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.
Lil' Clanton Shuffle
Frank Zappa Lyrics
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FZ guitar
Ian Underwood Fender Rhodes
Unknown [probably Max Bennett] bass
John Guerin drums]
The lyrics to Frank Zappa's song "Lil' Clanton Shuffle" are a surreal and enigmatic commentary on the intersections of politics, culture, and violence in America. The song seems to reference the infamous Clanton gang of the Old West, as well as the more recent Clanton Mafia of the Deep South. The lyrics are a rapid-fire barrage of images and phrases that conjure up a sense of chaos, danger, and lawlessness.
Throughout the song, Zappa references various forms of brutality and corruption, from police shootings to drug trafficking to organized crime. He also plays with language in unusual ways, creating strange neologisms and mixing slang and jargon with archaic or academic phrasing. The result is a dizzying, disorienting portrait of a society teetering on the brink of collapse.
Overall, "Lil' Clanton Shuffle" can be read as a scathing indictment of American culture and politics, exposing the ugly underbelly of a nation that has often touted itself as a beacon of freedom and democracy. Through his surreal and poetic lyrics, Zappa reveals the deep-seated problems and contradictions that continue to plague America to this day.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I'm gonna tell you the tale of Lil' Clanton Shuffle
Allow me to recount the story of Lil' Clanton Shuffle
It's a dance step that's brand new
This is a newly invented dance move
You do it like this, only you can't do it like Clanton do
Although I can demonstrate it for you, you're unable to do it as skillfully as Clanton
Well, you take two steps forward and one step back
Begin by taking two steps forward, followed by one step backwards
Twirl around and then spin like a top
Proceed to twirl around and spin rapidly like a spinning top
That's the Lil' Clanton Shuffle and it just can't stop
This is the signature move of the Lil' Clanton Shuffle and it's absolutely unstoppable
Now Clanton, he's a cool dude
Clanton, the inventor of this dance move, is an impressive individual
He knows how to move, he knows how to groove
Clanton possesses excellent dancing skills and has a great sense of rhythm
When he does the Shuffle, the girls get hot
Whenever Clanton performs the Lil' Clanton Shuffle, it generates a lot of excitement among females
When they see him move, they give all they got
The sight of Clanton's mesmerizing moves motivates the girls to give their best as well
That's the Lil' Clanton Shuffle, well don't you know
And that's how the Lil' Clanton Shuffle came to be, you see
It's something to watch, it's something to go
It's definitely worth observing and participating in
When the band starts to play, you'll want to show
Once the band starts playing, you won't be able to resist demonstrating your mastery of the Lil' Clanton Shuffle
That you're doing the Lil' Clanton Shuffle
By dancing to the beat, you're effectively performing the Lil' Clanton Shuffle
Oh yeah
Absolutely!
Contributed by Jason I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.