Ike Willis RIP

[Rabshakeh]

Maybe a slightly niche one on this forum, but soul singer and long time vocalist for Frank Zappa, Ike Willis, apparently passed away on 16 May from prostate cancer.

His voice was a huge part of my teenage years.

[Rooster_Ties]

Arguably Frank’s best lead-singer (at least in my estimation) — with a nimble and rich baritone.

Super nice guy too — I met him just once, fronting Project/Object (a damn good Zappa tribute band) in the late, late 90’s. Caught him well before the show in a small club after a very informal soundcheck, and he just hung out at the bar for a good hour before the show started.

He was cordial, unassuming, and totally down to earth.

Didn’t talk his ear off (nor he mine) — but he didn’t mind conversation at all — I think we chatted a good 10-15 minutes.

I asked him what he’d been studying at Wash U (in St. Louis) when he met Frank — and I think he said political science, iirc.

Never got to hear him with Frank (nor Frank) — I didn’t really discover Zappa until I was in college in the late 80’s (at least beyond the like 5 songs I’d heard on the decent AOR classic rock station in St. Louis in high school in the mid-80’s).

One of the most interesting voices (timbres) in all of rock music.  Expressive, full-bodied, and genuinely unique too (not ‘weird’ but definitely different).

RIP Ike. ♥️

PS:  Ike kinda reminded me a little of (jazz vocalist) Kevin Mahogany too, come to think of it (I knew Kevin a tiny bit when I was back in KC, and sat with him and his wife a few times at other people’s gigs — talked with him more at one club I used to frequent, than I ever actually got to hear Kevin sing).

ANYWAY, Ike and Kevin had a somewhat similar presence (in conversation), if I’m remembering. At least their rich speaking voices (and Billy Harper’s too).

[Д.Д.]

Sorry to hear this. I love his voice. Wasn't he the longest-serving Zappa sideman?    

[Kevin Bresnahan]

I was never into Zappa. I suppose it's never too late though.

Kinda sad that he didn't take Frank's warnings about prostate cancer to heart. Prostate cancer is one of those cancers that is beatable if caught early enough. Frank was very vocal about how his doctors missed it.

[Rabshakeh]

5 hours ago, Д.Д. said:

Sorry to hear this. I love his voice. Wasn't he the longest-serving Zappa sideman?    

I can't think of any longer serving sidemen, other than the occasional lile Terry Bozzio or Roy Estrada who didn't really go away. 

When we were kids we generally listened to only to late 1970s to 1980s Zappa, so we all assumed that it was Frank Zappa singing. 

[felser]

Various thoughts:

1 - Willis was a good singer for sure.  I'm partial to Ray Collins because that's the era of Zappa/Mothers I much prefer.

2 - Yes, please take prostate cancer seriously.  I've had five colonoscopies as they found something when I had the first one (20 years ago).   There have been advances in the prep procedure which has made it much less egregious,and you're out for the actual procedure, so no big deal.  I've had friends die of prostrate cancer, and that just didn't need to be.

3 - I saw Zappa once, in the spring of 1973,  just post-Flo and Eddie (thankfully).  It was the group of his with probably the most firepower, with  Ponty, George Duke, the Underwoods, the Fowlers, Sal Marquez, etc. (a bit hazy overall).  Yet the show was utterly anti-climactic because the group onstage ahead of them was the original Mahavishnu Orchestra (McLaughlin, Goodwin, Hammer, Laird, Cobham) in all their glory, and they played Zappa right off the stage.  Incongruously, the opening act was poor John Hammond, solo with an acoustic guitar, sitting on a stool.  In front of 15,000 people there to see the fireworks of the other two groups.

https://jrirwin.com/remembering-zappa-and-mahavishnu-at-the-spectrum/