Sometimes, when the weather was right, you could pick up Wolfman Jack out of Texas. My favorite was Johnny Otis because he had the best taste in the records that were played. ZAPPA: Well, the big-time disc jockeys were Dick Hugg, who was called Huggie Boy, Art Laboe, Johnny Otis and Hunter Hancock. SH-BOOM: What radio stations in Los Angeles were you listening to then? There are people who like doo-wop music but they can't stand to listen to the Howlin' Wolf, and vice versa. But see, I liked blues – just guys singing the blues and playing the guitar – as well as the group harmony records, which is not true of other collectors. SH-BOOM: The way the harmonies came together. I wasn't a dancer, so I didn't buy the stuff because I liked the beat. I was playing orchestral percussion, and I didn't change to guitar until I was 18, so I had a little bit of music in me. ZAPPA: I played drums until I was 12, but not like a drum set. SH-BOOM: Were you playing instruments at the time? ZAPPA: Yeah, my first was "Riot in Cell Block #9" by the Robins. SH-BOOM: Do you remember the first record you bought? Then I went to a record store to see if I could find out what this mysterious new phenomenon was. All right, this is something I would like to do." I didn't give a about "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?" Who needs that? I spent the next few days going through the dial, trying to find that sound. SH-BOOM: And you were hooked from that first time? My parents went crazy and forced me to turn it off. I believe the song was "Work With Me, Annie". We were driving around and I was turning the channel and I came across this unbelievable noise that I liked right away. ZAPPA: I can't say the first time I ever heard a doo-wop record – and we'll use that definition to be quintet or quartet music or that kind of harmony – but the first time I heard anything that resembled rhythm and blues was on a radio in my parents' car. SH-BOOM: When were you first exposed to rhythm and blues, particularly the doo-wop sound? And thanks to his newfound fame as a spokesman against censorship, he says he's even contemplating whether to run for President of the United States! Now busy with the digital remastering of his early work for release on compact disc (on Rykodisc, Pickering Wharf, Bldg C-3G, Salem, MA 01970), Frank is awaiting the television debut of Normal Life, a sitcom based on his family and starring his daughter Moon Unit and son Dweezil. Frank's first album, Freak Out (1966), has been credited by Paul McCartney as the blueprint for Sgt. But Zappa was never content to just push the boundaries educated in chamber music and orchestra percussion and inspired by revolutionary composer Edgard Varèse, Frank took the R&B form, shook it, and stretched its premise so out of shape that the music became something else. For example, "Plastic People" on their second LP, Absolutely Free, was a takeoff on Richard Berry's 1956 recording of "Louie Louie." A later album, Cruising With Ruben & the Jets, has gone down in history as the greatest doo-wop parody – but it was excellent doo-wop nonetheless, with songs like "Deseri" and "Jelly Roll Gum Drop."Īlong with such '60s groups as the Rolling Stones, Them, Traffic and Led Zeppelin, Zappa's Mothers of Invention expanded rhythm & blues in ways never previously imagined, by incorporating classical music, swing jazz and other diverse styles. You guessed it – Bob was Frank Zappa.Įven after he and Ray Collins formed the Mothers of Invention, they couldn't keep away from their roots. Then there's Bob Guy, whose "Letters From Jeepers" will be loved long after the Platters are forgotten (but not until then). In 1964, the Hogs sang "Loose Lips Sinc Ships" for the Hanna-Barbera label – yep, Frank again. The 1961 West Coast hit "Memories of El Monte" by the Penguins (of "Earth Angel" fame) was written and produced by Zappa. Remember "How's Your Bird?" and "The World's Greatest Sinner" by Baby Ray & the Ferns, or the Heartbreakers' "Everytime I See You," both from 1963? Well, Frank Zappa was on those records. The name Frank Zappa does not immediately conjure up visions of rhythm and blues, but in fact the Lancaster, Califomia, native got his start in the music business writing, singing and producing doo-wop and R&B duets (with Ray Collins). The Broadcast Industry Is A Big Disappointment By J.P.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |