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Willie The Pimp
"Willie the Pimp" is a song from Frank Zappa's 1969 album '' Hot Rats''. It features an idiosyncratic Captain Beefheart vocal and one of Zappa's classic guitar solos. It is the only track that is not instrumental on the album, though the track features a long guitar solo. Background The song appeared as an instrumental on Zappa's ''Fillmore East – June 1971'', originally split as the last track on side one (2'50") and continued on the first track on side two (1:54) of the LP. Another short version from the 1984 tour appeared on ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4'' as a 2'06" segue between "My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama" and "Montana". The album title ''Hot Rats'' comes from a lyric of ''Willie the Pimp''. The origin of the song was explained in a conversation Zappa recorded in 1969. This interview recording was later released as "The Story of Willie the Pimp" on the Zappa album ''Mystery Disc''. Musicians ''Hot Rats'' version *Frank Zappa - guitar, percussion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as The Magic Band, he recorded 13 studio albums between 1967 and 1982. His music blended elements of blues, free jazz, rock music, rock, and avant-garde music, avant-garde composition with idiosyncratic rhythms, absurdism, absurdist wordplay, a loud, gravelly voice, and his claimed wide vocal range, though reports of it have varied from three octaves to seven and a half. Known for his enigmatic persona, Beefheart frequently constructed myths about his life and was known to exercise an almost dictatorial control over his supporting musicians. Although he achieved little commercial success, he sustained a cult following as an incalculable influence on an array of avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental rock artists. A child prodigy, prodi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, Virtuoso, musical virtuosity and satire of American culture. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and ''musique concrète'' works, and produced almost all of the 60-plus albums that he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. Zappa also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. He is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse musicians of his generation. As a self-taught composer and performer, Zappa had diverse musical influences that led him to create music that was sometimes difficult to categorize. While in his teens, he acquired a taste for 20th-century classica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Underwood
Ian Robertson Underwood (born May 22, 1939) is a woodwind and keyboards player, known for his work with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. Biography Underwood graduated from The Choate School in 1957 and Yale University with a bachelor's degree in composition in 1961 and a master's degree in composition at UC Berkeley in 1966. He began his career by playing San Francisco Bay Area coffeehouses and bars with his improvisational group, the Jazz Mice, in the mid-1960s before he became a member of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention in 1967 for their third studio album, ''We're Only in It for the Money''. He speaks on ''Uncle Meat''; on the track "Ian Underwood Whips It Out" he relates how he first met Zappa and demonstrated his capabilities on the saxophone at Zappa's invitation. Underwood later worked with Frank Zappa on his solo recordings, including 1969's '' Hot Rats''. He married Ruth Komanoff (Underwood), marimbist/percussionist from the Mothers of Invention in Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juicy Lucy (band)
Juicy Lucy was a British blues rock band officially formed on 1 October 1969. After the demise of The Misunderstood, Juicy Lucy was formed by steel guitarist Glenn Ross Campbell, and prolific Blackburn saxophonist Chris Mercer. The group later recruited vocalist Ray Owen, guitarist Neil Hubbard, bassist Keith Ellis, and drummer Pete Dobson. The band name was inspired by a character in '' The Virgin Soldiers'' (1966) by Leslie Thomas. Career The band immediately notched a UK Top 20 hit with their cover version of the Bo Diddley composition " Who Do You Love?" Their eponymous debut album then fell just shy of the Top 40 in the UK Albums Chart. The album's cover featured a burlesque dancer named Zelda Plum, naked except for a covering of fruit. (Some versions have less fruit than others.) Line-up changes ensued, as former Zoot Money singer Paul Williams (born Paul William Yarlett, 1940), guitarist Micky Moody, and drummer Rod Coombes replaced Ray Owen (who joined Killing Floo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chad Wackerman
Chad Wackerman (born March 25, 1960) is an American jazz, jazz fusion and rock drummer, who has played with Frank Zappa and Allan Holdsworth. He has worked as a band member, session musician, sideman, and leader of his own ensembles. He is the older brother of drummers John Wackerman and Brooks Wackerman. Musical career Wackerman was raised in Seal Beach, California, in a family immersed in music. His father Chuck Wackerman, a drummer, is a music teacher who has taught at both high school and middle school levels with a specialization in jazz. Chad and his brothers John and Brooks are all proficient drummers and multi-instrumentalists. John recorded an album titled ''Drum Duets Vol.1''. Wackerman joined the Bill Watrous band in 1978, and then worked with Frank Zappa from 1981 to 1988. Zappa demanded high musical standards and imposed exacting discipline in rehearsal and on tour. The auditions for his band were "grueling", according to Steve Vai and Wackerman himself. Two piec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scott Thunes
Scott Thunes (pronounced "TOO-nis") (born January 20, 1960) is a bass player, formerly with Frank Zappa, Wayne Kramer, Steve Vai, Andy Prieboy, Mike Keneally, Fear, The Waterboys, Big Bang Beat, and others. Thunes was raised in San Anselmo, California. He played with Zappa's band from 1981 to 1988, and plays on such albums as '' The Man From Utopia'', ''Them or Us'', ''Broadway the Hard Way'', '' You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore'', '' Does Humor Belong In Music?'', ''The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life'', ''Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention'', ''Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch'', ''Make a Jazz Noise Here'', and ''Guitar'', a double-album compilation of Zappa's live guitar solos. His most prominent bass performance can be heard on Frank Zappa's ''Valley Girl'', which peaked at #32 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He played bass on Frank Zappa's '' Jazz from Hell'', which won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1988. Mor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allan Zavod
