"Brown Shoes Don't Make It" is a

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

The Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an R&B band ...

, written by band leader Frank Zappa. It is the 14th (12th on the original vinyl) and penultimate song on their second album '' Absolutely Free''. The song is one of his most widely renowned works, declared by the ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

'' as "Zappa's first real masterpiece".

History

The title was inspired by an event covered by ''Time'' magazine reporter Hugh Sidey in 1966. The reporter correctly guessed that something was amiss when the fastidiously dressed President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

made the sartorial faux pas of wearing brown shoes with a gray suit. Johnson flew to Vietnam for a surprise public relations visit later that day. Live versions of this song are featured on the albums ''

Tinsel Town Rebellion ''Tinsel Town Rebellion'' is a double live album released by Frank Zappa in May 1981. The album was conceived by Zappa after he scrapped the planned albums ''Warts and All'' and ''Crush All Boxes'', and contains tracks that were intended for those ...

'' and '' Road Tapes, Venue 2''.

Music and lyrics

The song was written in April 1966 during a trip to Honolulu where The Mothers played for a week at a club called "Da Swamp". The lyrics are derived from Zappa's belief that people who make laws are sexually maladjusted. It starts as a general attack on suburban American society: TV, greed and conformity are all mocked openly. The story then moves to a city hall official fantasizing about having sex with a thirteen-year-old girl. The music makes several stylistic shifts, covering hard rock, classical, psychedelic rock,

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

. It is cited by

as being a "condensed two-hour musical". The song lasts 7:30 and is the twelfth track (fourteenth on CD reissues) on '' Absolutely Free''. According to Zappa, the beginning background music was inspired by Lightnin' Slim's "Have Your Way".

Reception

The song has received widespread acclaim from critics, and is considered by many as "Zappa's first masterpiece". In a positive review of the album, Dominique Chevalier said "there are snatches of dodecaphonic scales, ballads, rock, R&B,

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

, soap opera and more ... and ensures that this is no piece of easy listening". As well as giving its parent album 4.5 stars,

gave a very positive review of the song. It is also included in

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

Personnel

* Frank Zappa – guitar, vocals *

Jimmy Carl Black James Carl Inkanish, Jr. (February 1, 1938 – November 1, 2008), known professionally as Jimmy Carl Black, was a drummer and vocalist for The Mothers of Invention. Background and early career: 1960s–1990s Born in El Paso, Texas, Black was o ...

– drums, vocals * Ray Collins – vocals, tambourine *

Roy Estrada Roy Estrada (also known as "Roy Ralph Moleman Guacamole Guadalupe Hidalgo Estrada" and "Orejón"; born April 17, 1943) is an American former musician and convicted sex offender. He is best known for his bass guitar work with Frank Zappa and the ...

– bass, vocals *

Bunk Gardner Bunk Gardner (born John Leon Guarnera; May 2, 1933 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American musician who most notably played for the original version of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention until the group disbanded in 1969. He plays woodwinds and tenor ...

– woodwinds *

Billy Mundi Billy Mundi (born Antonio Salas, September 25, 1942 in San Francisco – March 29, 2014) was an American drummer best known as a member of The Mothers of Invention and Rhinoceros. He also worked as a session musician. He sometimes used the name To ...

– drums, percussion *

Don Preston Donald Ward Preston (born September 21, 1932) is an American jazz and rock keyboardist. He is known for working with Frank Zappa from the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s. Biography Preston was born into a family of musicians in Detroit and began st ...

– keyboards *

Jim Fielder Jim Fielder (born October 4, 1947 in Denton, Texas) is an American bassist, best known for his work as an original member of Blood, Sweat & Tears. Fielder attended Loara High School in Anaheim, California. While at Loara, the young Fielder befrie ...

– guitar, piano with: *Suzy Creamcheese (Lisa Cohen) – vocals *Jim Getzoff – violin *Marshall Sosson – violin *Alvin Dinkin – viola *Armand Kaproff – cello *

Don Ellis Donald Johnson Ellis (July 25, 1934 – December 17, 1978) was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer, and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures. Later in his lif ...

– trumpet * John Rotella – contrabass clarinet

References

External links

*Lyric

{{authority control 1967 songs Experimental rock songs Frank Zappa songs Satirical songs Political songs Protest songs Songs about school Songs about labor Songs written by Frank Zappa Song recordings produced by Frank Zappa Song recordings produced by Tom Wilson (record producer)