"Uncle Remus" is a song written by American musicians

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 ...

and

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

, and first released on Zappa's 1974 album ''

Apostrophe (') ''Apostrophe (')'' is the fifth solo studio album and eighteenth in total by Frank Zappa, released in March 1974 in both Stereophonic sound, stereo and Quadraphonic sound, quadraphonic formats. An edited version of its lead-off track, "Don't Eat ...

''. The name of the song is derived from

Uncle Remus Uncle Remus is the fictional title character and narrator of a collection of African American folktales compiled and adapted by Joel Chandler Harris and published in book form in 1881. Harris was a journalist in post-Reconstruction era Atlanta, a ...

, a fictional character found in works by writer

Joel Chandler Harris Joel Chandler Harris (December 9, 1848 – July 3, 1908) was an American journalist, fiction writer, and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. Born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a planta ...

. The song has been said to reflect Zappa's feelings about racism and the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

, themes which had previously been explored in his earlier song " Trouble Every Day".

Composition

The lyrics of "Uncle Remus" have been said to reflect Zappa's thoughts regarding racial tensions in the United States, including the

and civil rights work that has not been done. It has also been described as an extension of Zappa's feelings on racism featured on his earlier song " Trouble Every Day". Author Ben Watson called the song "a gentle reprimand, noting how protest was being abandoned for fashion", citing Zappa's mention of growing a " 'fro", along with water from fire hoses having the potential to harm "sharp" clothes. The song's lyrics also refer to

lawn jockey A lawn jockey is a statue depicting a man in jockey clothes, intended to be placed in front yards as hitching posts, similar to those of footmen bearing lanterns near entrances and gnomes in gardens. Because of the prevalence of black lawn jockey ...

s, statuettes that often depicted black figures with exaggerated features. Zappa sings about targeting jockeys on the lawns of "rich people" in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

, suggesting a connection between class and race.

Release

"Uncle Remus" first appeared on Zappa's eighteenth album, ''

'', released in March 1974. Duke released an alternate version of the song with a more

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

-like arrangement on his 1975 album ''

The Aura Will Prevail ''The Aura Will Prevail'' is the sixth studio album by American keyboardist George Duke. It was released in 1975 through MPS Records. Recording sessions took place at Paramount Recording Studios in Hollywood, California. The album features contr ...

''. Yet another alternate version of the song, "Uncle Remus (Mix Outtake)", was included on the 2016 Zappa

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

'' The Crux of the Biscuit''.

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

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 ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

* Tom Fowler –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

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 R ...

–

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 ...

References

Bibliography

* {{George Duke Songs about black people 1974 songs Songs written by Frank Zappa Songs against racism and xenophobia