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.
Teen-age Prostitute
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Steve Vai (guitar)
Ray White (rhythm guitar, vocals)
Tommy Mars (keyboards)
Bobby Martin (keyboards, saxophone, vocals)
Ed Mann (percussion)
Chad Wackerman (drums)
Roy Estrada (vocals)
Bob Harris (vocals)
Lisa Popeil (vocals)
Scott Thunes (bass)
She's only seventeen
She's really sort of cute
She's working in the street
She's a teen-age prostitute
She ran away from home
Her mom was destitute
Her daddy doesn't care
She's a teen-age prostitute
"I have got a pimp
He treats me like a dog..."
(All the stuff she's shooting
Keeps her in a fog)
"I would really like to try and get away..."
(But if she gets caught he'll cause her some dismay)
Tiny little pants
Chain around my boot
Shakin' in the dark
I'm a teen-age prostitute
Frank Zappa's song "Teen-age Prostitute" is a commentary on the human trafficking and prostitution of young girls. The song presents a portrait of a 17-year-old girl who is working in the streets as a prostitute. The opening verse of the song sheds light on the fact that the girl is young, cute and working in the streets. The song then delves into the girl's backstory and why she ended up in this situation. The girl ran away from her home because of her destitute mother and her father's lack of care for the family. She was then caught up by a pimp who treats her like a dog and keeps her under the influence of drugs. Despite this, the girl still has a desire to escape from this life, but she is afraid of the consequences of being caught by the pimp.
The song then takes a graphic turn in its last verse where it describes the girl's clothes and how she is constantly shaking in the dark as a result of the trauma she's been through. This is a commentary on the effects of human trafficking on young girls who are forced into this lifestyle. By presenting this image, Frank Zappa highlights the issue of human trafficking and the plight of innocent victims who are trapped in this system.
Overall, "Teen-age Prostitute" is a powerful and thought-provoking song that sheds light on the issue of human trafficking and prostitution. It is a commentary on the effects of poverty, neglect, and exploitation on young girls who are forced to enter the world of prostitution.
Line by Line Meaning
She's only seventeen
She is very young, just seventeen years old
She's really sort of cute
She is pretty, attractive
She's working in the street
She works as a prostitute, soliciting clients on the street
She's a teen-age prostitute
She is a prostitute who is a teenager
She ran away from home
She left her home and family
Her mom was destitute
Her mother was extremely poor or lacking basic necessities
Her daddy doesn't care
Her father is not concerned or involved in her life
She's a teen-age prostitute
She is a young prostitute
"I have got a pimp
She has a person who manages and arranges clients for her prostitution work, but this person is not treating her well
He treats me like a dog..."
The pimp is treating her very badly, like a subhuman or animal
(All the stuff she's shooting
She is using drugs to cope with the reality of her work and life as a teenage prostitute
Keeps her in a fog)
The drugs are causing her to be disconnected from reality or unable to think clearly
"I would really like to try and get away..."
She wants to escape from her current life and circumstances
(But if she gets caught he'll cause her some dismay)
If she is caught trying to leave or escape, the pimp will not let her go easily and may cause problems for her
Tiny little pants
She is wearing very short or revealing pants
Chain around my boot
She has a metal chain accessory around one of her boots
Shakin' in the dark
She is feeling scared, nervous or shaky in the dark environment in which she works
I'm a teen-age prostitute
She is explicitly identifying herself as a teenage prostitute
Contributed by Adam P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.