"Bobby Brown" | ||||
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Single by Frank Zappa | ||||
from the album Sheik Yerbouti | ||||
Released | March 3, 1979 | |||
Recorded | 1978 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:49 | |||
Label | CBS | |||
Songwriter(s) | Frank Zappa | |||
Producer(s) | Frank Zappa | |||
Frank Zappa singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
"Bobby Brown (Goes Down)" is a song by American musician Frank Zappa released on his double album Sheik Yerbouti (1979). The song was successful in Europe, where it was a number-one-hit in Norway and Sweden, number 4 in Germany, and was featured on the vinyl and European CD version of Zappa's best of compilation, Strictly Commercial (1995). [2]
The song describes a wealthy, misogynistic student named Bobby Brown, "the cutest boy in town", whose life is the archetypal American Dream until a traumatic sexual encounter with "Freddie", a "dyke" involved in the women's liberation movement, leaves him questioning his sexuality. Bobby transforms into a leisure suit-wearing closeted homosexual working in radio promotions; by the end of the song, he and "a friend" (later implied to be his boss, as he will "do anything to get ahead", which also has a double meaning, i.e. getting head) have become self-described "sexual spastic(s)" involved in golden showers and S&M, for which he thanks Freddie.
Version 1:
Version 2:
Chart (1979–1991) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [5] | 2 |
Norway (VG-lista) [6] | 1 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [7] | 1 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [8] | 5 |
West Germany (GfK) [9] | 4 |
Chart (1980) | Position |
---|---|
West Germany (Official German Charts) [10] | 6 |
Chart (1991) | Position |
---|---|
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [11] | 7 |
Chart (1990–1999) | Position |
---|---|
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [12] | 34 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Austria (IFPI Austria) [13] | Gold | 50,000* |
Norway (IFPI Norway) [14] | Gold | 5,000* |
Sweden (GLF) [15] | Gold | 25,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [16] | Gold | 25,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |