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.
I'm A Band Leader
Frank Zappa Lyrics
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I'm a band leader. not only can I drink a whole lot, but I play 23 different instruments , too and I don't even know how to read music. self-taught, you know. couldnt tell it, though, to hear me play. when I play and sway in rhythm to the catchy little tunes that I know for five miles around get hot pants for me, hotcha!
Last night was pretty good for a wednesday. we got ten requests for, we got bill bailey, and we played them all and we got seven people came up for the twist contest. I gave away a box with two small bottles of champagne imported from europe (heh) and kissed the girl who won and shook hands with the guy she was with. he didn't mind when I kissed her because I'm important.
We have a new routine. been working on it for three weeks or more. I pretend I'm a queer and the sax player pretends he's a queer, too, and later on in the show, (thisll kill ya) we kiss each other so that it looks to the audience like we kiss each other on the mouth. (heh). when we go... into a fast number, god, the people love it! wait... till... we... get to las vegas!
In "I'm A Band Leader" by Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart sings about his abilities as a band leader, emphasizing his prowess on various instruments, despite not knowing how to read music. He boasts about his abilities and the crowds that he performs for, mentioning a recent performance on a Wednesday night where the band took ten requests and had seven people come up for a twist contest. He even goes so far as to describe a new routine in which he and the sax player pretend to be queer and kiss each other on stage during a fast number, much to the delight of the audience.
Overall, the lyrics seem to be a humorous commentary on the life of a band leader and the lengths some may go to entertain their audiences. Beefheart's bragging about his skills and the various antics the band performs on stage could be seen as a critique of the music industry and the desire to constantly push boundaries to keep audiences interested.
Interestingly, this song was never officially released on any Frank Zappa albums, but was instead included on a bootleg album entitled "The History and Collected Improvisations of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention." Despite this, "I'm A Band Leader" has become somewhat of a cult favorite among Zappa fans and is often cited as an example of the eccentric and experimental nature of his music.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm a band leader. not only can I drink a whole lot, but I play 23 different instruments , too and I don't even know how to read music. self-taught, you know. couldnt tell it, though, to hear me play. when I play and sway in rhythm to the catchy little tunes that I know for five miles around get hot pants for me, hotcha!
I am an excellent band leader. I am skilled at playing 23 different instruments despite not knowing how to read music. I have a natural talent which I display while playing catchy tunes that others can hear up to five miles away. People are enamored with my music and I am very popular.
Last night was pretty good for a wednesday. we got ten requests for, we got bill bailey, and we played them all and we got seven people came up for the twist contest. I gave away a box with two small bottles of champagne imported from europe (heh) and kissed the girl who won and shook hands with the guy she was with. he didn't mind when I kissed her because I'm important.
I had a successful night on a Wednesday. We received several song requests and played them all. The twist contest attracted seven people and I gave the winner a box of champagne from Europe. I even kissed the girl who won and the guy she was with didn't mind because he knows how important I am.
We have a new routine. been working on it for three weeks or more. I pretend I'm a queer and the sax player pretends he's a queer, too, and later on in the show, (thisll kill ya) we kiss each other so that it looks to the audience like we kiss each other on the mouth. (heh). when we go... into a fast number, god, the people love it! wait... till... we... get to las vegas!
We have been working on a new routine for at least three weeks. In our performance, I pretend to be gay and the sax player does the same. Later, we simulate kissing each other on the mouth, which excites the audience. When we perform a fast number, the crowd responds positively. We cannot wait to perform this routine in Las Vegas.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Vincent Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind