo Big Band
Ed Palermo Big Band
The Ed Palermo Big Band is a big band that has been active for nearly 30 years playing the compositions and arrangements of their leader and namesake Ed Palermo. They are best known for the arrangements of the music of Frank Zappa that Palermo has prepared for them...
from New York City.
He is most frequently seen fronting the Grande Mothers Re-Invented with Roy Estrada
Roy Estrada
Roy Estrada is an American musician and backing vocalist, best known for his bass guitar work with Frank Zappa and for co-founding Little Feat.-Biography:With drummer Jimmy Carl Black and Ray Collins, Estrada was an original member of Frank Zappa's...
and 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...
(the only Frank Zappa alumni from the Mothers of Invention regularly performing the music of Frank Zappa). They have over 91 performances since 2002.
His own most recent release is the 2003 album Balls.
Mr. Brock is mentioned in the 2007 memoir, "My Lobotomy" by Howard Dully
Howard Dully
Howard Dully is one of the youngest recipients of the transorbital lobotomy, a procedure performed on him when he was 12 years old. Dully received international attention in 2005, following the broadcasting of his story on National Public Radio...
and Charles Fleming, which describes Mr. Dully's experiences before and after undergoing an icepick transorbital lobotomy
Lobotomy
Lobotomy "; τομή – tomē: "cut/slice") is a neurosurgical procedure, a form of psychosurgery, also known as a leukotomy or leucotomy . It consists of cutting the connections to and from the prefrontal cortex, the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain...
in 1960, at 12 years of age. Mr. Brock, while studying psychology and music at San Jose State University, was employed in the mid-1960s as a counselor at Rancho Linda, a "residential center for special education" where Mr. Dully lived after the having the procedure and being released from juvenile hall and a mental asylum. Mr. Dully had fond memories of Mr. Brock, and described him having "played all kinds of instruments" and as "cool."
Grammy Award
At the 51st Grammy Awards51st Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 8, 2009. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the biggest winners of the night, jointly winning five awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year...
on February 8, 2009, Napoleon won a Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for his performance of the song "Peaches en Regalia
Peaches en Regalia
"Peaches en Regalia" is an instrumental jazz fusion composition by Frank Zappa. It was released on Zappa's album Hot Rats in 1969 and has been recorded many times since. It was also released as a single in 1970, with "Little Umbrellas" as the B-side...
" with the band Zappa Plays Zappa, which also featured Steve Vai
Steve Vai
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai is a three time Grammy Award-winning American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. Steve Vai is widely known as a flamboyant guitar virtuoso....
. The song originally appeared on Zappa's 1969 Hot Rats
Hot Rats
Hot Rats is the second solo album by Frank Zappa. It was released in October 1969. Five of the six songs are instrumental . It was Zappa's first recording project after the dissolution of the original Mothers of Invention...
LP.
Film
Brock has appeared in several Zappa documentaries and movies. They include:- Baby SnakesBaby SnakesBaby Snakes is a movie which includes footage from Frank Zappa's 1977 Halloween concert at New York City's Palladium Theater, backstage antics from the crew, and stop motion clay animation from award-winning animator Bruce Bickford....
(background) - The Dub Room SpecialThe Dub Room SpecialThe Dub Room Special is a film produced by Frank Zappa for direct-to-video release in October, 1982. The video combines footage from a performance at the KCET studios in Los Angeles on August 27, 1974, a concert performed at The Palladium, NYC on October 31, 1981, some clay animation by Bruce...
- The Amazing Mr. BickfordThe Amazing Mr. BickfordThe Amazing Mr. Bickford is a video released by Frank Zappa in 1987, containing orchestral pieces by Zappa set to the clay animation of Bruce Bickford.-See also:*Adult animation*List of stop-motion films*List of animated feature-length films...
(on a television screen in the background) - 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...
(background) - 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...
