# RIP Damo Suzuki (of Can) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 11, 2024, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-damo-suzuki-of-can/997421 "2024-02-11T05:29:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2024, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-damo-suzuki-of-can/997421/1 "2024-02-11T05:29:01Z")
I’m not saying I would have lost my faith in music without your work with Can, but I would have enjoyed music far less without it. Thank you, sir. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/YmN9oHa3ZIQ/hqdefault.jpg "CAN - Vitamin C (Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmN9oHa3ZIQ) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QxGaC4wzt50/hqdefault.jpg "Can-Turtles Have Short Legs (1971 Single Track)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxGaC4wzt50) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2024, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-damo-suzuki-of-can/997421/2 "2024-02-11T12:33:13Z")
I tried for a while to get interested in the music of Can without Damo Suzuki, but he really did it for me. Always the feeling that he was 100% upfront with his heart and his mind, and that made for exciting music. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2024, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-damo-suzuki-of-can/997421/3 "2024-02-11T18:25:08Z")
A fitting homage (I hope) by a man (Mark E. Smith) who died years before his idol: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ijuJhyUfhDQ/hqdefault.jpg "The Fall - I Am Damo Suzuki") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijuJhyUfhDQ) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-damo-suzuki-of-can/997421/4 "2024-02-12T17:39:42Z")
I just read an obituary and was reminded of the story how Suzuki came to be Can’s lead singer. In 1970, the band had just lost their singer Malcolm Mooney due to depression. They had a gig in Munich, and in the afternoon before, Jaki Liebezeit and Holger Czukay were walking the Munich streets when they saw a Japanese guy performing chants or prayers in his now iconic improvisional style. One said to the other “This is our next singer”. They approached Suzuki and asked him if he had time in the evening to sing for them, no rehearsal needed. He agreed, played the gig and from that on stayed with the band for their artistically most successful years. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-damo-suzuki-of-can/997421/5 "2024-02-12T17:44:53Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I tried for a while to get interested in the music of Can without Damo Suzuki, but he really did it for me. You didn’t like the Malcolm Mooney records? I like them both equally, really. > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > A fitting homage (I hope) by a man (Mark E. Smith) who died years before his idol: Yes indeed. I’m a big fan of both of them. > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > They approached Suzuki and asked him if he had time in the evening to sing for them, no rehearsal needed. He agreed, played the gig and from that on stayed with the band for their artistically most successful years. Yeah, that is a great story. He was certainly a unique performer. I absolutely wouldn’t have the guts to attempt that, not with vocals. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2024, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-damo-suzuki-of-can/997421/6 "2024-02-12T18:03:15Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > You didn’t like the Malcolm Mooney records? I like them both equally, really. Is that Monster Movie and Soundtracks? Yeah, those didn’t grab me so much. Sometimes it’s the first one you hear that latches on… ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-damo-suzuki-of-can/997421/7 "2024-02-13T02:35:25Z")
Yeah, those are the two he sang on. It was the first I heard, so Suzuki’s records were the one I had to adjust to, but it was easy. By the time I got to “Mushroom” and realized The Flaming Lips had basically covered it on _A Priest Driven Ambulance_ with “Take Meta Mars”\*, I was sold. It was comfy and familiar. \*My understanding is they didn’t remember how it actually went, so they just wrote a new song that sounded like how they remembered it.