Elliot Ingber (August 24, 1941 – January 21, 2025) was an American guitarist, best known as a member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention (1965-66), founder of the Fraternity of Man (1968-69), and then a member of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band in 1972-73.
Biography Ingber grew up in Los Angeles, where he attended Fairfax High School alongside such musicians and later music business figures as Phil Spector, Lou Adler, Bruce Johnston and Sandy Nelson. He played guitar in local bands including Kip Tyler and the Flips, and The Gamblers. Gary Lucas, "In Memoriam Elliot Ingber", CultureCatch, January 31, 2025. Retrieved February 28, 2025
In 1966, he joined Frank Zappa's band the Mothers of Invention and appeared on their debut album Freak Out!. He was fired from the band by Zappa following an incident onstage (according to drummer Jimmy Carl Black) when he tripped on LSD and was unaware that his amplifier was not switched on. After that he co-founded Fraternity of Man, which released two albums. With singer Lawrence "Stash" Wagner, Ingber wrote the track "Don't Bogart Me", later used (as "Don't Bogart That Joint") on the soundtrack of Easy Rider.
He then joined Captain Beefheart's Magic Band under the stage name Winged Eel Fingerling, given to him by Beefheart. In the sleeve notes to The Spotlight Kid (1972), Beefheart likens Ingber to "a chrome black eyebrow / rolled out real long" and also "a paper brow magnifying glass / fried brown, edge scorched, yoked / like a squeak from a speaker / behind forehead of the time."Captain Beefheart, The Spotlight Kid, ©1972 Warner Bros. Records Inc. In 1995, Ingber reformed Fraternity of Man with Lawrence "Stash" Wagner, the original vocalist and co-author of "Don't Bogart that Joint", to record and release a third album released under the Malibu Records label.
Ingber later abandoned music and worked as a postman in Los Angeles. He died on January 21, 2025, at the age of 83.
Discography
+YearArtistRelease titleLabel1960The Gamblers"Moon Dawg"World Pacific1962Hollywood Gamblers"Moon Katt"Don Records1963Dee D. Hope"California Surfer"Jolum1963Bobby James (a/k/a Bobby Jameson)"Let's Surf" b/w "Take This Lollipop"Jolum1966The Mothers of InventionFreak Out!Verve1968Fraternity of ManFraternity of ManABC Records1969MicheleSaturn RingsABC Records1969Fraternity of ManGet it On! DOT Records1969Canned HeatHallelujah1969The Mothers of InventionMothermaniaVerve1972Shakey Jake HarrisThe Devil's HarmonicaPolydor1972Captain BeefheartThe Spotlight KidReprise1978Juicy GrooveFirst TastePayola Records1978The GrandmothersGrandmothersRhino Records1981Little Feat"Teenage Nervous Breakdown" on Hoy-Hoy!Warner Brothers1982The GrandmothersLookin' Up Granny's DressRhino1983The GrandmothersFan Club TalkPanda 1992Frank ZappaYou Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5Ryko1993Lowell George & The FactoryLightning-rod ManEdsel Records1993The GrandmothersA Mother of an AnthologyOne Way Records1995Fraternity of ManXSan Francisco Sound1996Various ArtistsCowabunga! The Surf BoxRhino1996Frank ZappaThe Lost EpisodesRyko1998Frank ZappaMystery DiscRyko1999Captain Beefheart & His Magic BandGrow FinsRevenant Records2000Little Feat"Juliet" on Hotcakes & Outtakes2001Elliot IngberThe The The TheDreamsville Records2006Frank ZappaThe MOFO Project/ObjectZappa Records
References