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.
Hungy Freaks Daddy
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mr. America, walk on by the minds that won't be reached
Mr. america try to hide the emptiness that's you inside
But once you find that the way you lied
And all the corny tricks you tried
Will not forestall the rising tide of hungry freaks daddy
They won't go on four no more
Philosophy that turns away
From those who aren't afraid to say what's on their minds
The left behinds of the great society
Hungry freaks, daddy
Mr. America, walk on by your supermarket dream
Mr. America, walk on by the liquor store supreme
Mr. america try to hide the product of your savage pride
The useful minds that it denied
The day you shrugged and stepped aside
You saw their clothes, and then you cried
those hungry freaks, daddy
They won't go on four no more
Great mid-western hardware store
Philosophy that turns away
From those who aren't afraid to say what's on their minds
The left behinds of the great society
Hungry Freaks Daddy is a protest song by Frank Zappa that was released in 1966. Like most protest songs, it was written to address issues that were prevalent in society at the time. The song addresses the social and political conditions of America during the mid-1960s, specifically the inequality and unrest that some citizens faced. In this song, Zappa addresses the hypocrisy and the emptiness of the American society through metaphorical language.
The first verse talks about how the American education system fails to teach its students important life lessons, and how the minds of the people have become closed and difficult to reach. The singer calls out Mr. America, who is a symbolic representation of the typical American citizen who is indoctrinated to follow the mainstream values and refuse to embrace new ideas. Mr. America is described as empty inside, and his attempts to hide this emptiness with lies and tricks will not help stop the tide of hungry freaks daddy. The hungry freaks represent those who have been left behind in society and have no place to go.
The second verse is a critique of the consumer culture in America that promotes materialism and values the acquisition of luxurious goods over the intellectual growth of its citizens. Zappa places emphasis on the disparity between the rich and the poor and how the wealthy are indifferent to the plight of the less privileged ones. He talks about how the people who have been denied opportunity and education are left behind despite the false promises of the American Dream.
Overall, Hungry Freaks Daddy is a call to unmask the false promises of the American society and demand a more equitable world. It is a reminder that the symptoms of the oppressive system may take different forms, but the root of the problem remains the same.
Line by Line Meaning
Mr. America, walk on by your schools that do not teach
You, Mr. America, are walking past schools that fail to educate individuals.
Mr. America, walk on by the minds that won't be reached
You, Mr. America, are ignoring those who refuse to conform to the norm.
Mr. america try to hide the emptiness that's you inside
You, Mr. America, are trying to mask the emptiness that lies within you.
But once you find that the way you lied
However, once you come to realize the falsehoods you've been telling yourself
And all the corny tricks you tried
And all the lame methods you've used to cope
Will not forestall the rising tide of hungry freaks daddy
They will not stop the rejection of societal norms by the nonconformists.
They won't go on four no more
The nonconformists will no longer follow traditional lifestyles.
Great mid-western hardware store
The hardware store of the mid-west, a symbol of tradition.
Philosophy that turns away
Outlooks that reject the unconventional.
From those who aren't afraid to say what's on their minds
They reject those who have the courage to express themselves freely
The left behinds of the great society
Those who feel abandoned by the so-called 'great society.'
Mr. America, walk on by your supermarket dream
You, Mr. America, are blindly chasing the superficial and materialistic dreams of consumerism.
Mr. America, walk on by the liquor store supreme
You, Mr. America, are ignoring the damaging effects of alcohol consumption on society.
Mr. america try to hide the product of your savage pride
You, Mr. America, are attempting to conceal the devastating consequences of your barbaric and egotistical behavior.
The useful minds that it denied
The potential of those who were not given a fair chance.
The day you shrugged and stepped aside
The moment when you chose to turn a blind eye to the issues at hand.
You saw their clothes, and then you cried
You noticed their appearance and realized the depth of their struggles.
those hungry freaks, daddy
Those who refuse to succumb to societal standards.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: FRANK ZAPPA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Lilianna Kifflin
On December 4th of 2020 let us raise a toast to Frank, the artist who was not just ahead of his time, but also made history of telling Humans of their own stupidity through music. RIP Frank Zappa, we will miss your brilliant mind, and how you gave the music industry the middle finger. 🍷🤘😎
Ville Laitamavkkapajatsoon
Greatest american ever. Tesla was serbian.
raymondleemeadows
Zappa was a genius. His flippant attitude to culture mixed with his serious, studious high art compositions is a wonderful combination and seriously lacking in today's music and recent rock/alternative music.
frank ferro
One of the truly great albums from the 60's. Real musicians led by the great Frank Zappa.
Carlos Nells
I was drafted as this came out...I remember listening to it all alone on my room mates turntable... hearing it again brings back that feeling of dread. I lived thru it though...later in grad school I found pals to listen to Franks albums...then I went to work in a Federal job...lived thru that too. But this album is still very relevant to our way of life.
yes man
I bet you have a lot of stories to tell.
JohnAudioTech
Recorded in early 1966, Zappa was really pushing the envelope. Loved how he tore into modern culture. Oh yeah, the guitar break was really hot too.
Betsy Bednar
My best friend's cousin Elliot played the guitar on this album. I met Elliot once; he was a very good guy. One hell of a guitar player, too!
Kalehead
@Shayne O'Neill Oh shit send the video, Tiny Tim and The Pretty Things were the first to get extremely long hair, like pass their neck, Pretty Things had been doing it since late 1964, the newspapers went insane.
Shayne O'Neill
I was actually watching an old video from '64 complaining about long-hair kids in liverpool, and then it shows them kids with hair like an inch long. Oh what a delicious ambush lay in wait from Mr Zappa and his mad lads.