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.
Later That Night
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To break this heart of mine
I thought you knew I loved you
And we'd share a love so fine
But later that night
You threw a padlock on my door
My clothes out on the street
And I cried, I cried
I-I-I-I-I cried my hart out
Cried my heart out
Later that night
Don't go baby, don't put me out on the
street. Your threw my best sharkskin
suit out on the lawn, right on top of
some dog waste
(I hold in my hand three letters from
the stages of your fine, fine, super-
fine career...) and my best white
shirts with the Mr. B collar all
over the front lawn. Where's my cuff
links? Lemme back in dere. Dere?
"Huffa puffa, Huffa puffa
There's no room to breathe in here"
"That's alright honey. You can come
out of the closet now"
The lyrics to Frank Zappa's song Later That Night speak about the pain of heartbreak and the sudden betrayal that comes with it. The singer is addressing someone they love and thought loved them back, but that individual is now trying to hurt them. The song starts with the singer lamenting their lover's actions, trying to understand why they would do something that would cause them so much emotional pain. The chorus emphasizes the singer's hurt, as they cry their heart out, overwhelmed by the betrayal.
Later on, the lyrics become more detailed about what the lover did to cause such pain. They threw a padlock on the singer's door and threw their clothes out on the street, leaving them out in the open and vulnerable. There's a sense of embarrassment and humiliation as their best sharkskin suit and white shirts - including the one with the "Mr. B collar" - are now sitting out on the front lawn. The singer pleads with their lover, trying to reason with them, but ultimately resigns themselves to their fate.
Overall, the song Later That Night is a painful and raw reflection on heartbreak and betrayal. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the singer's emotions, as they try to cope with the sudden end of their relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
You surely must be trying
I can tell that you're making a conscious effort
To break this heart of mine
You're intentionally hurting me emotionally
I thought you knew I loved you
I assumed you were aware of my feelings for you
And we'd share a love so fine
I expected us to have a wonderful love together
But later that night
At a later point that evening
You threw a padlock on my door
You used a lock to prevent me from entering my own home
My clothes out on the street
You put my clothing items outside, exposed to the public
'Cause you don't want my love no more
Because you no longer desire to have a romantic relationship with me
And I cried, I cried
I wept, I wept
I-I-I-I-I cried my heart out
I cried intensely and passionately
Cried my heart out
I cried profusely
Later that night
At a later point in the same evening
Don't go baby, don't put me out on the street.
Please don't leave me and put me in a vulnerable position
Your threw my best sharkskin suit out on the lawn, right on top of some dog waste
You tossed my favorite suit onto the grass, where there was animal feces present
(I hold in my hand three letters from the stages of your fine, fine, super-fine career...)
(I have three letters relevant to your impressive career in my possession...)
and my best white shirts with the Mr. B collar all over the front lawn.
also, my special white shirts with a distinct collar pattern are scattered across the front yard
Where's my cuff links?
I can't find my cuff links
Lemme back in dere. Dere?
May I please come back inside? Is that okay?
"Huffa puffa, Huffa puffa / There's no room to breathe in here"
"I'm having trouble breathing due to the lack of space in this area"
"That's alright honey. You can come / out of the closet now"
"No need to stay hidden in the closet anymore, it's safe to come out now"
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Vincent Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind