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.
Man With The Woman Head
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The man with the woman head
Polynesian wallpaper made the face stand out,
a mixture of Oriental and early vaudeville jazz poofter,
forming a hard, beetle-like, triangular chin much like a praying mantis.
Smoky razor-cut, low on the ear neck profile.
The face the color of a nicotine-stained hand.
map-like from too much turquoise eyepaint.
He showed his old tongue through ill-fitting wooden teeth,
stained from too much opium, chipped from the years.
The feet, brown wrinkles above straw loafers.
A piece of coconut in a pink seashell caught the tongue and knotted into thin white strings.
Charcoal grey Eisenhower jacket zipped into a loaded green ascot.
A coil of ashes collected on the white-on-yellow daks.
Four slender bones with rings and nails endured the weight of a hard fast black rubber cigarette holder.
I could just make out Ace as he carried the tray and mouthed,
"You cheap son of a bitch" as a straw fell out of a Coke, cartwheeled into the gutter.
So this was a drive-in restaurant in Hollywood,
So this was a drive-in restaurant in Hollywood,
So this was a drive-in restaurant in Hollywood.
The lyrics of Frank Zappa's song "Man with the Woman Head" paint a vivid picture of a strange character. The central figure of the lyrics is a man with a woman's head, described in intricate detail. The description of this man as "a mixture of Oriental and early vaudeville jazz poofter" suggests that he embodies a combination of different cultures and time periods. The description of his face as having a "hard, beetle-like, triangular chin" and "dark circles collected under the wrinkled, folded eyes" creates an unsettling image, adding to the overall sense of weirdness and intrigue in the lyrics.
The man's clothes are also described in great detail, with a description of a "charcoal grey Eisenhower jacket zipped into a loaded green ascot" and "brown wrinkles above straw loafers". The use of color in the description of the man's clothes creates a striking visual imagery, adding to the surreal tone of the song. The line "So this was a drive-in restaurant in Hollywood" suggests that the man is a regular customer at a diner in Los Angeles, further adding to the gritty realism of the lyrics.
Overall, the lyrics of "Man with the Woman Head" describe a strange, otherworldly figure, seemingly out of place in the world of Los Angeles diners and drive-ins. The use of detailed descriptions and vivid imagery creates a sense of unease and wonder, making the song a fascinating piece of surrealist art.
Line by Line Meaning
The man with the woman head
The man had a face that looked like a mixture of a Polynesian wallpaper, Oriental style, and early vaudeville jazz. His face was hard, beetle-like, and triangular in shape, much like a praying mantis. It was also the color of nicotine-stained hand, and had dark circles collected under the wrinkled, folded eyes that had been marked from too much turquoise eyepaint. Furthermore, he had ill-fitting wooden teeth that were stained from years of opium use.
Polynesian wallpaper made the face stand out
The man's face appeared more noticeable because of the Polynesian wallpaper behind him.
forming a hard, beetle-like, triangular chin much like a praying mantis
The man's facial features, specifically his chin, resembled the hard, triangular shape of a beetle, and similar to the chin of a praying mantis.
Smoky razor-cut, low on the ear neck profile
The man had had a smoky, razor-cut neck profile with low ears.
The face the color of a nicotine-stained hand
The man's face looked like it was the same color as a hand that had been stained by nicotine.
Dark circles collected under the wrinkled, folded eyes, map-like from too much turquoise eyepaint
The man had dark circles under his wrinkled, folded eyes that looked like they had been marked by too much turquoise eyepaint.
He showed his old tongue through ill-fitting wooden teeth, stained from too much opium, chipped from the years
The man showed his tongue through ill-fitting wooden teeth that had been stained by years of opium use, and had been chipped over time.
The feet, brown wrinkles above straw loafers
The man had feet that had brown wrinkles on them and were wearing straw loafers.
A piece of coconut in a pink seashell caught the tongue and knotted into thin white strings
There was a piece of coconut in a pink seashell that the man had put in his mouth, which then had tied up into thin white strings.
Charcoal grey Eisenhower jacket zipped into a loaded green ascot
The man was wearing a charcoal grey Eisenhower jacket that was zipped up, and had a loaded green ascot around his neck.
A coil of ashes collected on the white-on-yellow daks
There was a coil of ashes that had collected on the white-on-yellow daks.
Four slender bones with rings and nails endured the weight of a hard fast black rubber cigarette holder
The man's four slender fingers, adorned with rings and nails, held up the weight of a hard fast black rubber cigarette holder.
I could just make out Ace as he carried the tray and mouthed, "You cheap son of a bitch" as a straw fell out of a Coke, cartwheeled into the gutter
The singer could see Ace carrying a tray and mouthing, "You cheap son of a bitch" as a straw fell out of a Coke and rolled into the gutter.
So this was a drive-in restaurant in Hollywood, So this was a drive-in restaurant in Hollywood, So this was a drive-in restaurant in Hollywood.
The singer came to the realization that they were at a drive-in restaurant in Hollywood.
Contributed by Henry H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.