Frank Vincent Zappa (born December 21, 1940 in Baltimore, Maryland, United … Read Full Bio ↴Frank Vincent Zappa (born December 21, 1940 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States – December 4, 1993 in Los Angeles, California, United States) was an American composer, guitarist, singer, bandleader and producer. He was one of the most prolific musicians of his time, releasing over fifty albums of original material spanning over a thirty-five year career.
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.
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.
tango
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴
Some of you may know that the tango, Which
Is not a very popular dance anymore
Was at one time reputed to
Be a dance of unbridled passion
Back in the old days
When it wasn't so easy to get your rocks off
When it was hard to make contact with
A member of the opposite camp And
You had to resort to things like
Dancing close together And going hey
Those were the days well those days are
Probably gone forever, I don't know
Unless Nixon is going to bring
Them back a little bit later but we have
This very special highly
Evolved permutated tango it's
Actually a perverted tango by the time yes
It's so perverted! This is the Be-Bop Tango
A special entertainment event
That includes choreography a
Little bit later, so watch out folks
You can turn on the big lights
We may need 'em you know, the ones in the
Audience heh heh okay
're you ready? Not too fast
Now 'cause I wanna
Get the right notes on the tape 'N' this
This has to be the one
This has to be the one with all
The right notes on it okay
're you ready? This is a hard one
To play one two three four
The cowbell as a symbol of unbridled passion
Ladies and gentlemen
Now, as you might have noticed
Bruce Fowler has just completed
Some sort of trombone solo, Based on the ah
Idea of an evolved tango-event bruce has also
Prepared for you a demonstration of a
Dance That he hopes will sweep the ocean
Right after the Mud Shark did
Bruce is now warming up the
Important muscles of the body
In preparationin preparation for the
Real live Be-Bop
Tango Which we're gonna demonstrate napoleon
Will assist him napoleon just put
Your horn down, Just relax, put
Your head back, Here comes the
Drill okay, heh heh heh
You know what I'm talkin' about? Okay
This is sort of like jazz in it's
Own peculiar way jazz is not dead
It just smells
Funny! Okay, let's go! yeah man, jazz man
You know what I mean? This is Be-Bop
Even though you think it doesn't sound
Like that be-Bop! Now, as
You might have noticed
Some of you with a musical education
Can tell that the notes
That George just sang when he
Went: "This is Be-Bop
Even though you think it
Doesn't sound like that"
Is actually a sort of a twisted form
Of the theme of the tango it'self
Which will get even more depraved
As the number goes
On george will now attempt
To dismember that melody
Play it and sing it
At the same time while tu-dup hey
That's the way! While we
Sort of dance to it okay
Try it George tu-dup, tu dee
Oh yeah! As I was saying now
What we'd like to do at this point Is
Get some volunteers from the audience to i
Know you will
Oh God you will we need someheh heh heh
Now, as a matter of fact
You did, didn't you no
We wanna have some people who've
Never tried it bef
Ore, Who've never even thought of
Trying it before a
Boy, a girl, preferably who like each other
Who would like to come up here
And attempt to dance to
What George sings do we have
Anybody who isyou're one
Okay, what's your name?
Your name is Carl? Please Carl step on to
The stage pleased to meet you Carl
Alright okay? Let's see ah, is there anybody
In the, in the back? Whereoh oh
Hey! What's your name?
Rick, and?
Rick and Jane and Carl! Alright
Here's how it works: There's a beat going on
Like this That's a pedestrian beat you don't
Dance to that beat, You dance
To what George sings, okay? The
Little ones, okay? The little quick
Ones, okay? Ready? George, make them dance!
Dup no no Rick, you're too reserved ready?
Give it to 'em George! Tu-dup, tu-dup pu dee
Da no no, come on now, loosen up listen
Encourage them! When it ah! Okay! Alright
One more time: dance!
Tu-dup, du dee da let's study
This phenomenon tu-duppy-dup-pu dee
Da now look, Rick and Jane and Carl, You're
You're wonderful but you're just too reserved
I still can i know
You will, maybe in a minute okay
I'll t-tell you what: Go back to your
Seats and we'll bring up the next batch
Okay? Carl, Rick and Jane! Alright
You wanna try?
Anything you say Frank!
Oh my God! Alright, you're name is Lana
Right? Lana dance!
Du-dup dee-dup now that's more like
It du-dup dee-dup lana
You're so good we have to bring up some
Other people to assist you brenda
Imported from Edward's
Air Force Base, where she
Ladies and gentlemen
Brenda brenda is a professional harlot
And she just got
Finished stripping for a bunch of guys at
Edward's Air Force Base
And she made it down here in time for the
Show two hours of taking it off
For the boys in the car
Really good okay heh brenda, Brenda has
A lovely assistant named Carl, or
Robert James Davis if you prefer herb
Cohen, ladies and gentlemen! Okay, dance!
Du-du-dip you're still too adagio
I keep telling you! Du-dup-du dee
Da turn on the bubble
Machine! Dup dee da, dup dee da god
Is that a cheap bubble machine! Bow
Du-du-du-du-du da ladies and gentlemen:
Don's ex-wife! Ladies and gentlemen, You're
Probably sitting in your chairs
Saying to yourselves: I could do that
And of course you can! And now is your
Big chance! All you have to do
The first step is easy
All you gotta do is stand up go
Ahead, just stand up there you go
You are standing up yes
Some of you are not standing up But you won't
Have as much fun as the ones
Who are standing up okay
Turn on the big lights
So everybody can see what's going on yes
Very many of you are standing up okay
Link your mind with the mind
Of George Duke! And when
Du-dup that's it! When he plays
Those funny fast little notes, twitch
Around and have a good time
With the Be-Bop Tango
Let's try it! Anything
You wanna do is alright you gotta
Do anything you wanna do, it's
Alright yes you got to know you
Came to the right place, tonight
(Give me some of that wine now) as
You might have guessed, ladies and gentlemen
This is the end of our concert we
Like to thank you ver wanna
Thank you very much for coming hope
You had a good time
Bruce Fowler on trombone
Napoleon Murphy Brock on tenor sax and
Lead vocals, Ruth Underwood on percussion
Ralph Humphrey on drums
Chester Thompson on drums
Tom Fowler on bass And George
Duke on the keyboards thank
You very much alright, alright
Is not a very popular dance anymore
Was at one time reputed to
Be a dance of unbridled passion
Back in the old days
When it wasn't so easy to get your rocks off
When it was hard to make contact with
A member of the opposite camp And
Dancing close together And going hey
Those were the days well those days are
Probably gone forever, I don't know
Unless Nixon is going to bring
Them back a little bit later but we have
This very special highly
Evolved permutated tango it's
Actually a perverted tango by the time yes
It's so perverted! This is the Be-Bop Tango
A special entertainment event
That includes choreography a
Little bit later, so watch out folks
You can turn on the big lights
We may need 'em you know, the ones in the
Audience heh heh okay
're you ready? Not too fast
Now 'cause I wanna
Get the right notes on the tape 'N' this
This has to be the one
This has to be the one with all
The right notes on it okay
're you ready? This is a hard one
To play one two three four
The cowbell as a symbol of unbridled passion
Ladies and gentlemen
Now, as you might have noticed
Bruce Fowler has just completed
Some sort of trombone solo, Based on the ah
Idea of an evolved tango-event bruce has also
Prepared for you a demonstration of a
Dance That he hopes will sweep the ocean
Right after the Mud Shark did
Bruce is now warming up the
Important muscles of the body
In preparationin preparation for the
Real live Be-Bop
Tango Which we're gonna demonstrate napoleon
Will assist him napoleon just put
Your horn down, Just relax, put
Your head back, Here comes the
Drill okay, heh heh heh
You know what I'm talkin' about? Okay
This is sort of like jazz in it's
Own peculiar way jazz is not dead
It just smells
Funny! Okay, let's go! yeah man, jazz man
You know what I mean? This is Be-Bop
Even though you think it doesn't sound
Like that be-Bop! Now, as
You might have noticed
Some of you with a musical education
Can tell that the notes
That George just sang when he
Went: "This is Be-Bop
Even though you think it
Doesn't sound like that"
Is actually a sort of a twisted form
Of the theme of the tango it'self
Which will get even more depraved
As the number goes
On george will now attempt
To dismember that melody
Play it and sing it
At the same time while tu-dup hey
That's the way! While we
Sort of dance to it okay
Try it George tu-dup, tu dee
Oh yeah! As I was saying now
What we'd like to do at this point Is
Get some volunteers from the audience to i
Know you will
Oh God you will we need someheh heh heh
Now, as a matter of fact
You did, didn't you no
We wanna have some people who've
Never tried it bef
Ore, Who've never even thought of
Trying it before a
Boy, a girl, preferably who like each other
Who would like to come up here
And attempt to dance to
What George sings do we have
Anybody who isyou're one
Okay, what's your name?
Your name is Carl? Please Carl step on to
The stage pleased to meet you Carl
Alright okay? Let's see ah, is there anybody
In the, in the back? Whereoh oh
Hey! What's your name?
Rick, and?
Rick and Jane and Carl! Alright
Here's how it works: There's a beat going on
Like this That's a pedestrian beat you don't
Dance to that beat, You dance
To what George sings, okay? The
Little ones, okay? The little quick
Ones, okay? Ready? George, make them dance!
Dup no no Rick, you're too reserved ready?
Give it to 'em George! Tu-dup, tu-dup pu dee
Da no no, come on now, loosen up listen
Encourage them! When it ah! Okay! Alright
One more time: dance!
Tu-dup, du dee da let's study
This phenomenon tu-duppy-dup-pu dee
Da now look, Rick and Jane and Carl, You're
You're wonderful but you're just too reserved
I still can i know
You will, maybe in a minute okay
I'll t-tell you what: Go back to your
Seats and we'll bring up the next batch
Okay? Carl, Rick and Jane! Alright
You wanna try?
Anything you say Frank!
Oh my God! Alright, you're name is Lana
Right? Lana dance!
Du-dup dee-dup now that's more like
It du-dup dee-dup lana
You're so good we have to bring up some
Other people to assist you brenda
Imported from Edward's
Air Force Base, where she
Ladies and gentlemen
Brenda brenda is a professional harlot
And she just got
Finished stripping for a bunch of guys at
Edward's Air Force Base
And she made it down here in time for the
Show two hours of taking it off
For the boys in the car
Really good okay heh brenda, Brenda has
A lovely assistant named Carl, or
Robert James Davis if you prefer herb
Cohen, ladies and gentlemen! Okay, dance!
Du-du-dip you're still too adagio
I keep telling you! Du-dup-du dee
Da turn on the bubble
Machine! Dup dee da, dup dee da god
Is that a cheap bubble machine! Bow
Du-du-du-du-du da ladies and gentlemen:
Don's ex-wife! Ladies and gentlemen, You're
Probably sitting in your chairs
Saying to yourselves: I could do that
And of course you can! And now is your
Big chance! All you have to do
The first step is easy
All you gotta do is stand up go
Ahead, just stand up there you go
You are standing up yes
Some of you are not standing up But you won't
Have as much fun as the ones
Who are standing up okay
Turn on the big lights
So everybody can see what's going on yes
Very many of you are standing up okay
Link your mind with the mind
Of George Duke! And when
Du-dup that's it! When he plays
Those funny fast little notes, twitch
Around and have a good time
With the Be-Bop Tango
Let's try it! Anything
You wanna do is alright you gotta
Do anything you wanna do, it's
Alright yes you got to know you
Came to the right place, tonight
(Give me some of that wine now) as
You might have guessed, ladies and gentlemen
This is the end of our concert we
Like to thank you ver wanna
Thank you very much for coming hope
You had a good time
Bruce Fowler on trombone
Napoleon Murphy Brock on tenor sax and
Lead vocals, Ruth Underwood on percussion
Ralph Humphrey on drums
Chester Thompson on drums
Tom Fowler on bass And George
Duke on the keyboards thank
You very much alright, alright
The lyrics to Frank Zappa's song "Tango in 2-3" reflect on the history and evolution of the tango dance. In the beginning, Zappa discusses how the tango was once a dance of unbridled passion, a way for people to connect intimately in a time when it may have been difficult to do so. However, he posits that those days are probably gone forever, unless someone like Nixon brings them back. He then introduces the "Be-Bop Tango," a highly evolved and perverted version of the tango.
Throughout the song, Zappa and his band members engage in a playful and improvisational performance, showcasing their musical skills and adding humor to the mix. Zappa makes references to jazz and how it may not be dead, but it smells funny. He encourages audience participation, inviting volunteers to dance to George's singing and the music. As the song progresses, more individuals are brought on stage, including a professional dancer and even audience members. The song culminates with Zappa thanking the audience for coming and expressing his hope that they had a good time.
Overall, "Tango in 2-3" is a light-hearted and comedic take on the tango, using music and humor to entertain and engage the audience.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Justin Kassinger
Always get goosebumps when i hear zappas solos. So much feeling and attitude
Primitive In The Extreme
Fantastic Instrumental ✨
Laura Levenson
Bach. Beethoven. Zappa…. The Greatest🎉
InCider Trading
This is exactly why, despite having massive respect for Zappa, and despite thinking he is one of the greatest guitar players ever, if not the best, I cannot say I'm a "fanatic". From 0:00 to 00:49, it's amazing. Genuinely beautiful. Then it descends into what even I would call guitar wankery.
Stäni Steinbock
His interest in tangos may come from his visits to Finland, where his music was much appreciloved, and tangos are popular to this day.
S.R Woodward
Or being Italian
Spectre1470
Always loved this one on sheik yerbouti
Richardkv2112
The tone of that guitar is one of the best I ever heard
Frank Zappa
I always liked this one
Michael Smith
thank you for posting the album