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.
Botulism On The Hoof
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dick: Don't even look at it, Howard, you're over the deadline
Jeff: The new fascist ensemble says that you can't have anything to eat, man, 'cause you're over the deadline
Howard: What's that mean?
Dick: I told you to be down here at noon, man, you're five minutes late, so you can't order, listen, listen . . .
Howard: You . . . told [...], man
Dick: These guys ordered like ten minutes ago
Howard: It's like having Ronald Reagan for a road manager . . . what can you make me in two minutes?
Howard: . . . besides sick!
Dick: If you help me, uh, . . . for the airport, man, you be able to woof down some kind of scarf out there
Howard: What do you mean, "Woof down some kind of scarf out there"?
Dick: Then you can stick your fingers in your nose
Howard: I'm hungry, man
Dick: Eat a payday candy bar
Howard: Listen, how about a little dry cereal? How 'bout an orange juice
Dick: Never happened, man
Jeff: Hey, get it on tape, that Barber is a doofus, man
The lyrics to Frank Zappa's song "Botulism On The Hoof" are full of witty wordplay and satirical commentary on the machinations of the music industry. The conversation between the characters in the song is fragmented and disjointed, with each one talking over each other and interrupting the others, creating a chaotic and frenzied atmosphere.
The song starts off with Howard expressing his excitement about "Botulism on the hoof", a reference to the danger of eating contaminated beef, which sets the tone for the offbeat humor that characterizes the rest of the lyrics. The other characters in the song, Dick and Jeff, are frustrated with Howard's tardiness and lack of professionalism, and deny him food because of it. The chaos of the situation is emphasized by the line, "It's like having Ronald Reagan for a road manager", highlighting the absurdity of the situation.
The lyrics go on to parody the jargon-filled language of the music industry, with references to the "new fascist ensemble" and "scarfing" down food. The line "Then you can stick your fingers in your nose" is a humorous way of saying that Howard will have time to relax once they get to the airport. The song ends with Jeff calling Howard a "doofus", suggesting that he is not taken seriously in the music business.
Line by Line Meaning
Howard: Oh, that's really great! Botulism on the hoof!
Howard expresses excitement about the food, Botulism on the hoof.
Dick: Don't even look at it, Howard, you're over the deadline
Dick tells Howard not to look at the food as he is five minutes late for the deadline.
Jeff: The new fascist ensemble says that you can't have anything to eat, man, 'cause you're over the deadline
Jeff tells Howard that the new fascist ensemble won't allow him to order food because he is late for the deadline.
Howard: What's that mean?
Howard asks the meaning of the new fascist ensemble's restriction on food.
Dick: I told you to be down here at noon, man, you're five minutes late, so you can't order, listen, listen . . .
Dick reminds Howard that he was supposed to be there by noon and he is now late, so he can't order food.
Howard: You . . . told [...], man
Howard is surprised that Dick didn't tell him earlier about the time restriction for ordering food.
Dick: These guys ordered like ten minutes ago
Dick points out that other customers have already ordered their food ten minutes ago.
Howard: It's like having Ronald Reagan for a road manager . . . what can you make me in two minutes?
Howard complains that Dick is like Ronald Reagan and asks what he can make for him in two minutes.
Dick: The deal is that, uh . . .
Dick tries to explain the situation to Howard.
Howard: . . . besides sick!
Howard adds that he doesn't want to get sick from the food.
Dick: If you help me, uh, . . . for the airport, man, you be able to woof down some kind of scarf out there
Dick promises Howard that if he helps him with something, he'll be able to eat something at the airport.
Howard: What do you mean, "Woof down some kind of scarf out there"?
Howard questions the use of the phrase "woof down some kind of scarf out there."
Dick: Then you can stick your fingers in your nose
Dick jokes and tells Howard that he can stick his fingers in his nose after he eats.
Howard: I'm hungry, man
Howard expresses that he is hungry.
Dick: Eat a payday candy bar
Dick suggests that Howard eat a payday candy bar instead of asking for food.
Howard: Listen, how about a little dry cereal? How 'bout an orange juice
Howard suggests dry cereal or orange juice as an alternative to getting a meal.
Dick: Never happened, man
Dick rejects Howard's suggestion of dry cereal or orange juice.
Jeff: Hey, get it on tape, that Barber is a doofus, man
Jeff calls Howard a doofus and suggests recording it on tape.
Contributed by John L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.