"Dancin' Fool" is a song by

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 experimen ...

from his 1979 album ''

Sheik Yerbouti ''Sheik Yerbouti'' is a double album by Frank Zappa, released in March 1979 as the first release on Zappa Records (distributed by Phonogram Inc.) It is mostly made up of live material recorded in 1977 and 1978, with extensive overdubs added i ...

''. It was the first of two singles released from the album, followed by the second single " Bobby Brown (Goes Down)." The song premiered on stage on the 30th of October 1977 (as can be heard on the Halloween '77 boxset released in 2017). Much like '' Zoot Allures''' closing track "

Disco Boy "Disco Boy" is a single composed by musician Frank Zappa from his 1976 album ''Zoot Allures''. It was featured on Frank Zappa's best of album ''Strictly Commercial''. A sped-up version of the song appears in both the film '' Baby Snakes'' and it ...

", it mocks the

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

culture of the 1970s, but unlike "Disco Boy", the song directly focuses on the dancing aspect of the culture. Specifically, the character Zappa is singing as cannot help but dance, despite how awful he is at it. He refers to his dancing as "social suicide" and says, "The beat goes on and I'm so wrong." He mentions as part of the reason for his bad dancing that, "One of my legs is shorter than the other," a reference to a severe injury Zappa sustained at the

Rainbow Theatre The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as a cinema. It later became a music venue. Today, the building is used by the Universa ...

in 1971. "Dancin' Fool" charted at 45 on the U.S. charts, making it Zappa's 2nd highest charting single, behind his 1982 song, "

Valley Girl A valley girl is a socioeconomic, linguistic, and youth subcultural stereotype and stock character originating during the 1980s: any materialistic upper-middle-class young woman, associated with unique vocal and California dialect features, ...

". The song was nominated for the Grammy award for "Best Male Vocal", but did not win. It was included on Zappa's best of compilation, ''

Strictly Commercial ''Strictly Commercial'' is a compilation album by Frank Zappa. It was released in 1995, two years after his death. The album was named as part of a 2011 lawsuit by Gail Zappa towards Rykodisc, claiming the label released several vault masters with ...

''.

''Saturday Night Live''

On October 21, 1978, Zappa was a guest host and musician for the popular skit show, ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

''. After the episode, he was banned from the show for being difficult. Many in the cast, save

Laraine Newman Laraine Newman (born March 2, 1952) is an American actress, writer and comedian. She was part of the original cast of NBC's ''Saturday Night Live''. She took an interest at improv in high school. After graduating, she studied mime with Marcel M ...

and

John Belushi John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known for being one of the seven original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). Throughout his ca ...

, were standoffish the entire night. The songs he performed as musical guest were "Dancin' Fool", "The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing", and "

Rollo Rollo ( nrf, Rou, ''Rolloun''; non, Hrólfr; french: Rollon; died between 928 and 933) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, today a region in northern France. He emerged as the outstanding warrior among the Norsemen who had se ...

". His performance on ''SNL'' was possibly where "Dancin' Fool" first got media attention.

Track list

;7" :A."Dancin' Fool" - 3:45 :B."Baby Snakes" - 2:02 ;U.S. 12" (MK-83) :A."Dancin' Fool" - 6:15 :B."Dancin' Fool" - 6:15

References

{{authority control Songs written by Frank Zappa 1979 songs 1979 singles Frank Zappa songs Satirical songs Disco songs Comedy rock songs Songs about dancing Song recordings produced by Frank Zappa Songs about disco