Isaac Willis (born November 12, 1955) is an American vocalist and

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

ist who was a regular member of

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

's studio and touring bands from 1978 until the last tour in 1988. He did not tour with Zappa in 1981 and 1982 because he wanted to be at home for the birth of his two children, and returned to touring with Zappa for his final two tours in 1984 (which Zappa intended at the time to be his final tour) and 1988. He currently tours with the Frank Zappa tribute bands Bogus Pomp, Ossi Duri, Project/Object, Pojama People, Ugly Radio Rebellion and ZAPPATiKA. He also performed several times with the

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian Zappa cover band, The Central Scrutinizer Band,

The Muffin Men The Muffin Men are a British musical group founded in 1990 and based in Liverpool, England, which primarily plays the music of Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. Rather than play pieces note-for-note as originally written by Zappa, th ...

, and with the Italian bands Ossi Duri and Elio e le Storie Tese . Additionally, he has appeared multiple times at the annual Zappanale Festival in Bad Doberan, Germany. He is most recognized for his involvement in Zappa records such as playing Joe in ''

Joe's Garage ''Joe's Garage'' is a three-part rock opera released by American musician Frank Zappa in September and November 1979. Originally released as two separate albums on Zappa Records, the project was later remastered and reissued as a triple album ...

'', providing vocals on '' Tinsel Town Rebellion'', '' You Are What You Is'', and ''

The Man from Utopia ''The Man from Utopia'' is the 36th album by American musician Frank Zappa, released in March 1983 by Barking Pumpkin Records. The album is named after a 1950s song, written by Donald and Doris Woods, which Zappa covers as part of "The Man fro ...

'', and as the title character and narrator in Zappa's off-Broadway-styled conceptual musical '' Thing-Fish''. Willis also regularly does studio voice work and writes compositions for films. He also creates solo music and leads The Ike Willis Band. He has released two solo studio albums under his own name and is working on another album. He revealed he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021, which has spread to other parts of his body.

Years with Frank Zappa

Willis met Zappa during a 1977 concert at his school, Washington University in St. Louis, his hometown. "Black Napkins," a track from the 1976 album '' Zoot Allures'', was one of the first Zappa songs that made a deep impression on the singer. The triple album ''

'' featured lead singer Ike Willis as the voice of the character "Joe" in a

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

about the danger of political systems, and the suppression of freedom of speech and music - inspired in part by the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

that had made music illegal within its jurisdiction at the time - and about the "strange relationship Americans have with sex and sexual frankness". The album contains rock songs like " Catholic Girls" (a riposte to the controversies of " Jewish Princess"), "Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up", and the title track, as well as extended live-recorded guitar improvisations combined with a studio backup band dominated by drummer

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer known for his technical mastery who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drumme ...

(with whom Zappa had a particularly good musical rapport). On some of the tracks Zappa superimposes material recorded in different time signatures, a process he termed xenochrony. The album contains one of Zappa's signature guitar pieces, "

Watermelon in Easter Hay "Watermelon in Easter Hay", full name "Playing a Guitar Solo With This Band is Like Trying To Grow a Watermelon in Easter Hay", by Frank Zappa, is the penultimate song on the 1979 concept album ''Joe's Garage.'' The main character from this three- ...

". Willis deeply regrets that Zappa died before he was able to include him in a band that would also have toured in 1996, the 25th anniversary of the release of Zappa's surrealistic musical pseudo-documentary '' 200 Motels''. The band was also to have included

Flo & Eddie Flo & Eddie is a comedy rock duo consisting of Mark Volman (Flo, short for Phlorescent Leech) and Howard Kaylan (Eddie). Kaylan and Volman were founding members of the mid-to late 1960s rock and pop band the Turtles. After the Turtles dis ...

and

George Duke George Martin Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as ...

Discography

With Frank Zappa

Other artists

Ike Willis Band

References

External links

Ike Willis Website

Ike Willis Management
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Ike 1955 births Living people African-American rock musicians American rock guitarists American male guitarists Musicians from St. Louis County, Missouri 20th-century American guitarists African-American guitarists 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American musicians