Troutman’s son Larry Gates, 32, said he was in the process of moving six guitars, including two that belonged to his father, and other musical equipment to his new studio and needed a place to store them until he got settled in.
The relative was the one who noticed the guitars missing and called Gates.
“We’re talking about rare vintage guitars,” Gates said. He estimated that the six guitars were worth approximately $10,000 altogether. The two guitars - a Gibson and an Ibanez - belonging to Troutman are worth approximately $6,000 together.
The other stolen guitars included a Fender, a Bourgeois, a Peavey and a Guild. The Gibson has Roger Troutman’s name on it and Troutman is often pictured with the Ibanez in online photos.
Gates was 18 when he his father, 47, was shot and killed by his older brother Larry Troutman, 54, in 1999 during a murder-suicide.
The Troutman brothers were part of Dayton’s most famous musical families and pioneers of the famous rock-funk “Dayton sound” of the 1970s. The brothers were members of their family band, Zapp. The band’s self-titled debut album hit the pop top 20 in 1980 and scored a major hit with the song, More Bounce to the Ounce. Roger Troutman eventually went solo and had a No. 1 hit in 1987 with the song, “I Want to Be Your Man.” He found a new audience not too long before his death when he collaborated with hip-hop superstars Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre for the song, “California Love.”
“His legacy was good enough to help me do what I do (now),” said Gates, who is musical producer and artist that has worked with artists Mariah Carey, Jay-Z and the Black Eyed Peas. He went on to say that he is devastated and feels violated by the theft. “Memories have been taken from me (and)..parts of the legacy left behind by my father.”
Anyone with information about the theft, should contact the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office via the Regional Dispatch Center at 225-4357.
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