Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood, 1942-2011. Motorhead Sherwood from the Mothers of Invention passed away on Christmas Day. He was one of the original Mothers, appeared in 200 Motels and Uncle Meat, and was on all of the albums with the original Mothers line-up. (He even showed up again with Jimmy Carl Black, the Indian of the Group, on 1981's You Are What You Is.) An immensely talented saxophonist, Motorhead played on both Cruisin' With Ruben & The Jets AND the album For Real! by the real Ruben & The Jets.
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me on Dec 26, 2011 - 18 comments

Drummer and vocalist Jimmy Carl Black, "the Indian of the group", who appeared on more Mothers of Invention records than you could shake a stick at, has passed away. Here's Jimmy drumming with The Mothers of Invention live on French TV 1968, live on BBC TV 1968, singing with The Muffin Men, 2002, and on one of his last gigs, singing Capt. Beefheart's Dropout Boogie in June 2008, in his duo with mad banjo wizard Eugene Chadbourne which they called The Jack and Jim Show. [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Nov 3, 2008 - 49 comments

Frank Zappa' was so many different things { Mother of Invention, orchestra conductor, garage freak, SNL musical guest, anti-censorship advocate, home movie maker, Congressional witness, Monkee, documentary film subject, whipping boy, drug trafficker, late-night TV talk show interviewee, death wisher, composer, Dance Fever judge, master of his domain, dental floss tycoon, cosmic force, breast man, Crossfire combatant and The Walrus, among others } that the one day he was recently given by Baltimore's Mayor hardly seems enoughs.
posted by Poolio on Aug 12, 2007 - 79 comments