Freddie Meyer, the original drummer and singer of Ivan & The Sabers, a popular Ohio band in the early to mid-60s, later formed his own band Salvation & His Army (while studying TV production at UC). Doug Yeager took the band to France in 1968 where Meyer became a star and protege of Brigitte Bardot. He's lived in France the past 51 years. Lee Hay recently spoke by phone with Freddie's longtime friend Doug Yeager about him.
Born without a leg above the knee, Freddie Meyer was the poster child of the company that manufactured artificial limbs in Dayton, Ohio. While at UC, he helped engineers invent an artificial leg with a hydraulic pump, so he could get out from behind the drums and dance like James Brown. That artificial leg became the model that everyone in the world would then use. In Europe, he became known as the "white" James Brown.
Below is Freddie around 1985.