Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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FOWLEY, Kim

(b 21 July 1939; d 15 July 2015, Hollywood CA of cancer) Singer, songwriter, producer. The International Movie Data Base says he was born in Red Bank, New Jersey; his obit in the New York Times said he was born in Los Angeles. His parents were B movie actors; his father played an irascible film producer in Singing In The Rain, and later Doc Holliday in a Wyatt Earp TV series. His mother's previous husband had been film writer William Friml, leading to a story that Kim Fowley's grandfather was operetta composer Rudolf Friml. Very tall and slim and with a great deal of presence, Fowley became 'an actor in real life', in his own words, using 'theatrical illusion to reinvent myself for whoever I was trying to get something from, whether it be an audience, a band or a song.' He was a connoisseur and instigator of disposable art, perhaps perfect for Los Angeles.

In the late 1950s he worked there with Sandy Nelson and Phil Spector, and sang with black vocal group the Jayhawks. As a disc jockey in Boise, Idaho, he produced the first records by Paul Revere and the Raiders '59, then west coast novelties 'Alley Oop' by the Hollywood Argyles (no. 1 '60), 'Popsicles and Icycles' for the Murmaids (written by David Gates, later of Bread, for a no. 3 '64), 'Nut Rocker' by B. Bumble and the Stingers, many others. He toured the UK mid-'60s with P.J. Proby, appeared on TV's Ready Steady Go! and produced sessions for Slade, Family, Soft Machine and others. Back in the USA he sang on Frank Zappa's landmark Freak Out album, produced Gene Vincent and Warren Zevon '69, co-produced Jonathan Richman with John Cale. Later he was active in punk, organizing the all-girl Runaways '76 with Joan Jett, Lita Ford and Cherie Currey: his often heavy-handed management of that group was portrayed in the film version of Currie's memoir, called The Runaways (2010).

His own first album was Love Is Alive And Well '67 on Capitol, following his organization of love-ins during the west coast's flower-power period. More albums included Born To Be Wild, Outrageous and Good Clean Fun '68-9 on Imperial, I'm Bad and International Heroes '72-3 on Capitol, Animal God Of The Streets and Snake Document Masquerade '79 on Island. Other albums in the UK were Sunset Boulevard on Illegal, Living In The Streets on Sonet, and Visions Of The Future on Capitol '78-9 (the last aka Hollywood Confidential). He released uncounted singles under various names, was also a dancer, actor, published poetry, etc.

He had a songwriting credit as late as 2014 (Ariel Pink's 'Pom Pom'), recorded programs for Sirius XM, and did a cameo in a wheelchair in the video for  Beyoncé's 'Haunted'. He dictated three volumes of autobiography during his final illness: Lord Of Garbage was to be followed by The Trip and Planet Pain, from Kicks Books.