"I Have Been in You", 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 ...

, is the opening song on the 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 ...

''. Taking the structure of a love song pastiche, Zappa used the composition to ridicule

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...

's 1977 album and single ''

I'm in You ''I'm in You'' is the fifth studio album by Peter Frampton. It was released on 28 May 1977, almost a year and a half after his blockbuster 1976 live album ''Frampton Comes Alive!'' It was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York, where ''F ...

''. Zappa's parody was directed at Frampton's change from the earnest musician to teen pop idol, replete with bare chested album cover, and syrupy love ballads. The song is in the same vein as 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 c ...

's lampooning of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

with ''

We're Only in It for the Money ''We're Only in It for the Money'' is the third studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on March 4, 1968, by Verve Records. As with the band's first two efforts, it is a concept album, and satirizes left- and righ ...

''. Lyrically, it describes a sex scene between a boy and girl, "I have been in you, baby/And you have been in me". Recorded live at the

Hammersmith Odeon The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Palace. Located in Ha ...

in London, Zappa later re-recorded the vocals at his personal studio, the

Utility Muffin Research Kitchen The Utility Muffin Research Kitchen (UMRK) is a recording studio built in 1979 by musician, composer, songwriter, and bandleader Frank Zappa at his home in Los Angeles, California. The home and recording studio has been owned by Lady Gaga since ...

facility, using a close micing technique. Musically, the bass singer and the bass guitar are giving a counter melody. When Zappa begins singing the song develops into a slow

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

beat. At various points Zappa sings slightly off beat, letting the speech lengths of the syllables prevail, which emphasises the lyrics. In concert, "I Have Been in You" was usually performed as part of a long medley, featuring "Flakes" and "Broken Hearts Are for Assholes". Zappa explained the song's origin in the track "Is This Guy Kidding or What?" which was recorded in 1977, and released on the 1992 live album, ''

You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6'' is the last of six double-compact disc, disc collection volumes of live performances by Frank Zappa recorded between 1970 and 1988. All of the material on Disc one has a sexual theme. Zappa used the ...

''.

Personnel

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

, lead and backing vocals, arranger, composer, producer, remixing * Davey Moire – backing vocals, engineer *

Napoleon Murphy Brock Napoleon Murphy Brock (born June 7, 1945) is an American singer, saxophonist and flute player who is best known for his work with Frank Zappa in the 1970s, including the albums '' Apostrophe (')'', ''Roxy & Elsewhere'', ''One Size Fits All'', a ...

– backing vocals * Andre Lewis – backing vocals * Randy Thornton – backing vocals *

Adrian Belew Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual and impressionistic approach to ...

–

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

, backing vocals *

Tommy Mars Tommy Mars (born Thomas Mariano on October 26, 1951) is an American keyboard player known for his work with Frank Zappa. Mars began piano lessons at age eight, and later his instrument range expanded to various keyboards and synthesizers. Mars g ...

–

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, backing vocals *

Peter Wolf Peter Wolf (born March 7, 1946) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist of the J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983 and as a solo artist. Early life and education Peter Wolf was born Peter Walter Blankfield on March 7, 1946 in The ...

– keyboards *

Patrick O'Hearn Patrick John O'Hearn (born September 6, 1954) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and recording artist. Known primarily as a bass guitarist and keyboardist, O'Hearn came to prominence with Frank Zappa and co-founded the early 1980s ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, backing vocals *

Terry Bozzio Terry John Bozzio (born December 27, 1950) is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons and Frank Zappa. He has been featured on nine solo or collaborative albums, 26 albums with Zappa and seven albums with Missing Person ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, backing vocals *

Ed Mann Ed Mann is a musician who has been "a drummer and piano dabbler since childhood." He is best known for his mallet percussion performances onstage with Frank Zappa's ensemble from 1977 to 1988, and his appearances on over 30 of Zappa's albums, ...

–

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

, backing vocals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:I Have Been In You 1979 songs Frank Zappa songs Song recordings produced by Frank Zappa Songs written by Frank Zappa