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.
Super Grease
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
[includes a quote from Lady Of The Island (Graham Nash)]
[Rainbow Theater, London, England
December 10, 1971]
Ooooooh Aaaaaah
Aaaah
Howard: Poor baby!
FZ: Oooooh . . . Don't like the Greek food in this neighborhood, hey?
Oooooh . . .
FZ: Tell me the truth, what did you eat?
Mark: I ate . . .
FZ: Tell me the truth, what did you eat?
Howard: I had a Shish kebab
FZ: Tell me the truth, what did you eat? You didn't eat?
Mark: I was having chicken . . .
FZ: You didn't eat?
Howard: He didn't eat anything. He drank wine
Mark: With, uh, spinnach . . .
FZ: What did you eat?
Mark: And boiled potatoes . . .
Jim: I had a roller skate
Mark: Not just any grease but . . .
GREASE
The browness of her body
Makes me sweat inside my crotch
I want so much to kiss her
But I/she smells of rancid botch
Do do do do do do
Oooooooh wagh!
Mark: Grease, grease, I tell ya, all I had was grease, it cost me two dollars and thirty five cents, it was nothing but a plate of grease
Howard: And a wine tasted like . . .
The song "Super Grease" by Frank Zappa is a humorous and somewhat disgusting commentary on fast food and its effects on the body. The song was performed live at the Rainbow Theatre in London in December 1971 and features a conversation between Zappa and his bandmates about the Greek food they had eaten in the neighborhood. The lyrics describe a woman whose body is so attractive that it makes the singer sweat inside his crotch, but he cannot bring himself to kiss her because she smells of rancid grease. The song ends with Mark complaining about the grease he ate and the wine he drank.
The song is a commentary on the effects of fast food on the body, specifically the high levels of fat and cholesterol found in greasy foods. The singer is attracted to the woman but is repulsed by the smell of the grease on her body. The song is also a parody of the typical rock and roll song, with its emphasis on sex and bodily functions.
The song was never recorded in a studio and is only available as a live recording. It was performed several times during Frank Zappa's 1971-72 tour and was often dedicated to his friend, the late Captain Beefheart, who was known for his love of greasy food.
Line by Line Meaning
Ooooooh Aaaaaah
A chorus of moans and groans.
Ooooh
An expression of discomfort or dissatisfaction.
Aaaah
An expression of relief or pleasure.
Howard: Poor baby!
Howard sympathizes with someone's discomfort.
FZ: Oooooh . . . Don't like the Greek food in this neighborhood, hey?
Frank is discussing his dislike for the Greek food in the area.
Oooooh . . .
A continuation of Frank's discomfort with the Greek food.
FZ: Tell me the truth, what did you eat?
Frank is asking someone what they had to eat.
Mark: I ate . . .
Mark is about to reveal what he ate.
FZ: Tell me the truth, what did you eat?
Frank is asking someone else what they had to eat.
Howard: I had a Shish kebab
Howard had a Mediterranean dish made of grilled meat.
FZ: Tell me the truth, what did you eat? You didn't eat?
Frank is incredulous that someone didn't eat anything.
Mark: I was having chicken . . .
Mark had chicken for dinner.
FZ: You didn't eat?
Frank is surprised that someone hadn't eaten anything.
Howard: He didn't eat anything. He drank wine
Someone only drank wine for the meal.
Mark: With, uh, spinnach . . .
Mark had spinach with his chicken for dinner.
FZ: What did you eat?
Frank is asking someone what they had for dinner.
Mark: And boiled potatoes . . .
Mark had boiled potatoes with his chicken and spinach.
Jim: I had a roller skate
Jim is making a joke that he ate a roller skate.
Mark: Not just any grease but . . .
Mark is specifying the type of grease he ate.
GREASE
The subject of the conversation shifts to grease.
The browness of her body
A description of a woman's skin tone.
Makes me sweat inside my crotch
The artist is sexually aroused by the woman's appearance.
I want so much to kiss her
The singer desires physical contact with the woman.
But I/she smells of rancid botch
There is an unpleasant odor associated with the woman.
Do do do do do do
A meaningless interjection in the song.
Oooooooh wagh!
An expression of discomfort or disgust.
Mark: Grease, grease, I tell ya, all I had was grease, it cost me two dollars and thirty five cents, it was nothing but a plate of grease
Mark is complaining about the cost and quality of the greasy food he ate.
Howard: And a wine tasted like . . .
Howard is about to describe the flavor of a wine he drank.
Contributed by Blake F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.