Allan Zavod (16 October 1945 – 29 November 2016) was an Australian pianist, composer, jazz musician and occasional conductor whose career was mainly in America. Zavod completed a music degree from the Melbourne Conservatorium, University of Melbourne in 1969. His talent as a pianist was recognised by Duke Ellington, who arranged for him to study at the Berklee College of Music, Boston – where Zavod was later a professor of music. Zavod was based in the US for 20 years, where he played, toured and recorded. He scored more than 30 American and Australian films and television shows. His symphonic works have been performed by orchestras in Australia, Europe and the U.S. He composed the Environmental Symphony for orchestra, narrator and synchronized visuals which was performed at the 2010 Banksia Environmental Awards and narrated by Sir Richard Branson. The University of Melbourne awarded Zavod the Degree of Doctor of Music in recognition of his international achievemen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray White
Ray White (full name Ray Shirley White Sr) is an American soul vocalist and rock and blues guitarist, best known as a member of Frank Zappa's touring ensembles. He was drafted into Zappa's band in late 1976, being featured on rhythm guitar and vocals, forming a vocal harmony partnership with Ike Willis on later tours in 1980 and 1984. White's vocals can be heard on ''Zappa in New York'' (March 1978), ''You Are What You Is'' (September 1981) as well as others. White can also be found on a '' The Torture Never Stops'' and '' Does Humor Belong in Music?''; the former is a DVD from Zappa's 1981 tour (without Ike Willis) and the latter filmed at the pier in New York in 1984; the video features White and Ike Willis' vocal harmonies. According to Zappa, White, who was deeply religious, was uncomfortable with the atheistic views of some of the other band members, which led to his departure. White has also worked with jam-oriented groups like KVHW, Don't Push the Clown and Umphrey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ike Willis
Isaac Willis (born November 12, 1955) is an American vocalist and guitarist who was a regular member of Frank Zappa's studio and touring bands from 1978 until the last tour in 1988. He did not tour with Zappa in 1981 and 1982 because he wanted to be at home for the birth of his two children, and returned to touring with Zappa for his final two tours in 1984 (which Zappa intended at the time to be his final tour) and 1988. He currently tours with the Frank Zappa tribute bands Bogus Pomp, Ossi Duri, Project/Object, Pojama People, Ugly Radio Rebellion and ZAPPATiKA. He also performed several times with the Brazilian Zappa cover band, The Central Scrutinizer Band, The Muffin Men, and with the Italian bands Ossi Duri and Elio e le Storie Tese . Additionally, he has appeared multiple times at the annual Zappanale Festival in Bad Doberan, Germany. He is most recognized for his involvement in Zappa records such as playing Joe in ''Joe's Garage'', providing vocals on ''Tinsel Town Re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Pons
Jim Pons is an American bassist, author and singer who most notably played for the Leaves, the Turtles, and the Mothers of Invention. Biography Jim Pons was born in Los Angeles. In 1964, he joined The Leaves and stayed in the group until 1967. Afterwards, Pons joined The Turtles and remained in the band until their disbandment in 1970. From February 1971 until December 1971, he toured with The Mothers of Invention. In 1973 Pons left the music industry to become the film and video director for the New York Jets football team; he designed the team's 1978–97 team logo. He held this position until his retirement in 2000. Pons and his family moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 2005, where he does game day video for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and plays upright bass in a bluegrass band called Lonesome Ride. In the 2010s, he has occasionally toured with The Turtles ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, imp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aynsley Dunbar
Aynsley Thomas Dunbar (born 10 January 1946) is an English drummer. He has worked with John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Journey, Jefferson Starship, Nils Lofgren, Eric Burdon, Shuggie Otis, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Mick Ronson, Whitesnake, Pat Travers, Sammy Hagar, Michael Schenker, UFO, Michael Chapman, Jake E. Lee, Leslie West, Kathi McDonald, Keith Emerson, Mike Onesko, Herbie Mann and Flo & Eddie. Dunbar was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey in 2017. Career Aynsley Thomas Dunbar was born in Liverpool, England. He started his professional career in Derry Wilkie and the Pressmen in 1963. In December 1964 he joined Merseybeat group the Mojos, who were renamed Stu James & the Mojos, with original members vocalist Stu James and guitarist Nick Crouch and bass player Lewis Collins (later an actor in '' The Professionals''). This line-up continued until 1966. Dunbar then auditioned for the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Hendr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howard Kaylan
Howard Kaylan (born Howard Lawrence Kaplan, June 22, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, and, along with bandmate and friend Mark Volman, a member of the 1970s rock duo Flo & Eddie, where he used the pseudonym Eddie. Moreover, he also was a member of Frank Zappa's band, The Mothers of Invention. Early years Kaylan was born in the Bronx to a Jewish family and grew up in Utica, New York, and Westchester, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. He studied choral music and clarinet, and won a Bank of America Fine Arts Award at age 16. He graduated early (as valedictorian) from Westchester High School, and briefly attended University of California, Los Angeles on a scholarship. Music career The Turtles Kaylan and Mark Volman founded The Turtles, a popular band of the late 1960s. At the end of 1970, Kaylan and Volman signed on as members of Frank Zappa's band, The Mothers of Invention. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
