Kim Vincent Fowley (1939 - 2015)

Born 21 Jul 1939 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States

Died 15 Jan 2015 at age 75 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States

Singer, Musician and Producer. Fowley, who has been described as "one of the most colorful characters in the annals of rock & roll", will best be remembered for his role behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1959, he began working in the music industry in various capacities for both Alan Freed and Berry Gordy. His first record as producer was "Charge" by The Renegades. During the early 1960s, he was involved as co-producer or co-publisher, with a string of successful records. He recorded the novelty song "Alley Oop", which reached # 1 on the charts in 1960 and was credited to the non-existent group The Hollywood Argyles. In 1961, he co-produced the instrumental "Like, Long Hair", which became a #38 hit for Paul Revere and the Raiders. He also worked on occasion as a recording artist in the 1960s and in 1965, he wrote and produced a song about the psychedelic experience, "The Trip", and later appeared on Frank Zappa's first album 'Freak Out!'. In the late 1960s, he produced the album 'I'm Back and I'm Proud' for Gene Vincent, co-wrote Warren Zevon's first solo album, 'Wanted Dead or Alive' and worked with The Byrds on a number of songs. During the 1970s, he produced albums by Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids and co-wrote songs for KISS, Helen Reddy, Alice Cooper, Leon Russell and Kris Kristofferson. In 1975, he met the teenage guitarist Joan Jett and Sandy West told Fowley of their aspirations to form an all-girl band. A short time later, he recruited Lita Ford, Cherie Currie and Jackie Fox which became The Runaways. While he did produce some of their albums and contributed lyrics to songs, the band was primarily responsible for creating their own music. In the 1980s, he produced for such bands as The Innocents, Candy, Steel Breeze and Shanghai. During the 2000s, he worked as a filmmaker and writer; his works include 'Black Room Doom', 'Dollboy: The Movie', 'Frankenstein Goes Surfing' and 'Jukebox California'. In 2008, director Guy Ritchie used his song "The Trip" in the film 'RocknRolla'. Fowley released the first part of his autobiography, 'Lord of Garbage' in 2012. The second installment of his autobiography will be called 'Planet Pain' and the last part of his autobiography is intended to be released posthumously. Fowley died after a long battle with bladder cancer.

Biography

Kim Fowley is Notable.

Sources

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 February 2018), memorial page for Kim Fowley (21 Jul 1939–15 Jan 2015), Find A Grave: Memorial #141373282, citing Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave .
• Kim Fowley Wikipedia page.
• This WikiTree profile is referenced from Wikidata: Item Q1378199, en:Wikipedia