Wild Man Fischer
Encyclopedia
Larry Wayne Fischer better known as Wild Man Fischer, was an American
songwriter
in the outsider
genre. He was notable for being responsible for Rhino Records' first release, Go To Rhino Records (1975). Fischer's highly unusual style had developed a cult following.
, California
, United States
, Fischer was institutionalized at age 16 for attacking his mother with a knife. He was later diagnosed with two mental disorders — severe paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
(manic depression). Following his release from the hospital, Fischer wandered Los Angeles singing his unique brand of songs for 10¢ to passers-by. Discovered by Frank Zappa
, with whom he recorded his first album, Fischer became an underground concert favorite, earning him the title "godfather of outsider music." Zappa was responsible for Fischer's initial foray into the business of music, an album called An Evening with Wild Man Fischer
, contains 36 tracks of "something not exactly musical." Zappa and Fischer remained close, until Fischer threw a jar at Zappa's daughter Moon Unit Zappa
, barely missing her. Due to this falling out, Zappa's widow Gail Zappa has not yet released An Evening with Wild Man Fischer
on CD.
In the 1980s, Fischer worked with Art and Artie Barnes (actually Bill Mumy
, of Lost in Space
/Babylon 5
fame, and Robert Haimer
), to produce two albums, Pronounced Normal (1981) and Nothing Scary (1984).
Fischer appeared on national television (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
) and was the subject of a comic book
(The Legend Of Wild Man Fischer).
In 1986, Barnes and Barnes also wrote and produced "It's A Hard Business", a duet featuring Fischer and Rosemary Clooney
. The song was the result of a telephone friendship that began after Clooney heard Fischer's song "Oh God, Please Send Me A Kid To Love." In 1987, Fisher performed his only East Coast performances at the Mass College of Art and Design.
on their album Sings Popular Songs.
In October 2004, Fischer appeared on ABC-TV's late-night talk/comedy show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He sang "Monkeys vs. Donkeys" while tapping on a backwards acoustic guitar, and also sat for a chat with the host, wherein he explained what it means to have "the pep" (i.e., when the spirit is in him and he's singing happily).
In 2005, Josh Rubin and Jeremy Lubin, collectively known as The Ubin Twinz
premiered their documentary about Wild Man Fischer, entitled Derailroaded: Inside The Mind Of Wild Man Fischer, at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. An Evening With Wild Man Fischer remains unreleased on CD. The awareness brought to Fischer by Derailroaded did, however, bring all three Rhino albums back in print on CD through Collectors' Choice Music.
Fischer made his final appearance on August 16, 2006, at the Trunk Space
in Phoenix, Arizona.
He was mentioned in Thomas Pynchon
's 2009 novel Inherent Vice
(pg. 155).
He was mentioned by Eric Clapton
in the opening of the 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival, "Wild Man Fischer lives...", in reply to Bill Murray
's introduction.
Fischer died in Los Angeles, on June 16, 2011 after heart problems.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
in the outsider
Outsider music
Outsider music, a term coined by Irwin Chusid in the mid-1990s, are songs and compositions by musicians who are not part of the commercial music industry who write songs that ignore standard musical or lyrical conventions, either because they have no formal training or because they disagree with...
genre. He was notable for being responsible for Rhino Records' first release, Go To Rhino Records (1975). Fischer's highly unusual style had developed a cult following.
Early life and career
Born Larry Wayne Fischer in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Fischer was institutionalized at age 16 for attacking his mother with a knife. He was later diagnosed with two mental disorders — severe paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
(manic depression). Following his release from the hospital, Fischer wandered Los Angeles singing his unique brand of songs for 10¢ to passers-by. Discovered by 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...
, with whom he recorded his first album, Fischer became an underground concert favorite, earning him the title "godfather of outsider music." Zappa was responsible for Fischer's initial foray into the business of music, an album called An Evening with Wild Man Fischer
An Evening with Wild Man Fischer
An Evening with Wild Man Fischer is a 1968 double LP album by Wild Man Fischer released on Frank Zappa's Bizarre record label. The copyright is owned by the estate of Frank Zappa, but his widow Gail Zappa has chosen to not release it on Compact Disc....
, contains 36 tracks of "something not exactly musical." Zappa and Fischer remained close, until Fischer threw a jar at Zappa's daughter Moon Unit Zappa
Moon Zappa
Moon Unit Zappa is an American actress, musician and author. She goes by the name Moon Zappa; "Unit" is her middle name.-Personal life:...
, barely missing her. Due to this falling out, Zappa's widow Gail Zappa has not yet released An Evening with Wild Man Fischer
An Evening with Wild Man Fischer
An Evening with Wild Man Fischer is a 1968 double LP album by Wild Man Fischer released on Frank Zappa's Bizarre record label. The copyright is owned by the estate of Frank Zappa, but his widow Gail Zappa has chosen to not release it on Compact Disc....
on CD.
