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.
Promiscuous
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
S'posed to give you all the poop
But when he's with p.m.r.c.
The poop he's scoopin'
Amazes me
see-span showed him, all dressed up
In his phoney doctor God get-up
'n gave a little lecture
'bout anal sex
He says it is not good for us
We just can't be promiscuous
He's a docter -- he should know
It's the work of the devil, so
Girls, don't blow!
Don't blow jimmy, don't blow bobby
Get yourself another hobby
(if jesus practiced medicine
I'm sure he'd do it
Just like him)
Is doctor koop a man to trust?
It seems at least that reagan must
(but ron's a trusting sort of guy --
He trusts ed meese
I wonder why? )
The a.m.a. has just got caught
For doin' stuff it shouldn't ought
All they do is lie and lie
Where's doctor koop?
He's standin' by
Surgeon general? what's the deal?
Is your epidemic real?
Are you leaving something out?
Something we can't talk about?
A little green monkey over there
Kills a million people?
That's not fair!
Did it really go that way?
Did you ask the c.i.a.?
Would they take you serious,
Or have they been
Promiscuous
In the song "Promiscuous," Frank Zappa criticizes the actions of the Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan. Zappa ridicules Koop and his conservative views on sexuality and drug use, accusing him of hypocrisy and manipulation. Koop, who was known for his public health campaigns, is depicted as an obedient tool of PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center), a group of Washington wives who had accused rock and heavy metal music of promoting promiscuity and drug use.
Zappa pokes fun at Koop for wearing a "phony doctor God get-up" and for delivering lectures on anal sex. He also questions the Surgeon General's authority, implying that he is influenced by politicians like Reagan and that he is not necessarily an impartial expert on public health. Zappa's humor further intensifies as he mocks Koop's conservative views on sexual activities, claiming that it's "the work of the devil" and urges women not to "blow" and men not to engage in promiscuous behavior.
The final verse of the song highlights the hypocrisy of the entire public health industry in America, including the AMA, and accuses them of lying to the public about the severity of issues such as the AIDS epidemic. Zappa concludes, "Did you ask the c.i.a.? / Would they take you serious, / Or have they been / Promiscuous."
Line by Line Meaning
The surgeon general, doctor koop
The head of the US Public Health Service, C. Everett Koop
S'posed to give you all the poop
Supposed to give the people accurate information about public health
But when he's with p.m.r.c.
When he's with the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association
The poop he's scoopin'
The information he's giving out
Amazes me
I find it hard to believe
see-span showed him, all dressed up
On CSPAN he was seen, dressed up in his attire
In his phoney doctor God get-up
In his fake 'doctor god' outfit
He looked in the camera and fixed his specs
He looked at the camera and adjusted his eyeglasses
'n gave a little lecture
And gave a brief talk
'bout anal sex
About sexual activity involving the anus
He says it is not good for us
He claims that it's harmful
We just can't be promiscuous
We can't be having sex with multiple partners
He's a docter -- he should know
He's a doctor - he's expected to have expert knowledge
It's the work of the devil, so
According to him, it's evil
Girls, don't blow!
Women, don't perform oral sex!
Don't blow jimmy, don't blow bobby
Don't do it for Jimmy, don't do it for Bobby
Get yourself another hobby
Find something else to do with your time
(if jesus practiced medicine
(If Jesus was a doctor
I'm sure he'd do it
I'm sure he'd do it
Just like him)
Just like Koop
Is doctor koop a man to trust?
Can we trust Dr. Koop?
It seems at least that reagan must
At least Reagan seems to trust him
(but ron's a trusting sort of guy --
(But Reagan isn't always the best judge of character --
He trusts ed meese
He trusts Edwin Meese
I wonder why? )
I wonder why?)
The a.m.a. has just got caught
The American Medical Association has just been caught
For doin' stuff it shouldn't ought
For doing things it shouldn't have
All they do is lie and lie
All they do is lie
Where's doctor koop?
Where's Dr. Koop?
He's standin' by
He's supporting them
Surgeon general? what's the deal?
What's the deal with the Surgeon General?
Is your epidemic real?
Is the disease outbreak you're warning about real?
Are you leaving something out?
Are you omitting important information?
Something we can't talk about?
Something we're not allowed to mention?
A little green monkey over there
A monkey that's green over there
Kills a million people?
Is responsible for killing a million people?
That's not fair!
That's not right!
Did it really go that way?
Did it actually happen like that?
Did you ask the c.i.a.?
Did you ask the CIA?
Would they take you serious,
Would they take you seriously
Or have they been
Or have they
Promiscuous
Engaging in risky or inappropriate behavior
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Vincent Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind