Frank Zappa


 * Career outline (no more than two paragraphs, please)

Links to Peel
In the mid-eighies, Peel discussed Zappa with producer John Walters (see Peeling Back The Years 6 (Transcript)):

JW: ''With the first album people thought, “There is something happening here. What is happening?” What is? I mean, Frank Zappa you are now likely to see with an orchestra at the Barbican. Well, how do you feel about Zappa? There’s a good man to look at.''

JP: ''Well, his early stuff I used to enjoy quite a lot. I mean, until he got into his kind of lavatorial phase, which I found rather tedious, and that seemed to take up like a decade of his life. I mean, everything he did was fairly lavatorial, which is fine if you are like 12 years old or something – our William would probably find it all vastly entertaining – but I just found it rather tedious. But his early things I liked a lot. And of course I admired him as much as anything for his sponsorship not only of people like Wild Man Fischer but also Captain Beefheart, which is kind of crucial. Well, in the early part of his own life.''

JW: And yet his own work rather lost that rootsy almost instinctive feel about Beefheart and Wild Man Fischer, were Zappa came to be more as if were like “a contemporary composer” - “it’s a funny life, this music...”

JP: ''People have this yearning to be the clown playing Hamlet, you know. They all want to be taken terribly seriously and to be perceived as “artistes”.''

JP: OK, pick a track that you think features Zappa but is still OK.

JW: Well, because it’s got Beefheart on it, I’d pick Willy The Pimp.

On 16 March 2004 he commented: "'I used to rather admire Frank Zappa, I have to admit, when he first started with the Mothers Of Invention, but then I met him. And I have to say he was very odious, or he was to me anyway, because obviously DJs quite rightly are held in scant respect and he made this abundantly clear. So I thought, 'Well, I don't think I shall bother to play any more of your records. So I'm not going to'.'"

Festive Fifty Entries

 * None

Sessions

 * None

Other Shows Played

 * Mothers of Invention


 * 12 July 1967: (JP: "Another one of the new LPs that I have got is by the Mothers Of Invention. And inside it says “Kill Ugly Radio” in huge letters – I hope we don’t qualify for that. Anyway, it is very difficult to know exactly what to play on this, because it all runs one into another thing. So we are going to start off by playing the Mothers Of Invention American Pageant. And the first bit is called America Drinks and the second bit is called Status Back Baby, and the third bit is called Uncle Bernie’s Farm, and the fourth bit – which will be the last bit that we can play – is the Son of Suzy Creamcheese. And we’ll play some more of it tomorrow. So, Suzy, I hope you're listening, love. I understand she's in trouble too now, as well as Hoppy, for trying to defend a few of our basic freedoms. So here we go, Mothers Of Invention.") America Drinks, Status Back Baby, Uncle Bernie's Farm, Son of Suzy Creamcheese (LP - Absolutely Free) Verve
 * 18 July 1967: Uncle Bernie's Farm + Son of Suzy Creamcheese (LP - Absolutely Free) Verve (JP: "There you go, those are the Mothers Of Invention from Radio London, and their track called Uncle Bernie's Farm, followed by Son of Suzy Creamcheese. And six minutes before 1 it is, and that LP is not available in this country yet, and may never be – I don’t know. It’s called Completely Free anyway – Absolutely Free, I’m sorry – and the Mothers Of Invention. Very strange. You can’t really say anything about it, can you? It’s difficult to know.")
 * 14 August 1967: seven consecutive tracks from the LP Absolutely Free during the all-night final Perfumed Garden show.
 * 01 October 1967: Big Leg Emma (single) Verve (first Top Gear show)
 * 06 July 1969: Mr. Green Genes (LP: Uncle Meat) Transatlantic
 * 14 March 1970: Valerie (LP - Burnt Weeny Sandwich) Bizarre/Reprise
 * 18 April 1970: Theme From Burnt Weeny Sandwich (LP – Burnt Weeny Sandwich) Bizarre/Reprise
 * 05 September 1970: Toads Of The Short Forest (LP – Weasels Ripped My Flesh) Reprise
 * 12 September 1970: Didya Get Any Onya? (LP – Weasels Ripped My Flesh) Reprise
 * 10 October 1970: Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue (LP - Weasels Ripped My Flesh) Reprise
 * 02 June 1972: Dog Breath (LP – Just Another Band From LA) Reprise
 * 13 June 1972: Eddie, Are You Kidding (LP – Just Another Band From L.A.)
 * 22 September 1972 (with John & Yoko & Plastic Ono Band): Well (Baby Please Don’t Go) (LP - Sometime In New York City) Apple
 * 14 June 1973: Later That Night (LP: Cruising With Ruben & The Jets) Verve
 * D017 (possibly March 1975): Brown Shoes Don't Make It (LP - Absolutely Free)
 * 13 May 1994: Who Are The Brain Police (7 inch)’ Verve
 * 28 May 1994 (BFBS): Who Are The Brain Police?
 * 20 January 1995: I'm Not Satisfied (LP-Cruisin' With Ruben & The Jets) Verve/Bizarre


 * Frank Zappa
 * 05 March 1969: Excerpt from Lumpy Gravy (LP: Lumpy Gravy) Verve
 * 29 November 1969 (& Captain Beefheart): Willy The Pimp (LP – Hot Rats) Reprise
 * 03 January 1970: It Must Be A Camel (LP - Hot Rats) Bizarre/Reprise
 * 24 January 1970: Son Of Mr Green Genes (LP - Hot Rats) Bizarre/Reprise
 * 21 February 1970: It Must Be A Camel (LP – Hot Rats) Reprise
 * 05 December 1970: (JP: "On Monday and Tuesday I had to sit down and listen to 72 LPs - it was gruesome...". He expresses his scepticism regarding what had become known as "progressive rock", saying that successful "progressive" bands "don't progress at all" and follow a simple formula. He follows these comments by playing a complex track by Frank Zappa.) Transylvanian Boogie (LP: Chunga's Revenge) Bizarre/Reprise
 * 22 August 1972: It Just Might Be A One-shot Deal (LP - Waka/Jawaka) Bizarre
 * D011 (1975, unknown date): Florentine Pogen
 * 14 February 1979: Rat Tomago (LP-Sheik Yerbouti) CBS (A relatively rare play for Frank Zappa. Peel describes the track as "a bit dreary".)
 * 09 June 1980: (JP: "This is Frank Zappa, and it's a long time since we played anything by him.") I Don't Wanna Get Drafted! (7" single) CBS
 * Peel Late Summer 1991 (with Moon Zappa): Valley Girl (7" - Valley Girl / Teenage Prostitute) CBS
 * 02 February 1996: I'm A Band Leader (CD - The Lost Episodes ) Rykodiscs


 * Other
 * Peeling Back The Years: (with Captain Beefheart): Willie The Pimp (LP – Hot Rats)