By Rev. Keith "Songlife" Crenshaw (Continued)
I guess now is a good place to tell you Roger and his brothers owned Troutman Enterprises & Construction, where they'd take run down, ghetto neighborhood apartments, have the tenants move out, re-do the carpet, plastering, plumbing, electricity, you name it, and then have the tenants move back in for the same rent. THE SAME RENT!!! Roger was very community minded, and often supported and invested in projects for urban cities. Unfortunately, the business became bankrupt, and it's my humble opinion that may have had some thing to do with the dispute between him and Larry, his older brother. Pardon the pun, but "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" that Troutman Enterprises had gone bankrupt. and were still in the process of liquidating the assets to pay of miscellaneous bills.
To conclude, I would be amiss not to mention Roger's musical influence on my life, directly and indirectly. Most of my close friends & family know I play keyboards and drums, with my rhythmic influence and approach to music taken directly from Roger (the only other influence that strong is Stevie Wonder, but there's not enough ram on a hard drive for me to get into that!!!!). I'm not ashamed to play Roger's music with my kids, who are 5, 4 and 9 months old. How many times have I put on Zapp on a Saturday afternoon and the whole family starts dancing? Roger is who indirectly got me into DJ'ing. There are some funk jams no DJ doesn't leave the house with, "Atomic Dog" and "More Bounce." So, I finally say farewell to the "Many Facets of Roger": Musician, Master of the Talk Box, Showman, Ladies Man, Son, Father, Brother, Humanitarian, Businessman, Entrepreneur, Friend, Celebrity, Christian, but probably most notably, a bonafied Funkateer.
Dedicated to the Troutman Family, and every Funkateer who believed Roger's music.
May Roger Troutman rest in peace, for "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of one of his Saints." -Psalms 116:15
In Sincere Love and Appreciation,
Reverend Keith Andre Crenshaw
April 29, 1999