Jimmy Carl Black, the legendary drummer of Frank Zappa's "Mothers of Invention," lives in a small Bavarian village. Known as "The Indian of the Group," he speaks little German and is warmly greeted in pure Bavarian with "Servus, Mr. Black!" From the Höpflinger train station, this 70-year-old, well into retirement age, tours Europe as a drummer and singer, signing the same old Zappa records for forty years.
"Don’t ask me, what the sound is. You have to hear it!"
At seventeen, watching girls fainting at an Elvis concert made him decide to become a musician. Despite his career, he never became wealthy. "To tell you the truth, I don’t like to play the drums that much anymore. It’s too hard a work, man. But I need the money."
In his final two years until his death in 2008, filmmakers followed Jimmy Carl Black in Höpfling, Bavaria, and during his performances. Known for his humorous defiance against cancer, he embarks on a major American tour that leads him back to his hometown of El Paso.
An international documentary about sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll, and no retirement, featuring Jimmy Carl Black "THE INDIAN OF THE GROUP," Don Preston, Bunk Gardener, and Roy Estrada from "THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION," Eugene Chadbourne "DR. CHAD," Arthur Brown "THE GOD OF HELLFIRE," The Muffinmen, The Hurricanes, Moni Black, Blaskapelle Vogling Siegsdorf, and many more.
Jimmy Carl Black was born in El Paso, Texas, in 1938. He began his musical career in school as a trumpeter for the "El Paso Highschool Band."
At 17, attending an Elvis Presley concert in El Paso Colliseum was pivotal: "When I saw the effect he had on those women, I said: Man, that’s what I want to do!"
He married a girl from his high school, joined the army (stationed in Kansas), and dreamed of becoming a musician. Switching from trumpet to drums for rock 'n' roll, he moved to Los Angeles. There, he formed a band called the "Soul Giants," performing cover versions in pubs until 1964 when they hired a new guitarist named Frank Zappa. Zappa promised fame and fortune if they played his songs.
Jimmy Carl Black had no objections. Zappa became the bandleader, secured a record deal, and renamed the group from "Mothers" to "Mothers of Invention," at the request of the record company, as "Mother" is a common abbreviation for "Motherfucker."
"Freak out!," their first LP in 1966, was recorded under severe financial constraints and wasn't a commercial success but established the band as rock avant-garde. Zappa crafted an image of them as a bunch of ugly, long-haired freaks with a bizarre stage show.
The "Mothers" embarked on their first U.S. and European tours in 1966. They had a notable engagement in New York, worked on the next four albums, and received early accolades.
According to Rolling Stone magazine in 1969, Jimmy Carl Black was one of the world's best drummers. That same year, as their financial situation worsened, Zappa dissolved the band over the phone after five years.
“We all just got a phone call from him stating that he had decided to break up the band and our salary has ended as of last week.”
While Zappa pursued a successful solo career, Jimmy Carl Black formed various bands without financial success. Supporting a family with five children became increasingly difficult.
Returning to his Texan roots with long hair, he worked in a donut factory until he couldn't stand suburban life in El Paso and left his wife and children.
With Arthur Brown, "The God of Hellfire," Jimmy ran a painting business in Austin, Texas for ten years. Many customers had their houses signed by the famous musicians after painting jobs. They also made music together, though their record didn't sell.
Jimmy Carl Black never stopped making music or forming bands, whether it was "Geronimo Black" in the 70s or the "Grandmothers" in the 80s with his former "Mothers" colleagues. Today, he's a living legend touring with Zappa cover bands like the Muffinmen from Liverpool, or accompanying experimental musician and banjo virtuoso Eugene Chadbourne with his "Steady Beat."
In 1997, at a concert in Traunstein, he met Moni, a Zappa fan twenty years his junior. They married a few months later, and Jimmy moved into her Zappa-poster-decorated apartment in Höpfling, Bavaria.
Asked if he was jealous of Zappa, he laughed: “Well, man, he is dead, and I’m alive!”
Jimmy Carl Black passed away on November 1, 2008, in Höpfling.
A friend and big Zappa fan once saw a man who looked remarkably like the legendary drummer of the "Mothers of Invention" in a small vegetarian eatery in Stuttgart. Our friend approached him jokingly: "Are you the Indian of the group?" The man replied:
Yes, my name is Jimmy Carl Black, and I’m the Indian of the Group
He then left the place. Our friend was stunned: The drummer of Frank Zappa in Stuttgart! He regretted not getting Jimmy Carl Black's autograph for his many unsigned Mothers records.
He shared this with us, mentioning rumors that "The Indian of the Group" lived somewhere in southern Germany. We reached out to Jimmy Carl Black online. Four days later, we received a reply:
"Wiltrud, How are you? I am fine. I would love to talk to you guys about a project. I live in southern Germany but I am now in Beyern. I live about 15 km from the Chiemsee near Traunstein. My telephone number is: 08662-XXX-XXX.
Let's get together and talk about doing something, OK. Thanks for the interest. JCB."
Armed with our small camera, our friend, and his Zappa record collection, we headed to Bavaria. In Siegsdorf, where two meters of snow were being shoveled off roofs, we found the music legend in a modest three-room apartment.
Bavaria with its lederhosen, brass bands, and traditions didn't seem like the ideal place for a Zappa musician, ex-hippie, and Indian from El Paso. Mr. Black never learned to speak German, let alone Bavarian.
Nevertheless, he kindly signed our friend's stack of records. When asked if he ever tired of signing, he replied: "Yes, I do. But it doesn't do me any good." His German wife also had him sign everything in sight.
And thus began a new film project that would accompany us for six years…
Jimmy Carl Black wanted a film to make him "rich" as well as "famous" (he was already famous), but he wasn't too keen on being filmed. "Always shooting that camera! That’s your job! It’s a lousy job, but somebody’s got to do it!" As a musician, he was used to giving interviews and being filmed on stage or backstage, but anything else? What was the point?
In those two years of financial ups and downs, we filmed whenever possible or absolutely necessary. Jimmy felt it was all taking too long, often reminding us, as if he had a premonition: "Get me while you can! I may not be around for too long!"
His health declined; the last major U.S. tour with Eugene Chadbourne was very taxing for him. Yet, that was his life: traveling, signing old Zappa records, watching TV in hotel rooms, and keeping the beat like clockwork.
We wondered about fame and wealth, and about working in old age. What awaits us at 70? Will we still be able/want to make films? Will we, like Jimmy, drum until the end?
Book, direction, camera, sound, and editing:
Sigrun Köhler and Wiltrud Baier / Böller und Brot,
Sound mixing: Ansgar Frerich, Color correction: Stefan Engelkamp,
Post-production: Selina Titz, Martin Kuhnert,
Editor: Bettina Kasten.
A production of Böller und Brot in cooperation with Indi Film
in co-production with ZDF/3Sat
supported by MFG Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg.
Documentary
Country of production: Germany
Production year: 2012
Length: 86 min.
Ratio: 1:1.85
B/s: 24
Format: HD, DCP
Sound: Dolby 5.1 – English/Bavarian original version with German subtitles
