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 Sanzini Brothers
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
[Fillmore East, NYC
June 5-6, 1971]
FZ: The Sanzini Brothers!
Howard: The Sanzini Brothers!
?: Yeah, yeah, yeah
Howard: My brothers Adolf, Rudolph, Pissoff, and Jackoff. The Sanzini Brothers. And we'd like to perform for you tonight the world famous "Sodomy Trick"!
Complete silence, please!
The Sodomy Trick!
Quiet . . .
Hop!
Hop!
Hop!
Hop!
Little Carl . . .
The Sanzini Brothers by Frank Zappa is a peculiar and comical song that starts with the announcement of the Sanzini Brothers, who are going to perform a trick that they had done the previous night as well. The first two lines of the song: "The Sanzini Brothers! Howard: The Sanzini Brothers!" are repeated twice in quick succession to introduce the performers. Howard then takes the role of the announcer and introduces each of Adolf, Rudolph, Pissoff, and Jackoff as the brothers, followed by their performance of the "Sodomy Trick."
The song then reaches a climax as the audience hushes down to watch the trick. The sound of hopping is heard, and then the final line of the song is spoken by a character called Little Carl. The lyrics are open to interpretation, but it appears like the song is a satirical take on the world of entertainment and the extremes to which some performers might go to grab people's attention. The whole song was performed live at the Fillmore East in New York City in June 1971.
Line by Line Meaning
The Sanzini Brothers!
Introductory statement to announce the start of the performance.
Howard: The Sanzini Brothers!
Confirmation of the announcement made by Frank Zappa and introduction of the performers.
Howard: Ladies and gentlemen, tonight by special request, we're going to repeat a trick that we performed last night. We hope that you will bear with, if you saw it, we hope that you enjoy it again . . .
The performers announce that they will repeat the trick from the previous night's performance and request the audience's indulgence for it, especially those who saw it on the previous night.
?: Yeah, yeah, yeah
An expression of approval and excitement from an unidentifiable member of the audience.
Howard: My brothers Adolf, Rudolph, Pissoff, and Jackoff. The Sanzini Brothers. And we'd like to perform for you tonight the world famous "Sodomy Trick"!
Introduction of the performers using their names and the announcement of the trick they will perform.
Complete silence, please!
A request for total silence from the audience in preparation for the performance.
The Sodomy Trick!
A reiteration of the trick to be performed.
Quiet . . .
Another request for silence before the trick begins.
Hop!
First part of the trick, possibly involving a jump or a skip.
Hop!
Second part of the trick, possibly involving a jump or a skip.
Hop!
Third part of the trick, possibly involving a jump or a skip.
Hop!
Fourth and final part of the trick, possibly involving a jump or a skip.
Little Carl . . .
An abrupt end to the performance, possibly indicating that it did not go as planned or that it was intentionally cut short.
Contributed by Caden G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.