In the 1980s, Fischer worked with Art and Artie Barnes (actually Bill Mumy
Bill Mumy
Charles William "Bill" Mumy, Jr. is an American actor, musician, pitchman, instrumentalist, voice-over artist and a figure in the science-fiction community. He is known primarily for his work as a child television actor....
, of Lost in Space
Lost in Space
Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965, and March 6, 1968...
/Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
fame, and Robert Haimer
Robert Haimer
Robert Haimer is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He performed in the two-man band Barnes & Barnes as his stage persona Artie Barnes, alongside actor and musician Bill Mumy. Haimer became friends with Mumy in 1965 at his schools Halloween carnival day. Recently, Haimer has sold...
), to produce two albums, Pronounced Normal (1981) and Nothing Scary (1984).
Fischer appeared on national television (Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is an American sketch comedy television program which ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to May 14, 1973. It was hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and was broadcast over NBC...
) and was the subject of a comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
(The Legend Of Wild Man Fischer).
In 1986, Barnes and Barnes also wrote and produced "It's A Hard Business", a duet featuring Fischer and Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
. The song was the result of a telephone friendship that began after Clooney heard Fischer's song "Oh God, Please Send Me A Kid To Love." In 1987, Fisher performed his only East Coast performances at the Mass College of Art and Design.
Rediscovery
In 1999, Rhino released The Fischer King, a two-CD package comprising 100 tracks and a 20-page booklet, which sold out within weeks. The limited-edition album comprises his entire Rhino catalogue, including the albums with Barnes and Barnes and Wildmania (1977), along with his duet with Clooney. Fischer also appears as guest vocalist with the noise band SmegmaSmegma (band)
Smegma is an American experimental noise group formed in Pasadena, California in 1973 and currently based in Portland, Oregon. Originally part of the Los Angeles Free Music Society movement of the 1970s, Smegma is one of the few music collectives of that era still active today. Author Richard...
on their album Sings Popular Songs.
In October 2004, Fischer appeared on ABC-TV's late-night talk/comedy show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He sang "Monkeys vs. Donkeys" while tapping on a backwards acoustic guitar, and also sat for a chat with the host, wherein he explained what it means to have "the pep" (i.e., when the spirit is in him and he's singing happily).
In 2005, Josh Rubin and Jeremy Lubin, collectively known as The Ubin Twinz
The Ubin Twinz
The Ubin Twinz are Josh Rubin and Jeremy Lubin , who made the 2005 film DERAILROADED:Inside the Mind of Wild Man Fischer.-External links:*....
premiered their documentary about Wild Man Fischer, entitled Derailroaded: Inside The Mind Of Wild Man Fischer, at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. An Evening With Wild Man Fischer remains unreleased on CD. The awareness brought to Fischer by Derailroaded did, however, bring all three Rhino albums back in print on CD through Collectors' Choice Music.
Fischer made his final appearance on August 16, 2006, at the Trunk Space
Trunk Space
The Trunk Space is an all-ages music venue, art gallery, and performance space in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, USA. It is located on Grand Avenue, between 19th Avenue and 15th Avenue....
in Phoenix, Arizona.
He was mentioned in Thomas Pynchon
Thomas Pynchon
Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist. For his most praised novel, Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon received the National Book Award, and is regularly cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature...
's 2009 novel Inherent Vice
Inherent Vice
Inherent Vice is a novel by Thomas Pynchon, originally published in August 2009.-Title:The term "inherent vice" is a legal tenet referring to a "hidden defect of a good or property which of itself is the cause of its deterioration, damage, or wastage...
(pg. 155).
He was mentioned by Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
in the opening of the 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival, "Wild Man Fischer lives...", in reply to Bill Murray
Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
's introduction.
Fischer died in Los Angeles, on June 16, 2011 after heart problems.
Discography
- May 1968 - Laminas (rare 7" 33rpm project of UCLA art students, 3 tracks by Larry, miscredited as "Fisher")
- 1969 - An Evening with Wild Man FischerAn Evening with Wild Man FischerAn Evening with Wild Man Fischer is a 1968 double LP album by Wild Man Fischer released on Frank Zappa's Bizarre record label. The copyright is owned by the estate of Frank Zappa, but his widow Gail Zappa has chosen to not release it on Compact Disc....
, Bizarre RecordsBizarre 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... - 1975 - "Go To Rhino Records" (single), Rhino Records
- 1977 - Wildmania, Rhino Records
- 1981 - Pronounced Normal, Rhino Records
- 1981 - "Don't Be A Singer"/"I Got A Camera"/"Do The Salvo" (single), Rhino Records
- 1983 - Nothing Scary, Rhino Records
- 1999 - The Fischer King, Rhino Records (compilation of all Rhino recordings)
External links
- Wild Man Fischer, Outsider Musician, Dies at 66 Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
obituary - Wild Man Fischer, Outsider Musician, Dies at 66 New York Times obituary
- A discography page.
- Derailroaded: Inside The Mind Of Wild Man Fischer a documentary.