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.
Diptheria Blues
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
[Tully Gymnasium, Florida State University
October 9, 1970]
Back [...] a hundred years ago
There wasn't anyway you can go down here in Florida
Mississippi
Any of [...] things
Then you got your home [...]
And you got your own things
And you got your soul brothers
Hundred years ago [...]
Would never [...] it was
[...]
[...]
[...] background, ladies and gentlemen
[...] brownie diphtheria harmonica blues
[...] Asthma Mark
And the Funk Brothers
Good God!
Good God!
[...]
What is this?
I can't stand it
I can't really [...] a heartbreak
You just warm me up
Take it to my pocket please
Take it to my hometown
Take it to my strawhat
Take it in my blue [...]
They send me down by the scarecrow
And they say
Hey, boy
You better picking bluebirds all day long
It's about time you really got it on
And I know you brothers got rhythm and you got soul
Somebody you play some, I mean
We gotta have one on every block
Just to show how cool we are
I'm staying [...] and all of this
What's that rag you're listening here
Would be [Joe Brown and the Twistmen], boy
Would take your women back to their shed
We're gonna use you to make me feel, boy
Then we're gonna sit down and [...] on you
[...]
Fine [...] Asthma Mark
They used to say, play that thing there for more
Play the harmonica, boy
Play that thing
Asthma Mark goes free, yeah!
[...] what?
Asthma Mark goes free, yeah!
Free yeah!
Free yeah!
Carlos Santana, ladies and gentlemen!
Good God!
Don't break that bottle, brother Aynsley
It's all we got
So Asthma Mark would sit on the corner
And he would play his Diphtheria Blues on this corner
And people will come from miles around
To see Asthma Mark a-wheezing and a-playing
A-playing and a-wheezing
And spewing
And a-foaming
They say
We love you, Asthma Mark
And we sing with him
Go Diphtheria Blues
I can't breath
I can't breath
My blow's a sweater
Miles of water and
[...]
Oh, I can't stand it
What's gonna happen to me
Oh Diphtheria got me down
Oh San Antonio epidemic out
Oh [...]
Oh Diphtheria Blues
[...] say
Gonna play in this [...]
Gonna [...] through
[...] on the back
[...]
[...] in my place
[...] here
[...] funky blues
Diphtheria Blues
Got me down
Diphtheria Blues
Got me down
Can't stand it no more
Diphtheria Blues
Just [...]
[...]
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues, yeah
Diphtheria Blues, oh
Diphtheria Blues [...]
Can't stand it
Oh no
Oh no
OW!
OW!
HOO-AAHHH!
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues
Can't stand it
Oh no
Oh no
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues
Play that thing Asthma Mark
Good God!
Good God!
Amen . . .
John Lennon: Okay?
FZ: Sit down and cool it for a minute so you can hear what we're gonna do!
John Lennon: Yeah, this is a song I used to sing when I was in The Cavern in Liverpool, I haven't done it since so . . . Two, three, four . . .
The lyrics to Frank Zappa's "Diphtheria Blues" are a surreal and stream-of-consciousness account of a street musician known as Asthma Mark, who plays the diphtheria harmonica blues. He is said to have been playing this kind of music "a hundred years ago," in a time and place where there were no other options for entertainment, and he claims to have his own things, own soul brothers, and own soul. The singer seems to be overhearing this performance and is unable to comprehend it or the situation, saying, "What is this? I can't stand it. I can't really...take it to my pocket please...take it on my straw hat...take it to my blue." The singer appears to be in a state of distress or pain due to the diphtheria blues, describing himself as feeling like he's suffocating, and cries out that he "can't stand it" several times during the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Back [...] a hundred years ago
There wasn't anyway you can go down here in Florida
Mississippi
[...]
Any of [...] things
In Florida and Mississippi, 100 years ago, there were no options for entertainment or other things to do.
Then you got your home [...]
And you got your soul brothers
Despite this lack of options, people had their homes and close friends.
Hundred years ago [...]
Would never [...] it was
[...]
[...] background, ladies and gentlemen
It's hard to imagine what life was like 100 years ago, and the backstory is being provided for this concert's audience.
[...] brownie diphtheria harmonica blues
[...] Asthma Mark
And the Funk Brothers
The song being played is called 'Diphtheria Blues' and is being performed by Asthma Mark with the accompaniment of the Funk Brothers.
Take it to my pocket please
Take it to my hometown
Take it to my strawhat
Take it in my blue [...]
The artist is asking someone to give them something they can take with them, to their home or to wear, possibly a souvenir of the concert.
They send me down by the scarecrow
And they say
Hey, boy
You better picking bluebirds all day long
It's about time you really got it on
The singer is describing a situation where he is sent to pick blueberries, but people are encouraging him to have fun and be more lively.
I'm staying [...] and all of this
What's that rag you're listening here
Would be [Joe Brown and the Twistmen], boy
Would take your women back to their shed
We're gonna use you to make me feel, boy
Then we're gonna sit down and [...] on you
It's unclear what the singer is staying about, but someone is implying that they would use him in some way, possibly for their own entertainment and pleasure.
Fine [...] Asthma Mark
They used to say, play that thing there for more
Play the harmonica, boy
Play that thing
The artist is complimenting Asthma Mark on his harmonica playing and suggesting that he continue to play more.
[...] what?
Asthma Mark goes free, yeah!
Free yeah!
Free yeah!
It's not clear what Asthma Mark is being freed from, but the crowd is cheering and excited about it.
So Asthma Mark would sit on the corner
And he would play his Diphtheria Blues on this corner
And people will come from miles around
To see Asthma Mark a-wheezing and a-playing
A-playing and a-wheezing
And spewing
And a-foaming
They say
We love you, Asthma Mark
And we sing with him
Go Diphtheria Blues
Asthma Mark would play his harmonica on the corner and people would come from far away to watch him play. Even though he was wheezing and foaming, people still loved him and sang along with his song.
My blow's a sweater
Miles of water and
[...]
Oh Diphtheria got me down
Oh San Antonio epidemic out
Oh [...]
Oh Diphtheria Blues
It's unclear what the singer is trying to convey with these lines, except that they seem to be describing being sick and possibly affected by an epidemic.
Diphtheria Blues
Got me down
Diphtheria Blues
Got me down
Can't stand it no more
Diphtheria Blues
Just [...]
[...]
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues, yeah
Diphtheria Blues, oh
Diphtheria Blues [...]
Can't stand it
Oh no
The artist is experiencing the 'Diphtheria Blues' and can't stand it anymore. They keep repeating the phrase, as if they are trying to communicate something about how awful they feel.
OW!
OW!
HOO-AAHHH!
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues
Can't stand it
Oh no
Oh no
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues
Play that thing Asthma Mark
These lines are repeating the earlier sentiment about the Diphtheria Blues and how painful it is. The singer is demanding that Asthma Mark play his harmonica again.
Contributed by Layla A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.