Roger Troutman was born on 29 November 1951, in Hamilton, Ohio USA, and was a singer, producer, composer and songwriter, best known as the founder of the band Zapp, which helped influence funk and hip hop music over the years, and also had a solo career. All of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it was prior to his passing in 1999.
How rich was Roger Troutman? As of mid-2017, sources estimate a net worth that was at $1 million, earned through success in the music industry. He also helped popularize the talk box which helped create different vocal effects. All of his achievements ensure the position of his wealth.
Roger Troutman Net Worth $1 million
One of Roger’s earliest endeavors was joining Parliament-Funkadelic, and helping them create their final Warner Brothers’ album “The Electric Spanking of War Babies”, having previously been part of THE CRUSADERS which found popularity around Cincinnati, and played with his brothers in bands such as Little Roger, Human Body, and the Vels. In 1977, the Human Body released the single “Freedom”, after which he along with his brothers were discovered by George Clinton who was working on a new band project called Zapp. After the brothers joined Zapp, they made their television debut at the Funk Music Awards Show, however, George Clinton’s record company Uncle Jam Records was forced to close, and the band moved to Warner Bros. Records. They then released their self-titled debut album, which included the hit song “More Bounce to the Ounce”, and proved successful, helping to increase his net worth significantly. From the 1980s, Zapp released several albums, all of which were certified gold, including “Zapp II”, “Zapp III” and “The New Zapp IV U”. However, their popularity faded after their fifth album “Zapp Vibe”, and their last high selling album was “Zapp & Roger: All the Greatest Hits” which featured remixed versions of their songs, and sold over two million copies.
Troutman paired his solo career along with the success of Zapp. He released his first solo album in 1981 entitled “The Many Facets of Roger”, which found success in the R&B singles chart. He then continued with his second solo album “The Saga Continues” released in 1984, and three years later, he had his most successful release entitled “Unlimited!” which featured the hit “I Want to Be Your Man”. He also collaborated with other artists as a producer and writer, including Shirley Murdock, Dale DeGroat, Scritti Politti and Elvis Costello. Troutman’s final solo album was “Bridging the Gap”.
During the latter part of his career, he focused a lot on touring. He also became featured in hip hop albums, working with Eazy-E and Snoop Dogg. He helped create the single “California Love” by 2Pac which helped his net worth increase even more. He continued working with various groups in the 1990s and one of his last tracks was the song “Master of the Game”.
For his personal life, it is known that Roger never married, but had 12 children by as many women. He was found critically wounded on 25 April 1999 in Dayton, Ohio with several gunshots to the torso – his brother was also found dead, inside a car a few blocks away. It was speculated that his brother shot Roger several times before shooting himself, though the motive for the attack remains unknown since there were no witnesses. Sources suggested that there was tension between the brothers due to business and financial problems. Roger was rushed to hospital, but passed away soon after.
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