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.
Jezebel Boy
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You know all the guys
In the sheriff's patrol
They leave you alone
When they round up the whores
Up on hollywood boulebard
Sometimes that nasty d.a.
In the paper again --
That's usually when
The short-pants girls
Have to take a ride
With a friendly policeman
But the jezebel boy
On the corner by the technicolor processing plant
Stands by the light;
Waitin' through the night
Waitin' for that distinguished-looking
Wilshire district gentleman
With snow-white hair,
To drive up in his lincoln,
And whisk away the jezebel boy
There he goes now!
Old ralph will make him put that wretched
Sausage in his mouth again
Another day,
Another sausage --
Jezebel boy
In Frank Zappa's song Jezebel Boy, the lyrics depict a scene of prostitution, police corruption and abuse of power. The song highlights how the prostitutes are the victims of the corrupt police who sometimes take them for a ride in exchange for money. The lyrics describe how the Jezebel boy, who may have been one of the prostitutes, waits for a wealthy gentleman with snow-white hair in his Lincoln to pick him up. The use of the word "Jezebel" in the title and throughout the song implies that the boy has been labeled as a promiscuous and immoral person, which could suggest that he is being punished for his sexuality.
Zappa's use of dark humor in the song adds a satirical edge to the portrayal of the corrupt authorities and their victims. The line "Another day, another sausage" seems to suggest that the Jezebel boy is being forced to perform sexual acts against his will. The contrast between the gritty, seedy world of prostitution and the affluent Wilshire district of Los Angeles serves to emphasize the power imbalance between the working-class prostitutes and their wealthy clients, who are free to exploit them without consequence.
Overall, Jezebel Boy is a commentary on the corrupt and unequal society in which Zappa lived, highlighting the abuse of power and the exploitation of vulnerable members of society.
Line by Line Meaning
Jezebel boy!
Calling out to the character in the song named Jezebel Boy.
You know all the guys
Jezebel Boy is familiar with all of the men who work for the sheriff's patrol.
In the sheriff's patrol
Referring to the group of men who work for the sheriff.
They leave you alone
The sheriff's patrol does not bother Jezebel Boy.
When they round up the whores
The sheriff's patrol rounds up prostitutes, but Jezebel Boy is not included.
Up on hollywood boulebard
The location where the whores are rounded up.
Sometimes that nasty d.a.
The district attorney, who is sometimes unpleasant.
Thinks he needs his name
The district attorney wants to make a name for himself.
In the paper again --
The district attorney wants to be mentioned in the newspaper again.
That's usually when
The district attorney usually makes a move when he wants publicity.
The short-pants girls
Young girls who are wearing shorts.
Have to take a ride
The young girls need to take a ride.
With a friendly policeman
The young girls are taken by a police officer who appears to be kind.
But the jezebel boy
Jezebel Boy is different from the young girls who need to take a ride.
On the corner by the technicolor processing plant
Jezebel Boy is located on a corner near a technicolor processing plant.
Stands by the light;
Jezebel Boy is standing under a street light.
Waitin' through the night
Jezebel Boy is waiting for something to happen all night.
Waitin' for that distinguished-looking
Jezebel Boy is waiting for a well-dressed man.
Wilshire district gentleman
The man who Jezebel Boy is waiting for is from Wilshire District.
With snow-white hair,
The man Jezebel Boy is waiting for has white hair.
To drive up in his lincoln,
Jezebel Boy is waiting for the man in a Lincoln car.
And whisk away the jezebel boy
The man Jezebel Boy is waiting for will take him away with him.
There he goes now!
The man Jezebel Boy is waiting for is arriving.
Old ralph will make him put that wretched
Ralph makes the man do something unpleasant.
Sausage in his mouth again
The man is forced to eat sausage again.
Another day,
Life goes on.
Another sausage --
Another unpleasant task.
Jezebel boy
Jezebel Boy remains trapped in his situation.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Vincent Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind