Zappa's earliest influences were 1950s pop and rock (such as doo-wop and rhythm and blues), and 20th-century classical composers including Igor Stravinsky and Edgard Varèse. His output was divided between adventurous instrumental compositions and succinct, catchy rock songs with ribald, satirical, or comically absurd lyrics. On stage he demanded virtuosity and spontaneity from his musicians, and employed many performers who would later go on to achieve fame in their own rights. He directed and released a number of films featuring himself, his musicians and entourage, including 200 Motels and Baby Snakes.
His career started in 1955. His earliest recordings date from the mid-1960s, and include collaborations with his school friend Captain Beefheart. In 1965 he joined a bar-band called The Soul Giants, quickly dominating its musical direction and rechristening it The Mothers. Their first release (as The Mothers of Invention; the name alteration requested by their record company) was the 1966 double album Freak Out!. The line-up of the Mothers gradually expanded to accommodate Zappa's increasingly ambitious and avant-garde music, but by 1969 he decided to work outside the band structure, focusing on his solo career, and effectively disbanding the Mothers in 1971.
The beginnings of his solo career in the late sixties and early seventies was characterised by a strong free jazz influence, with albums containing little, if any, lyrical content, such as Hot Rats, Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo. Towards the mid-seventies his albums became more rock-orientated, with a combination of Jazz Fusion instrumentation and Rock song structures. This more accessible sound bore reasonable mainstream appeal, especially with the release of the well-advertised albums Over-Nite Sensation and Apostrophe (') (which both went Gold), but Zappa's unpredictably eclectic output never led to solid mainstream recognition. He received uniformly lukewarm reviews from popular music publications such as Rolling Stone throughout his career. In his late seventies' output, the gulf between his humorous songs and more lengthy, complex instrumental music widened, and albums, such as Zappa in New York, Joe's Garage: Acts I, II & III, and Sleep Dirt displayed, by track, both sides firmly segregated.
Zappa saw a second run of success in the early eighties with the release of many albums with predominantly comedic rock songs, but later continued to experiment with virtually every style of music through the eighties, and was productive as ever until his death. His output in this later-career period included two albums of strikingly original classical music with the London Symphony Orchestra, an electronic take on 18th-century chamber music (written by the obscure Italian composer 'Francesco Zappa', no relation), an album of Synclavier compositions (misleadingly titled Jazz From Hell which garnered a Grammy award), a double-CD release of electric guitar instrumental music (the laconically titled Guitar) and a plenitude of official live releases, revisiting fan-favourites as well as showcasing Zappa's talent for reinventing the music of others; his version of Stairway to Heaven becoming a word-of-mouth favourite.
Zappa produced almost all of his own albums, spending many hours in the studio recording and manipulating tracks, and was always at the forefront of emerging technologies; from tape editing, collage, multitrack and overdubbing in the sixties to digital recording, electronic instruments and sampling in the eighties. Conversely, Zappa was also a obsessive self-archivist, recording virtually every one of his live performances, and often using live recordings of new material without needing to enter the studio. The archive of tapes at his family home in Los Angeles continues to be a source of posthumous releases for the Zappa Family Trust. He was also noted as a spotter of talent and his shifting line-up of musicians included Lowell George, Jean-Luc Ponty, Terry Bozzio, Chad Wackerman, George Duke, Mike Keneally, Adrian Belew and Steve Vai, as well as giving Alice Cooper his first break in music and working again with his old collaborator Captain Beefheart when his career was in decline.
In the late 1980s he became active in politics, campaigning against the PMRC's music censorship scheme and acting as culture and trade representative for Czechoslovakia in 1989; and considered running as an independent candidate for president of the US.
His death in Los Angeles, California, on 4th December 1993 came three years after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
15 Yo Cats
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Steve vai (guitar)
Johnny "guitar" watson (guitar, vocals)
Ike willis (guitar, vocals)
Ray white (guitar, vocals)
Bobby martin (keyboards, vocals)
Tommy mars (keyboards)
Scott thunes (bass)
Ed mann (percussion)
Yo cats, yo yo
Yo chooch, way to go
You is dead, but you don't know
Yo let's carve, hey where's the blow?
