"Help, I'm a Rock" is a song written by American musician

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity and satire of A ...

. It was recorded by Zappa along with the rock band

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 ...

on the group's debut

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Freak Out! ''Freak Out!'' is the debut studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on June 27, 1966, by Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, it is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa' ...

'', which was released on

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simon ...

on June 27, 1966.

Background

The Mothers of Invention entered

TTG Studios TTG Studios was a recording studio in Los Angeles, California, co-founded in 1965 by recording engineers Tom Hidley and Amnon "Ami" Hadani. History The studio was located at 1441 North McCadden Place in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, near ...

to record "Help, I'm a Rock"—among other tracks for the ''Freak Out!'' album—after record producer Tom Wilson signed the group to

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

under the incorrect assumption that they were a traditional blues ensemble. As a testament to its absurdity, Zappa explained "Help, I'm a Rock" was created spontaneously as "just a thing that spewed out. What was happening was what was in the air that night". For the composition's unusual droning background sounds, the band encompassed screams, duck calls, alien beeps and chatter, tribal chants, and erotic moans that simulated a female

orgasm Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling") or sexual climax is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region charact ...

. In the liner notes to ''Freak Out!'', Zappa wrote the tongue-in-cheek statement: "'Help, I'm a Rock' is dedicated to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. Note the interesting formal structure and the stunning

four-part harmony The term "four-part harmony" refers to music written for four voices, or for some other musical medium—four musical instruments or a single keyboard instrument, for example—for which the various musical parts can give a different note for e ...

toward the end". He concludes his comments on the song by jokingly remarking about "the obvious lack of commercial potential. Ho hum". "Help, I'm a Rock" is a three part suite consisting of: "Okay to Tap Dance", "In Memoriam

Edgar Varese Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and '' gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, r ...

" and "It Can't Happen Here". In the first pressing of ''Freak Out!'', the song was credited simply as "Help, I'm a Rock". However, as ''Freak Out!'' reissues and

compilation albums A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for re ...

were made available, the third part, "It Can't Happen Here", has been commonly listed as a separate track. In concert, the composition was typically mixed with other band songs, most regularly "Hungry Freaks Daddy". One music critic notes "Long term, the psychedelic workout had plenty of commercial appeal, with Zappa’s bands playing it throughout the master’s career. 'Help, I’m a Rock' became one of the many catch phrases attached to Zappa over his career". A section of "Help, I'm a Rock" called "Third Movement: It Can't Happen Here" was also featured as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

of the DJ-only "How Can I Be Such a Fool?"

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

. With a running time of nearly nine minutes, "Help, I'm a Rock" remains one of the Mothers of Invention's most lengthy and experimental pieces in their catalogue. In 1967, psychedelic rock group

the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band (WCPAEB) was an American psychedelic rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group created music that possessed an eerie, and at times sinister atmosphere, and contained material that was ...

recorded the song on their second album ''

Part One Part, parts or PART may refer to: People *Armi Pärt (born 1991), Estonian handballer *Arvo Pärt (born 1935), Estonian classical composer *Brian Part (born 1962), American child actor *Dealtry Charles Part (1882–1961), sheriff (1926–1927) an ...

''.

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

described the rendition as a concept that "flung them into freakier pastures", with its style being "emulated convincingly on the group original '1906', an apt soundtrack to a bummer

acid trip A psychedelic experience (known colloquially as a trip) is a temporary altered state of consciousness induced by the consumption of a psychedelic substance (most commonly LSD, mescaline, psilocybin mushrooms, or DMT). For example, an acid tri ...

with its constant spoken refrain, 'I don't feel well'".

References

{{authority control 1966 songs Frank Zappa songs Songs written by Frank Zappa 1966 singles Verve Records singles