Elliot Ingber


Elliot Ingber was an American guitarist, best known as a member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention, founder of the Fraternity of Man, 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.
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 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 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, 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." 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 titleLabel
1960The Gamblers"Moon Dawg"World Pacific
1962Hollywood Gamblers"Moon Katt"Don Records
1963Dee D. Hope"California Surfer"Jolum
1963Bobby James "Let's Surf" b/w "Take This Lollipop"Jolum
1966The Mothers of InventionFreak Out!Verve
1968Fraternity of ManFraternity of ManABC Records
1969MicheleSaturn RingsABC Records
1969Fraternity of ManGet it On!DOT Records
1969Canned HeatHallelujah
1969The Mothers of InventionMothermaniaVerve
1972Shakey Jake HarrisThe Devil's HarmonicaPolydor
1972Captain BeefheartThe Spotlight KidReprise
1978Juicy GrooveFirst TastePayola Records
1978The GrandmothersGrandmothersRhino Records
1981Little Feat"Teenage Nervous Breakdown" on Hoy-Hoy!Warner Brothers
1982The GrandmothersLookin' Up Granny's DressRhino
1983The GrandmothersFan Club TalkPanda
1992Frank ZappaYou Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5Ryko
1993Lowell George & The FactoryLightning-rod ManEdsel Records
1993The GrandmothersA Mother of an AnthologyOne Way Records
1995Fraternity of ManXSan Francisco Sound
1996Various ArtistsCowabunga! The Surf BoxRhino
1996Frank ZappaThe Lost EpisodesRyko
1998Frank ZappaMystery DiscRyko
1999Captain Beefheart & His Magic BandGrow FinsRevenant Records
2000Little Feat"Juliet" on Hotcakes & Outtakes
2001Elliot IngberThe The The TheDreamsville Records
2006Frank ZappaThe MOFO Project/ObjectZappa Records