Get your fiddle, get your bow
Play some footballs on your hole
Watch your watch, play a little flat
Make the session go overtime, that's where it's at
Saxophone, clarinet
How many doubles can you get
Special rules provide the way
To help you maximize your pay
Your girl, arlyn's, what's the diff
What's the service that you're with
So long as you can suck the butt
Of the contractor who calls you up
Your career could take a thud
Unless you kneel and scarf his pud
And when the dates come rolling in
You can wipe your lips and flash a grin
That tells them all on the jingle date
That you enjoyed what you just ate
Yum yum, dog food
Hemorrhoid cream but the bread's so good
New rv and a leisure suit
Hey, I play shit but I love the loot
Thank the union, it's so great
Only a few get to be on the date
Those other shmucks with electric guitars
Got to play for poot in the bistro bars
You have made it, you are cool
You have been to the berkeley school
You give clinics on the side
Music has died and no one cried
Yo cats, yo yo
Yo chooch way to go
You is dead!
Hey! have a nice one, guy!
In "Yo Cats," Frank Zappa uses satire to critique the music industry and the culture surrounding it. Zappa and his accompanying musicians create a chaotic and frenzied atmosphere, with the lyrics acting as a stream-of-consciousness commentary. The opening lines, "Yo cats, yo yo / Yo chooch, way to go / You is dead, but you don't know / Yo let's carve, hey where's the blow?" set the tone for the rest of the song, with nonsensical phrases and slang thrown in to disorient the listener.
Zappa touches on the topic of contractors and their treatment of musicians, highlighting the lengths some performers will go to in order to secure work. He sings, "Your career could take a thud / Unless you kneel and scarf his pud / And when the dates come rolling in / You can wipe your lips and flash a grin / That tells them all on the jingle date / That you enjoyed what you just ate." The lyrics also touch on the idea of musicians selling out, with lines like "Hey, I play shit but I love the loot" and "Music has died and no one cried."
Overall, "Yo Cats" is a satirical commentary on the music industry and the people involved in it. Zappa uses his signature mix of humor and social critique to highlight the absurdity of the industry and its culture.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo cats, yo yo
Greetings friends
Yo chooch, way to go
Hey friend, congratulations
You is dead, but you don't know
You are oblivious to your own ignorance
Yo let's carve, hey where's the blow?
Shall we begin playing music? By the way, where's the cocaine?
Get your fiddle, get your bow
Get your instrument ready
Play some footballs on your hole
Play some odd notes or rhythms
Watch your watch, play a little flat
Pay attention to the time and play slightly out of tune
Make the session go overtime, that's where it's at
Extend the recording session to capture the perfect sound
Saxophone, clarinet
List of instruments
How many doubles can you get
How many different tracks can be recorded
Special rules provide the way
Rules must be followed for success
To help you maximize your pay
To help you earn more money
Your girl, arlyn's, what's the diff
What is the difference about Arlyn?
What's the service that you're with
What services do you provide?
So long as you can suck the butt
As long as you can flatter your employer
Of the contractor who calls you up
Of the person who hires you
Your career could take a thud
Your career could be ruined
Unless you kneel and scarf his pud
Unless you are subservient and flatter your employer
And when the dates come rolling in
And when the performance offers come in
You can wipe your lips and flash a grin
You can pretend that everything is okay
That tells them all on the jingle date
That tells everyone that you enjoyed the performance
That you enjoyed what you just ate
That you had a great time playing music
Yum yum, dog food
Sarcastic comment about the music industry
Hemorrhoid cream but the bread's so good
Sarcastic comment about the money being worth the pain
New rv and a leisure suit
Sarcastic comment about the the way musicians spend their money
Hey, I play shit but I love the loot
Admitting that the music played is low quality, but the money is worth it
Thank the union, it's so great
Sarcastic comment about the music industry unions
Only a few get to be on the date
Only a select few get to perform
Those other shmucks with electric guitars
Insulting comment about other musicians
Got to play for poot in the bistro bars
Got to play for almost no payment in small bars
You have made it, you are cool
Being successful in the music industry is cool
You have been to the berkeley school
Being educated in music is important for success
You give clinics on the side
Sharing your knowledge and experience is part of being successful
Music has died and no one cried
Sad comment about the state of the music industry
Hey! have a nice one, guy!
Farewell
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Vincent Zappa, Tommy Mariano
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Frank D
2:58 kills me every time.
a625 c625
this song rules
Joaquin Correa
You have made it, you are cool You have been to the berkeley school You give clinics on the side Music has died and no one cried FZ
Oivalf Music
Berklee*
Hampton Washington
Joaquin Correa this song is why the rocknrollhalloffame waited for fz to die before they inducted him.
nadasonic
still think this is based on Teen Town. no one else seems to have noticed..
Mizz Maddie
Hmmm...interesting...
Tory Slusher
Hey, I play s***,
but I love that lute
Superfly271
I think it's "loot".