Originally appeared in The Stranger - date unknown
Larry 'Wildman' Fischer used to earn his living by aggressively selling songs for a dime to passersby on the streets. Imagine that. One of the foremost songwriters in the history of American music once had to eke out a living on the streets. Now, after five albums, he may be doing the same thing. It's hard to tell. Generally, no one knows where to find him. In fact, when his song "Merry Go Round" was the subject of a landmark legal decision concerning artists' royalty rights in 1987, no one could track him down to tell him the good news. The problem is that he has probably lost his mind, if he ever had one.
Okay, I was kidding when I said foremost songwriter in the history of American music, but he should be. You might know Larry from the amount of play his song "My Name Is Larry," in which he describes his extensive and twisted family, got on the Dr. Demento show years ago. Unlike most of the Dr. Demento nonsense, which was knee-slapping hilarity in Junior High but just plain dumb now, Larry's songs will stick with you. He's similar to Daniel Johnston, another crazy musician you may not have heard about, but Larry's music seems less sincere than Johnston's. It's not because he means it any less, however. It's simply a function of the fact that Johnston's insanity grew in the heartlands of Texas, while Larry's grew on the streets of Hollywood, where insanity itself is a relative term. When he sings songs like "Back In Time" or "I Worry About My Friends," there's no way to deny the sincerity of his words or the purity of his vision. He may be nuts, but he's got a soul as big as all outdoors.
His records include the double album 'An Evening With Wildman Fischer,' from 1969 on Frank Zappa's Bizarre label, 'Wildmania,' which helped launch the fledgling Rhino Records in 1978, and 'Pronounced Normal' and 'Nothing Scary' in 1981 and 1984 respectively. Any one of these would make a fine addition to your record library and I would not hesitate to say that it is actually imperative to own at least one.
He bellows, wails, and yelps. The arrangements are sparse and occasionally a little silly. The songs are childish, twisted and disturbed. As a matter of fact, this is kind of stuff that would make a certain portion of the population say, "That crap isn't music, it's noise." You, on the other hand, will have to face bigger enemies if you intend to write Larry off as some kind of novelty act, because I now impart to you this knowledge: Laugh at Larry Fischer and you're laughing at the great Rosemary Clooney. She was moved to tears by his song "Oh God Please Send Me a Kid," and wanted to record a duet with him. Now, the Fischer/Clooney oeuvre "It's A Hard Business" is only the third duet she's ever recorded. The first two were with Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. If that's not impressive, I don't know what is.
Larry deserves more recognition, and you're just the people who could give it to him. I can't promise you that you'll be able to sit through a whole album, but it will pay off a thousandfold if you make the effort. You see, Larry is certifiably disturbed, but he has the same problems we all do. He also has the same joys, and when he puts them in song, after amplifying them through his own twisted vision, they emerge so striking that they really do something to you. You just have to be careful only to let them do things to you in doses you can handle. As Larry says in "Intro" on Nothing Scary, 'Welcome to an album you will never forget. Welcome to my world. And as you listen to this album just remember, my mind is one of a kind."
If your friendly neighborhood record store doesn't carry any Larry "Wildman" Fischer, just have 'em get in touch with their Rhino Records distributor. Rhino will be more than happy to ship one out for you.