Wild Man Fischer - The Wild Man Fischer Story
The Wild Man Fischer Story
Lawrence Wayne "Wild Man" Fischer (November 6, 1944 – June 16, 2011) was an American street performer known for offering erratic, acapella performances of "new kinds of songs" for a nickel or a dime each on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood.[1] Most of his life was spent homeless or institutionalized, and he later became regarded as "the godfather of outsider music".
Larry "Wild Man" Fischer first came to the attention of rock audiences with the double album 'An Evening With Wild Man Fischer', produced by Frank Zappa, an on-off mentor of JP favourite Captain Beefheart, and released on Zappa's Bizarre Records label. Peel would play large parts of the Fischer debut on Top Gear over several months in 1969 and 1970.
In the inaugural 1976 Festive Fifty, the Wild Man Fischer track 'Go To Rhino Records' would appear at number 48. The record had been Rhino's first release, in 1975.
Fischer remained something of a Peel favorite. On the final programme of the 1987 series Peeling Back The Years, John Walters asked the DJ whether this was because he thought, “Gosh, I wish I could be as loopy and confident." Peel replied, "Yes, I think that’s a very important part of it. I mean, I envy people who at least give the impression of being uninhibited." He also expressed a strong preference for Fischer over Bruce Springsteen.[1]
Festive Fifty Entries[]
- 1976 Festive Fifty: Go To Rhino Records (LP-Wild Man Fischer) (Rhino) #48
Sessions[]
None
Other Shows Played[]
(The following list is compiled only from the database of this site and is likely to be incomplete. Please add further information if known.)
- 1969
(All songs from the double album An Evening With Wild Man Fischer (Bizarre/Reprise 2XS 6332)
- 08 November 1969: Larry & His Guitar
- 22 November 1969: Merry-Go-Round (This Is Larry's Theme Song, Sort Of)
- 06 December 1969: I'm Not Shy Anymore
- 20 December 1969: Madness And Ecstasy
- 1970
(All songs from An Evening With Wild Man Fischer)
- 03 January 1970: Which Way Did The Freaks Go?
- 10 January 1970: unknown track
- 17 January 1970: Cops & Robbers
- 31 January 1970: Monkeys Versus Donkeys
- 14 February 1970: Who Did It Johnny? / Think Of Me / Taggy Lee
- 21 February 1970: Start Life Over Again
- 28 February 1970: The Mope
- 07 March 1970: Life Brand New
- 14 March 1970: Rhonda
- 21 March 1970: Jennifer Jones
- 11 April 1970: The Taster
- 02 May 1970: The Rocket Rock
- 09 May 1970: Dream Girl
- 16 May 1970: Serrano (Sorrento?) Beach
- 20 June 1970: Success Will Not Make Me Happy...
- 27 June 1970: Wild Man On The Street Again
- 04 July 1970: The Wild Man Fischer Story (album - An Evening With Wild Man Fischer) Bizarre/Reprise 2XS 6332 swear words edited out
- 1976
- 11 October 1976: Go To Rhino Records (split 7" with Plastic Rhino Band - Go To Rhino Records / Rhino, The Place To Go) Rhino RNOP-001
- 24 December 1976: Go To Rhino Records (split 7" with Plastic Rhino Band - Go To Rhino Records / Rhino, The Place To Go) Rhino RNOP-001 (FF#48)
- 1977
- 05 October 1977: Go To Rhino Records
- 08 November 1977: Jingle for BBC (John mentions that WMF is in Rhino's studio recording an LP for release next year, largely due to the response he got for John playing his "Go To Rhino Records" over the past year)
- 1978
- 19 January 1978: My Name Is Larry (LP - Wildmania) Rhino
- 19 January 1978: Disco In Frisco (LP - Wildmania) Rhino
- 19 January 1978: Do The Wild Man (And Other In Dances) (LP - Wildmania) Rhino
- 24 January 1978: I'm Selling Peanuts For The Dodgers (album - Wildmania) Rhino RNLP 001
- 24 January 1978: I'm The Meany (album - Wildmania) Rhino RNLP 001
- 24 January 1978: Wild Man Fischer Impersonation Contest (album - Wildmania) Rhino RNLP 001
- 24 January 1978: Guitar Licks (album - Wildmania) Rhino RNLP 001 *26 January 1978: I'm A Truck (album - Wildmania) Rhino RNLP 001
- 26 January 1978: Sir Larry (album - Wildmania) Rhino RNLP 001
- 09 March 1978: Jimmy Durante (LP - Wildmania) Rhino
- 09 March 1978: I Light The Pilot (LP - Wildmania) Rhino
- 09 March 1978: Josephine (LP - Wildmania) Rhino
- 17 May 1978: The Taster (2xLP - An Evening With Wild Man Fischer) Bizarre
- 1980s
- 07 April 1981: Do The Salvo (7" - Don't Be A Singer) Rhino
- 09 April 1981: I'll Take A Picture Of You (single) label not stated (Unknown)
- 21 April 1981: Fish Heads (album - Pronounced Normal) Rhino RNLP 021
- 28 April 1981: Pronounced Normal (LP - Pronounced Normal) Rhino
- 12 June 1983 (BFBS): Monkeys Vs. Donkeys (album - An Evening With Wild Man Fischer) Reprise RSLP 6332
- 18 April 1984 (BFBS): Go To Rhino Records (split 7" with Plastic Rhino Band - Go To Rhino Records / Rhino, The Place To Go) Rhino RNOP-001
- 24 February 1986: Do The Salvo (7" - Don't Be A Singer) Rhino (JP: 'Our technical man was singing along with that and there are only two of us in the building. Do you think I'm safe listeners?')
- 04 November 1986: My Name Is Larry (LP - Wildmania) Rhino
- 01 March 1989: Merry-Go-Round (album - An Evening With Wild Man Fischer) Reprise RSLP 6332
- 1990s
- 23 April 1994: 'I'm Selling Peanuts For The Dodgers' (LP 'Wildmania') Rhino
- 30 April 1994 (BFBS): I'm Selling Peanuts For The Dodgers (album - Wildmania) Rhino RNLP 001
- 19 March 1998: I'm Working For The Federal Bureau Of Narcotics Double (album - An Evening With Wild Man Fischer) Reprise RSLP 6332 / Bizarre 2XS 6332
- 24 March 1998: Merry-Go-Round (album - An Evening With Wild Man Fischer) Reprise RSLP 6332 / Bizarre 2XS 6332
- 2001
- 31 May 2001: My Name Is Larry
- Documentary
- Peeling Back The Years 6: My Name Is Larry (LP – Wildmania) Rhino
- Mixtape
- Liverpool's Night Of Victory: When You're Younger (LP-Pronounced Normal)' (Rhino)