1. Kim Vincent Fowley was an American record producer, songwriter and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and managed the Runaways in the 1970s.
49 Facts About Kim Fowley
1. 2.
Kim Fowley arranged "Nut Rocker" for B Bumble and the Stingers, which became a No 1 hit in the UK in 1962 and talent scouted "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow", a No 48 hit for the Rivingtons.
3.
Kim Fowley wrote the lyrics for the song "Portobello Road", the B-side of Cat Stevens' first single, "I Love My Dog".
4.
Kim Fowley worked with an up-and-coming band, the Farinas, and renamed them "Family".
5.
Kim Fowley worked on occasion as a recording artist in the 1960s, issuing albums such as Love Is Alive and Well.
6.
In 1968, Kim Fowley joined forces with a young band, St John Green, from Topanga Canyon in California, to produce their only album, which contains songs, musical soundtracks, comedy and dark poetry.
7.
Kim Fowley is credited with being the inspiration behind promoter John Brower's call to John Lennon that resulted in the last-minute appearance of the Plastic Ono Band at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival on September 13,1969, where Fowley was the MC.
8.
At this event, Kim Fowley invited the audience to light matches and lighters to welcome a nervous John Lennon to the stage.
9.
In 1969, Kim Fowley produced the album I'm Back and I'm Proud for Gene Vincent.
10.
Kim Fowley co-wrote for Warren Zevon's first solo album, Wanted Dead or Alive.
11.
Kim Fowley then moved to Sweden and produced the group Contact's album Nobody Wants to Be Sixteen for Swedish label MNW Records, which landed in the Swedish Top 20.
12.
Kim Fowley produced a re-recording of one of these songs, "Citizen Kane," with Battin later in the year.
13.
In May 1972, Kim Fowley was signed to Capitol Records for a long-term solo recording contract.
14.
Kim Fowley returned to Boston after the completion of the tour and arranged to have engineer Stuart "Dinky" Dawson record a demo with The Modern Lovers in Dawson's home studio.
15.
Later in autumn 1973, Kim Fowley worked with the band again, this time recording them in Los Angeles at Gold Star Studios on behalf of Warner Bros.
16.
In 1973, Kim Fowley assembled the Hollywood Stars, his first "conceptual band".
17.
In December 1973, Kim Fowley connected the Hollywood Stars with producer Bob Ezrin, who worked with the band on arrangements for their song "Escape", which was co-written by Kim Fowley and Hollywood Stars member Mark Anthony.
18.
Just before the band's breakup in 1974, Kim Fowley went back to Bob Ezrin and offered him usage of the two songs.
19.
Kim Fowley worked on the lyrics for the latter song in 1975 while assembling the band The Runaways with Joan Jett.
20.
Kim Fowley produced and wrote songs for the Helen Reddy albums Ear Candy and We'll Sing in the Sunshine.
21.
Kim Fowley co-wrote songs with Leon Russell during this period.
22.
In 1978, Kim Fowley formed the Orchids, another all-female rock band, with Laurie McAllister, the last bassist from The Runaways, and Sandy Fury, a 13-year-old rock prodigy on rhythm guitar and vocals.
23.
In 1979, Kim Fowley signed new artists, such as Tommy Rock, the Popsicles, and the Orchids.
24.
Fowley promoted "Kim Fowley Night" featuring these bands at the Whisky a Go Go.
25.
Also in 1979, Kim Fowley produced the five man group Streettalk at Mandrill Studios in Auckland, New Zealand.
26.
Jett successfully auditioned for Kim Fowley by playing ukulele to a Sweet album, and picked up rhythm guitar as her instrument.
27.
Kim Fowley had Jett rehearse with West at the latter's home in Huntington Beach, and auditioned the pair on the telephone to music journalist Ritchie Yorke.
28.
Kim Fowley then turned to two radio stations to advertise for further auditions, which brought bassist Micki Steele and guitarist Lita Ford to the group.
29.
The album is listed as "Produced and directed by Kim Fowley", and gives Fowley arrangement and numerous songwriting credits.
30.
Kim Fowley recorded The Runaways' third LP, Waitin' for the Night, at Larrabee Studios the same month, with the band as a four-piece and with Joan Jett on vocals.
31.
The album featured Currie going in an MOR direction, which Kim Fowley chose in order to play on Currie's liking for mellower music.
32.
Kim Fowley sent conflicting stories to Japan about whether or not Cherie did indeed have a twin sister who sang on the track, creating a frenzy of interest when Cherie and Marie arrived to Japan for a two-week tour to support the album.
33.
Kim Fowley followed this up with the publication of several legal notices claiming ownership of "The Runaways" service mark, recording authorization, and merchandising rights.
34.
Kim Fowley's search turned up power pop band Beathoven who were still under a recording contract with EMI.
35.
Kim Fowley produced the first demos for the iconic power pop band, Candy, which featured Gilby Clarke and Kyle Vincent.
36.
Casey Kasem, on the edition of March 12,1983, of American Top 40, describes how Kim Fowley discovered Steel Breeze while going through approximately 1200 demo tapes that were about to be discarded by a local Hollywood nightclub, Madame Wong's.
37.
In 1984, still owning rights to the name "the Runaways", Kim Fowley rebuilt the image around Gayle Welch, an unknown teenager from New Zealand.
38.
Kim Fowley, assisted by New Zealander Glenn Holland, sought to cash in on the fame of the former Runaways members who had gone on to significant success in their individual solo careers.
39.
In 1986, Kim Fowley spotted the band Shanghai at the Troubadour.
40.
Kim Fowley is featured in Mayor of the Sunset Strip, a 2003 documentary about the disc jockey Rodney Bingenheimer.
41.
Also in 2003, Kim Fowley made a return trip to London, where he made an in-store appearance at Intoxica Records on Portobello Road and curated and performed an evening of music and entertainment at the Dirty Water Club at its then base at the Boston Music Room in North London.
42.
Kim Fowley's written and directed works include: Black Room Doom, Dollboy: The Movie, Satan of Silverlake, The Golden Road to Nowhere, Frankenstein Goes Surfing, Trailer Park's On Fire and Jukebox California.
43.
In 2008, Kim Fowley was reunited with Cherie Currie at Harry Houdini's mansion in Los Angeles.
44.
Kim Fowley played three dozen gigs between June 2007 and February 2009 as the act Crazy White Man, a duo featuring him on vocals and Richard Rogers on guitar.
45.
Kim Fowley was regularly heard on Sirius Satellite Radio with a four-hour show on Saturdays and Sundays.
46.
Kim Fowley released the first volume of his autobiography, Lord of Garbage, published by Kicks Books, in 2012.
47.
The last volume was intended to be finished on his deathbed and to be released posthumously because, as the 2010s began, Kim Fowley was terminally ill.
48.
On September 24,2014, Kim Fowley married longtime girlfriend and music executive Kara Wright-Kim Fowley, in a private ceremony in Los Angeles.
49.
Kim Fowley died of bladder cancer in Hollywood, California on January 15,2015, at the age of 75.