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.
Diseases Of The Band
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ike willis (guitar, vocals)
Denny walley (slide guitar, vocals)
Warren cucurullo (guitar)
Tommy mars (keyboards, vocals)
Peter wolf (keyboards)
Ed mann (percussion)
Arthur barrow (bass)
Hiya folks!
Alright, here's the deal,
This is our last show here in london
Gee, it's gonna be tough!
Got a few...a few of the boys are sick tonight
But they're still gonna...give you their all
I want to introduce you to the members of the rockin' teen-age
Combo and tell you which ones are sick and what they've got
Denny walley on slide and vocals
He has, he has an aluminum finger
And we're gonna have that removed
A little bit later in this show^lthis is ike willis
Ike has a...now ike, ike is our lead vocalist,
Our dynamic male vocalist
He's got a soar throat
And all sorts of other things are wrong with him
He'll never be able to get through this show
The only thing he's got to take care of is his knitted hat
And of course tommy mars,
Who also has stomach-flu, on keyboards
Do you have any other diseases tommy?
No? he's available! ok!
Ed mann on percussion
Ed is still healthy
Except, and he told me this backstage,
Except for his mental health
You have to expect these things in this kind of a group
And peter wolf on keyboards
There's, there...apparently there's nothing wrong with peter yet
(he's got stomach-flu too)
You have stomach-flu too?
Ooh, my goodness!
The circle is closing in
Okay, vince colaiuta on drums
Now, as you can see from looking at vince,
There's absolutely nothing wrong with him
(malnutrition)
Arthur barrow, our bass player has got a ...
He's having a lotta trouble
He's been very sick all day
Missed the soundcheck and everything
But he's gonna try
He's gonna try really hard
And of course: sophia warren on guitar
In "Diseases of the Band," Frank Zappa introduces his members, notes who's ill, and what maladies they've got. Denny Walley is affected by an aluminum finger that will soon be removed; Ike Willis, who has a sour throat is introduced as the dynamic male vocalist; Tommy Mars at the keyboards, on the other hand, is sick with the stomach flu, while Peter Wolf is yet to show any disease despite having stomach flu like many other members. Ed Mann is still healthy except for his mental health, which is to be expected for this kind of group. Arthur Barrow, the bass player, is having a rough time, although he will try really hard; and Sophia Warren is the last member introduced.
The lyrics depict what seems to be the last performance of the group in London, and it is fraught with illness. Despite this, the band members are determined to give their all, and their sicknesses add to the song's humor. With the songs’ humor, Zappa manages to find a light side of illnesses and creates comical lyrics in his style.
Line by Line Meaning
Hiya folks!
Frank Zappa greets the audience with enthusiasm.
Alright, here's the deal,
Frank Zappa is about to explain a situation to the audience.
This is our last show here in london Gee, it's gonna be tough!
Frank Zappa is acknowledging the challenges of performing in London for the final show.
Got a few...a few of the boys are sick tonight But they're still gonna...give you their all
Despite some of the band members being sick, they will still perform to the best of their abilities for the audience.
I want to introduce you to the members of the rockin' teen-age Combo and tell you which ones are sick and what they've got
Frank Zappa wants to introduce the band and describe their ailments for the audience.
Denny walley on slide and vocals He has, he has an aluminum finger And we're gonna have that removed A little bit later in this show
Denny Walley has an aluminum finger that will be removed during the show.
This is ike willis Ike has a...now ike, ike is our lead vocalist, Our dynamic male vocalist He's got a soar throat And all sorts of other things are wrong with him He'll never be able to get through this show The only thing he's got to take care of is his knitted hat
Ike Willis is the lead vocalist, but he has a sore throat and other ailments that make it unlikely he can perform. He will keep himself warm with his knitted hat.
And of course tommy mars, Who also has stomach-flu, on keyboards Do you have any other diseases tommy? No? he's available! ok!
Tommy Mars has a stomach flu, and Frank Zappa jokingly offers him more diseases to choose from.
Ed mann on percussion Ed is still healthy Except, and he told me this backstage, Except for his mental health You have to expect these things in this kind of a group
Ed Mann is physically healthy, but he shared with Frank Zappa that he is struggling mentally, which is not uncommon in this kind of group.
And peter wolf on keyboards There's, there...apparently there's nothing wrong with peter yet (he's got stomach-flu too) You have stomach-flu too? Ooh, my goodness! The circle is closing in
Peter Wolf is currently healthy, but he has stomach flu like many others in the band, making it seem inevitable that he too will become sick.
Okay, vince colaiuta on drums Now, as you can see from looking at vince, There's absolutely nothing wrong with him (malnutrition)
Vince Colaiuta appears healthy, but Frank Zappa jokingly notes that he may have malnutrition.
Arthur barrow, our bass player has got a ... He's having a lotta trouble He's been very sick all day Missed the soundcheck and everything But he's gonna try He's gonna try really hard
Arthur Barrow has been sick all day and is struggling, but he is determined to try his best during the performance.
And of course: sophia warren on guitar
Sophia Warren is introduced as the guitarist for the band.
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