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.
Beat It With Your Fist
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
[Guitar solo from The Torture Never Stops
The Palladium, NYC
October 30, 1980
Engineer: George Douglas
FZ lead guitar
Ray White rhythm guitar
Ike Willis rhythm guitar
Tommy Mars keyboards
Bob Harris keyboards
Arthur Barrow bass
Vinnie Colaiuta drums
Terry Bozzio voice
Patrick O'Hearn voice
Davey Moire voice?
People inside the piano from Apostolic Studios, NYC
October, 1967
All-Night John Kilgore voice
Girl (Maxine or Beckie) voice
Louis The Turkey Cuneo voice]
John: Keep on to it . . . ahm . . . Who's out there Gross Man? I know they're Gross Men . . .
Girl: No!
Louis: It 'cause . . . all my body! No . . . honey . . . Boogey-man or something, nothing's on there, Boogey-man!
O'Hearn: God! Right . . . well, oh, fuckin' . . .
Bozzio: Beat this fuckin' surfist . . .
Moire?: No way, [gato . . .]
O'Hearn: Yeah, for Christ, beat it with your fist, for Christ . . .
The lyrics to "Beat It With Your Fist" by Frank Zappa are quite cryptic and chaotic, as is common with many of his songs. At the beginning, there is a conversation happening between several people, including a woman and a man named John, who seems to be addressing someone or something called Gross Man. It's unclear who or what exactly Gross Man is, but there's a sense of unease and fear in his voice. This conversation is interrupted by a guitar solo, and after that, we hear several voices, including Terry Bozzio and Patrick O'Hearn, shouting, "Beat this fuckin' surfist . . . Yeah, for Christ, beat it with your fist, for Christ . . ."
The meaning behind these lyrics is difficult to decipher, but some have suggested that it's a commentary on the violent nature of society and the way that people deal with their problems through physical aggression. The phrase "beat it with your fist" is a clear indication of this, as is the violent and chaotic tone of the song itself. There may also be a sense of social commentary, as there are several voices in the song who seem to be addressing one another in a confrontational manner.
Overall, "Beat It With Your Fist" is a complex and challenging song that defies easy interpretation. It's one of many examples of Frank Zappa's unique and visionary approach to music, which often incorporated elements of surrealism, satire, and social commentary.
Line by Line Meaning
John: Keep on to it . . . ahm . . . Who's out there Gross Man? I know they're Gross Men . . .
John is addressing someone he refers to as 'Gross Man', asking who else is with him. He seems to know that there are others around.
Girl: No!
The girl emphatically denies John's claim that there are other 'Gross Men' around.
Louis: It 'cause . . . all my body! No . . . honey . . . Boogey-man or something, nothing's on there, Boogey-man!
Louis is trying to explain that he's feeling something strange on his body, perhaps like a 'boogey-man', but the girl insists that there's nothing there.
O'Hearn: God! Right . . . well, oh, fuckin' . . .
O'Hearn exclaims 'God!' in surprise or frustration, before trailing off into incoherent swearing.
Bozzio: Beat this fuckin' surfist . . .
Bozzio encourages someone to physically beat up a 'surfer' or 'surfist' (someone who surfs, or perhaps someone who embodies a relaxed, beachy lifestyle).
Moire?: No way, [gato . . .]
Moire responds with an apparent refusal, but it's unclear what he says due to the unclear audio recording. The word 'gato' may or may not be included.
O'Hearn: Yeah, for Christ, beat it with your fist, for Christ . . .
O'Hearn urges someone to 'beat it with your fist' (physically attack someone), invoking the name of Christ in a possible reference to religious zeal or fanaticism.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Vincent Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind