Music legend Roger Troutman honored by his hometown of Hamilton

Troutman, a singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, was born in 1951 in Hamilton, where he and his brothers, Lester, Terry and Larry, along with other musicians, created the band that would become Zapp. The band released four gold-selling albums, and several funk and R&B hits. Troutman and his band helped spearhead the funk movement and heavily influenced West Coast hip hop due to the scene’s heavy sampling of his music over the years.

Troutman, who later worked and lived in Dayton, was well known for his use of the talk box ― a device that allows a musician’s voice to be vocalized through an instrument via a plastic tube ― including on Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre’s song “California Love” (1995). He also appear on Snoop Dogg’s “Doggystyle” (1993) and Kool Keith’s “Master of the Game” (1999).

He and his brothers formed the band in 1978 and discovered by funk icon George Clinton a year later, when he signed Zapp ― which included Gregory Jackson and Bobby Glover ― in 1979. In 1980, the band signed with Cincinnati native Bootsy Collins, which led to the band’s first hit, “More Bounce to the Ounce,” which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Soul singles charts and the Album, “Zapp,” reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200.

Over his career, Troutman collaborated with the biggest of names in the music industry, including Clinton, Collins, Elvis Costello, Eazy-E, Snoop Dog, and Dr. Dre. Troutman is also credited with pioneering the famed funky “Dayton sound.” In 2020, an Ohio historical marker was dedicated at the site of the former Troutman Sound Labs, where Troutman had worked from 1983 until his murder in April 1999.

Hamilton has had its honorary street name program for about five years, and city officials have said this program has allowed some of the accomplishments from people like Troutman and other native and adopted Hamiltonians to be recognized.

Troutman’s brother, Lester Troutman, said of Tuesday’s honorary street naming in Hamilton, “There is no word I can articulate,” on the honor for his older brother. “To see his name on the street I grew up on, it’s the most amazing thing I could ever even imagine. This is beautiful.”

“The impact that (Roger) had on me made me want to follow him for the rest of my life, and I’m still doing it,” Lester said.