Bill Harkleroad (born January 8, 1949), known professionally as Zoot Horn Rollo, is an American guitarist. He is best known for his work with Captain Beefheart and

The Magic Band The Magic Band was the backing band of American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Captain Beefheart between 1967 and 1982. The rotating lineup featured dozens of performers, many of whom became known by nicknames given to them by Beefhe ...

. In 2003, he was ranked No. 62 in a ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine list of "the 100 greatest guitarists of all time".

Biography

Born in

Hawthorne, California Hawthorne is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. It is part of a seventeen-city region commonly called the South Bay. As of the 2020 US census, Hawthorne had a population of 88, ...

, Harkleroad was trained as an

accordionist Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

as a child but changed to

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

in his teens. In nearby

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 173,516, making Lancaster the 153rd largest city in the United ...

, he became involved in local bands. With a future member of the

Magic Band The 6-meter band is the lowest portion of the very high frequency (VHF) radio spectrum internationally allocated to amateur radio use. The term refers to the average signal wavelength of 6 meters. Although located in the lower portion of t ...

, Mark Boston, he joined a band named B.C. & The Cavemen. The two later played in the group Blues in a Bottle along with the future Magic Band guitarist

Jeff Cotton Jeffrey Ralph Cotton (born May 31, 1948) is an American rock guitarist, known for his work as a member of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band. Cotton first came to attention as guitarist with Merrell and the Exiles, who had a few local hits in 1 ...

. He joined the Magic Band in 1968 after the departure of Alex St. Clair. After recording ''

Trout Mask Replica ''Trout Mask Replica'' is the third studio album by the American band Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, released as a double album on June 16, 1969, by Straight Records. The music was composed by Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet) and arrange ...

'' and several further albums, he left in 1974, with several other band members, to form Mallard. His book, ''Lunar Notes'', describes some of the tensions that contributed to the split between Captain Beefheart and the other band members. After the break up of Mallard, Harkleroad had a limited involvement with the music community as a performer. He continued his involvement in another capacity, however, as a record

store manager A retail manager (or store manager) is the person ultimately responsible for the day-to-day operations (or management) of a retail store. All employees working in the store report to the retail/store manager. A store manager reports to a district ...

and guitar instructor in Eugene, Oregon. On November 27, 2001, he released ''We Saw a Bozo Under the Sea''. In 2008, John French (a.k.a. Drumbo) released an album ''City of Refuge'' on which Harkleroad played guitar on all twelve tracks. In 2013, Harkleroad contributed lead guitar to a psychobilly track on the Eugene-based band Cherry Poppin' Daddies album '' White Teeth, Black Thoughts''.

Discography

With Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band * 1969 ''

'' * 1970 '' Lick My Decals Off, Baby'' * 1972 '' The Spotlight Kid'' * 1972 ''

Clear Spot ''Clear Spot'' is the seventh studio album by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band. It was originally released on LP in 1972 in a clear plastic sleeve. Production Beefheart's third album ''Trout Mask Replica'' established him as a critically ac ...

'' * 1974 ''

Unconditionally Guaranteed ''Unconditionally Guaranteed'' is the eighth LP by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, originally released in 1974. It was recorded at Hollywood Sound, Los Angeles. Upon release it was criticised for being too commercial; even so, it failed to ...

'' With Mallard * 1975 ''Mallard'' * 1976 ''In a Different Climate'' Solo * 2001 ''We Saw a Bozo Under the Sea'' * 2014 ''Masks''

Bibliography

* Harkleroad, Bill (1998). ''Lunar Notes: Zoot Horn Rollo's Captain Beefheart Experience''.

Interlink Publishing Interlink Publishing is an independent publishing house, founded in 1987 and based in Northampton, Massachusetts, USA. , it published an average of 90 books a year and had 800 titles in print. Overview The company specializes in publishing in the ...

. .

References

External links

*
''HiFi Mundo'' interview, 1997

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rollo, Zoot Horn 1948 births Living people American blues guitarists American male guitarists American rock guitarists The Magic Band members GMTV presenters and reporters Musicians from Eugene, Oregon Musicians from Hawthorne, California Lead guitarists Slide guitarists Guitarists from California Guitarists from Oregon 20th-century American guitarists Nicknames Nicknames in music