Solo albums
| Year | Album | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Balls | Flute, Piano, Keyboards, Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor), Vocals, Whistle (Human), Producer, Harmony Vocals, Fender Rhodes, Synthesizer Bass, Screams |
Appearances on Zappa albums
| Year | Album | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Apostrophe (') Apostrophe (') Apostrophe is an album by Frank Zappa, his eighteenth, released on March 22, 1974 in both stereo and quadraphonic formats. An edited version of its lead-off track, "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow", was Zappa's first chart single, reaching position 86. Apostrophe remains Zappa's biggest commercial... |
Saxophone, Vocals |
| 1974 | Roxy & Elsewhere Roxy & Elsewhere Roxy & Elsewhere is a live album by Frank Zappa & The Mothers which was released in 1974. Most of the songs were recorded at The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, California on December 8, 9 and 10, 1973... |
Tenor Sax, Flute, Lead Vocals, Co-writer of Dummy Up |
| 1975 | One Size Fits All One Size Fits All One Size Fits All is a 1975 rock album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. It is the last Zappa album to be released with the subheading of "Mothers of Invention". A special four-channel Quadraphonic version of the album was prepared and advertised, but not released... |
Flute and Tenor Sax, Lead Vocals on Florentine Pogen and Andy, background vocals on other tunes |
| 1975 | Bongo Fury Bongo Fury Bongo Fury is a mostly live album released by Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart in 1975. The live portions were recorded on May 20 & 21, 1975 at the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, Texas... |
Saxophone, Vocals |
| 1976 | Zoot Allures Zoot Allures Zoot Allures is a 1976 rock album by Frank Zappa. This was Zappa's only release on the Warner Bros. Records label. Due to a lawsuit with his former manager Herb Cohen Frank Zappa's recording contract was temporarily re-assigned from DiscReet Records to Warner Bros.The title is a pun on the French... |
Saxophone, Vocals |
| 1979 | Sleep Dirt Sleep Dirt Sleep Dirt is an album by Frank Zappa released in January, 1979 on his own DiscReet Records label. It reached 175 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart... |
Saxophone |
| 1979 | Sheik Yerbouti Sheik Yerbouti Sheik Yerbouti is a double vinyl album by Frank Zappa made up of material recorded in 1977 and 1978. It was first released on March 3 1979 as the first release on Zappa Records and re-issued on compact disc, first in unauthorized form by EMI in 1986 and then by Rykodisc in 1990 and then again in 1995... |
Saxophone, Vocals, Background Vocals |
| 1984 | Them or Us Them or Us Them or Us is an album by Frank Zappa, released in October 1984. Its opening and closing tracks are covers: "The Closer You Are", which was written by Earl Lewis and Morgan Robinson and originally released by The Channels; and "Whippin' Post", originally recorded by The Allman Brothers Band. ... |
Guitar, Saxophone, Vocals, Harmony Vocals |
| 1984 | Thing-Fish Thing-Fish -1995 Rykodisc CD Release:- Cast :*Thing-Fish—Ike Willis*Harry—Terry Bozzio*Rhonda—Dale Bozzio*The Evil Prince—Napoleon Murphy Brock*Harry-As-A-Boy—Bob Harris*Brown Moses—Johnny "Guitar" Watson*Owl-Gonkwin-Jane Cowhoon—Ray White- Musicians :... |
Saxophone, Vocals, Cast |
| 1988 | You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 You 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... |
Saxophone, Vocals |
| 1988 | You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 is a live album by Frank Zappa. Despite the subtitle "The Helsinki Concert," the album is not one complete concert, but was, in fact, assembled from two different concerts performed in Helsinki in 1974... |
Saxophone, Vocals |
| 1989 | You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3 is a double disc collection of live recordings by Frank Zappa, spanning from December 10, 1971 to December 23, 1984. "Sharleena" had been previously issued as a flexidisc in "Guitar Player" magazine. All the songs on disc one are by the 1984 band... |
Saxophone, Vocals |
| 1991 | You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4 You 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" - #*... |
Saxophone, Vocals |
| 1991 | You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 is the last of six double disc collection volumes of live performances by Frank Zappa recorded between 1970 and 1988. All of the material on Disc one has a sexual theme. It was released on October 23, 1992 under the label Rykodisc.-Disc one:#"The M.O.I... |
Saxophone, Vocals |
| 1995 | Strictly Commercial Strictly Commercial Strictly Commercial is a compilation album by Frank Zappa. It was released in 1995 , two years after his death.-Side one:#"Peaches en Regalia"#"Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" #"Dancin' Fool"... |
|
| 1996 | Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute is a posthumous album by Frank Zappa.According to the liner notes, Frank's son Dweezil talked with his father shortly before Frank's death about the songs Frank had written that he would consider to be his "signature" tunes. These were... |
|
| 1997 | Have I Offended Someone? Have I Offended Someone? Have I Offended Someone? is a compilation album featuring music by Frank Zappa, and was posthumously released in 1997. As indicated by the title, it compiles a number of Zappa's songs that have gained notoriety as being particularly offensive, and often satirical or parodic... |
|
| 1998 | Cheap Thrills Cheap Thrills (Frank Zappa album) Cheap Thrills is a compilation album by Frank Zappa, with material from previously released albums.* Original recordings produced by FZ.* Compiled by the original Joe Black.* Intramural sports by David Greenberg.* Sampler mastered by Toby Mountain.... |
|
| 1999 | Son of Cheep Thrills Son of Cheep Thrills Son of Cheep Thrills is a compilation album by Frank Zappa, with material from previously released albums.* Original recordings produced by FZ.* Compiled by the original Joe Black.* Intramural sports by David Greenberg.... |
Appearances on George Duke albums
| Year | Album | Credit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Don't Let Go | Vocals | |
| 1979 | Follow the Rainbow | Vocals | |
| 1979 | Master of the Game | Vocals |
External links
- Official Napoleon Murphy Brock website
- Panel Discussion: Brown Shoes Don’t Make It – The Music of Frank Zappa with Bill Milkowski, Michael G. Nastos, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Ed Palermo, Ralphe Armstrong.