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.
The Man From Utopia Meets Mary Lou
Frank Zappa Lyrics
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Steve vai (guitar, acoustic guitar)
Ray white (guitar, vocals)
Roy estrada (vocals)
Bob harris (boy soprano)
Ike willis (vocals)
Bobby martin (keyboards, saxophone, vocals)
Tommy mars (keyboards)
Ed mann (percussion)
Scott thunes (bass)
Chad wackerman (drums)
Vinnie colaiuta (drums)
Craig steward (harmonica)
Dick fegy (mandolin)
Marty krystall (saxophone)
Well,
This is the story of a man who lived in utopia
This is the story of a man who lived in utopia
He was a funny little fella with feet just like I showed ya
Well, he had a girl, her name was mary lou
Well, he had a girl, her name was mary lou
She did everything for him that she could do
But still, still, still he wouldn't treat her right
But still, still, still he wouldn't treat her right
He would leave in the morning, don't come back till late at night
Ahh, mary lou (mary lou, mary lou)
Oh child you big fool (big fool, big fool)
Ahh, mary lou (mary lou, mary lou)
Oh child you big fool (big fool, big fool)
You did everything for him that you could do (mary lou, mary lou)
I'm going to tell you a story about mary lou
I mean the kind of girl who make a fool of you
She'd make a young man groan and a poor man pain
The way she took my money was a cryin' shame
Mary lou -- she took my watch and chain
Mary lou -- she took my diamond ring
Mary lou -- she took my cadillac car
Jumped in my kitty and drove afar
Well, she picked up from georgia, moved to kalamazoo
Made her a fortune outta fools like you
Meet her a rich man who was married and had two kids
She stoked that cat till he flipped his lid
Mary lou -- she took my watch and chain
Mary lou -- she took my diamond ring
Mary lou -- she took my cadillac car
Jumped in my kitty and drove afar
Well, she came back to town about a week ago
Told me she was sorry she had hurt me so
I had a '55 ford and a two dollar bill
They way she took that man she gave me a chill
Mary lou -- she took my watch and chain
Mary lou -- she took my diamond ring
Mary lou -- she took my cadillac car
Jumped in my kitty and drove afar
Oh child you big fool (big fool, big fool)
Ahh, mary lou (mary lou, mary lou)
Oh child you big fool (big fool, big fool)
You did everything for him that you could do (mary lou, mary lou)
You did everything for him that you could do
You did everything for him that you could do
You did everything for him that you could do
You did everything for him that you could do
"The Man from Utopia Meets Mary Lou" is a song by Frank Zappa that is comprised of two different stories about two different characters named Mary Lou. The first story is about a man who lived in Utopia with his girlfriend, Mary Lou. This man had a funny appearance, with feet described as previously shown. Despite Mary Lou's efforts for him, he would not treat her right, leaving in the morning and not returning until late at night. The chorus repeats "Ahh, Mary Lou, oh child you big fool, you did everything for him that you could do."
The second story is about a different Mary Lou who was a gold-digger, making young and poor men suffer. She took everything from the singer of the story, including his watch and chain, diamond ring, and Cadillac car. Mary Lou left town and made a fortune out of other foolish men. She ends up returning to apologize to the singer, explaining that she took the wrong man. The chorus is repeated again, but with the emphasis on the second Mary Lou.
It seems that both stories serve as commentary on love, relationships, and the mistakes we make. The first story shows the cycle of abuse in relationships where one partner does everything for another who takes it for granted. The second story highlights the dangers of materialism and falling for superficial traits in others. Overall, the song reveals the complexities of human relationships with a touch of tongue-in-cheek humor.
Line by Line Meaning
Well,
This is the story of a man who lived in utopia
This is the story of a man who lived in utopia
He was a funny little fella with feet just like I showed ya
I'm going to tell you a story about a man from Utopia, a funny little fella with feet like I showed you.
Well, he had a girl, her name was mary lou
Well, he had a girl, her name was mary lou
She did everything for him that she could do
This man had a girl, Mary Lou, who did everything she could for him.
But still, still, still he wouldn't treat her right
But still, still, still he wouldn't treat her right
He would leave in the morning, don't come back till late at night
Despite all her efforts, the man wouldn't treat Mary Lou right. He would leave early and come home late.
Ahh, mary lou (mary lou, mary lou)
Oh child you big fool (big fool, big fool)
Ahh, mary lou (mary lou, mary lou)
Oh child you big fool (big fool, big fool)
You did everything for him that you could do (mary lou, mary lou)
Mary Lou, you did everything you could for this man who didn't treat you right. You're a big fool for doing so.
I'm going to tell you a story about mary lou
I mean the kind of girl who make a fool of you
She'd make a young man groan and a poor man pain
The way she took my money was a cryin' shame
Now let me tell you a story about Mary Lou. She's the kind of girl who would make a fool out of you, making young men groan and taking all their money.
Mary lou -- she took my watch and chain
Mary lou -- she took my diamond ring
Mary lou -- she took my cadillac car
Jumped in my kitty and drove afar
Mary Lou took everything from me, from my watch and chain to my diamond ring and even my Cadillac car. Then she left me and drove very far away.
Well, she picked up from georgia, moved to kalamazoo
Made her a fortune outta fools like you
Meet her a rich man who was married and had two kids
She stoked that cat till he flipped his lid
Mary Lou picked up and moved to Kalamazoo from Georgia, making her fortune off of fools like me. She then met a rich, married man with two kids and caused him to go crazy.
Well, she came back to town about a week ago
Told me she was sorry she had hurt me so
I had a '55 ford and a two dollar bill
They way she took that man she gave me a chill
Mary Lou came back to town and apologized to me for hurting me in the past. I only had a '55 Ford and two dollars left after the way she took everything from me. The way she took that man gave me a chill.
Oh child you big fool (big fool, big fool)
Ahh, mary lou (mary lou, mary lou)
Oh child you big fool (big fool, big fool)
You did everything for him that you could do (mary lou, mary lou)
Mary Lou, you're still a big fool for doing everything you could for that man who wouldn't treat you right. You took everything from me and caused me pain.
You did everything for him that you could do
You did everything for him that you could do
You did everything for him that you could do
You did everything for him that you could do
Mary Lou, you did everything you could for that man who wouldn't treat you right. You did everything for him that you could.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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