Wild Man Fischer
Lawrence Wayne "Wild Man" Fischer (November 6, 1944 – June 16, 2011) was an American street performer known for offering erratic, a cappella performances of "new kinds of songs" for a dime on the beaches and the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. Most of his life was spent homeless or institutionalized, and he later became regarded as "the godfather of outsider music".

Born in Los Angeles, Fischer was repeatedly sent to mental institutions as a teenager, where he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In 1968, he recorded a double album, "An Evening with Wild Man Fischer", that was produced by Frank Zappa for the Bizarre label. At one point, Fischer was the opening act for the Byrds, Iron Butterfly, Solomon Burke, and Bo Diddley. His relationship with Zappa came to an abrupt end after Fischer threw a bottle that nearly hit Zappa's daughter Moon.

In 1975, Fischer helped jumpstart Rhino Records with the novelty single "Go to Rhino Records". The label put out a trilogy of albums that ultimately became his last: "Wildmania" (1977), "Pronounced Normal" (1981), and "Nothing Scary" (1983); the latter two were produced by the comedy music duo Barnes & Barnes. A documentary about Fischer's life, "", premiered at the South by Southwest festival in 2005. In 2004, he consented to move into an assisted-living hospital. He died of heart failure several years later at the age of 66.
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street performer
Concept
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a cappella
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Sunset Strip
LOC
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West Hollywood
LOC
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outsider music
Concept
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paranoid schizophrenia
Concept
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bipolar disorder
Concept
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An Evening with Wild Man Fischer
MEDIA
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Frank Zappa
PER
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Bizarre
MEDIA
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the Byrds
ORG
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Iron Butterfly
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Solomon Burke
PER
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Bo Diddley
PER
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Moon
PER
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Rhino Records
ORG
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Barnes & Barnes
ORG
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South by Southwest
EVE
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Wild Man Fischer
PER
1944-11-06T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
November 6, 1944
DATE
2011-06-16T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
June 16, 2011
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1968
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2005
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1977
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1981
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1983
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66
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date of birth
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