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.
Whipping Post
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lord, I been lied to
And I don't know why
I let that mean woman make out a fool
She took all my money
Wrecked my new car
Now she's with one of my good-time buddies
Drinkin' in some cross-town bar
Sometimes I feel
Like I been
Tied to the whippin' post
Tied to the whippin' post
Good Lord, I feel like I'm dyin'
My friends tell me
That I been such a fool
But I got to stand there an' take it
All for loving you
Drown myself in sorrow
As I look at what you done
Nothin' seems to change;
That bad times stay the same,
And I can't run
Sometimes I feel
Sometimes I feel
Like I been
Tied to the whippin' post
Tied to the whippin' post
Good Lord, I feel like I'm dyin'
The lyrics of Frank Zappa's song Whipping Post depict a man who has been mistreated and deceived by a woman. He has been brought down and left in a state of confusion as he cannot understand why he allowed this woman to treat him so poorly. She has taken all his money and destroyed his new car, and to add to his pain, she is now spending time with one of his close friends. The singer of the song is consumed with feelings of anguish and despair, and he feels that he is dying.
Despite being aware of his friends telling him what a fool he has been for letting this woman treat him so poorly, he feels that he must continue to suffer for the sake of his love for her. He has drowned himself in sorrow and cannot seem to escape the bad times that have been wrought upon him. He feels as if he is tied to a whipping post, and the pain is all-consuming. The lyrics of Whipping Post serve as a warning against allowing oneself to be mistreated in a relationship and the damage this can cause to a person's well-being.
Line by Line Meaning
I been run down
I have suffered a great deal of hardship and misfortune
Lord, I been lied to
I have been deceived and betrayed by someone I trusted
And I don't know why
I cannot understand the reasons for this deception
I let that mean woman make out a fool
I allowed myself to be made a fool of by a woman who was unkind to me
She took all my money
She deprived me of all my financial resources
Wrecked my new car
She destroyed my recently purchased vehicle
Now she's with one of my good-time buddies
She is currently in the company of one of my close friends who enjoys having a good time
Drinkin' in some cross-town bar
They are enjoying alcoholic beverages at a bar located across town
Sometimes I feel
At times, I experience the following emotion
Like I been
As though I have been
Tied to the whippin' post
Restrained and punished for my mistakes and misfortunes
Good Lord, I feel like I'm dyin'
I feel overwhelmed by pain and suffering
My friends tell me
My acquaintances advise me
That I been such a fool
That I have made foolish decisions and taken foolish actions
But I got to stand there an' take it
I must accept responsibility for my actions and endure the consequences
All for loving you
I did everything I did because I loved you
Drown myself in sorrow
I indulge in sorrow and grief excessively
As I look at what you done
As I reflect on your actions
Nothin' seems to change;
No matter what happens
That bad times stay the same,
Difficult and challenging times persist
And I can't run
I cannot escape my problems and must face them head-on
Good Lord, I feel like I'm dyin'
I feel overwhelmed by pain and suffering
Lyrics © ELIJAH BLUE, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Gregg L. Allman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Pilot Pete
Robert Martin absolutely killing it on lead vocals! What a voice!
Pilot Pete
@Hélio Pires exactly! and his voice still has the same range and power now like it did almost 40 years ago……..
Hélio Pires
Priceless 🙏🙏🙏
Arvid Nilsen
Killer ⚡️
ed langone
I love him as the Zomby Woof too
Glornt
I'd like to hear him sing some of Edgar Winters' early stuff.
Guitarburt
Was listening to Zappa's "Whipping Post" with my band as we were all riding together in the van on the way home after playing. At one point when the band stopped playing and you could hear the sound of the live audience, my bass player was freaking out, suddenly realizing that he was listening to a live performance. "WHAT! This is LIVE?" We were all in shock, honestly.
gbellins
la magia di fz
infamousT
that was the same for me!
John Booth
It wasn't just live; it was performing arts. Look at the guy with the towel.