Willie the Pimp

Last updated
"Willie the Pimp"
Song by Frank Zappa
from the album Hot Rats
ReleasedOctober 10, 1969
RecordedJuly–August 1969 [1]
Genre
Length9:25
Label Bizarre/Rykodisc
Songwriter(s) Frank Zappa
Producer(s) Frank Zappa

"Willie the Pimp" is a song from Frank Zappa's 1969 album Hot Rats . It features an idiosyncratic Captain Beefheart vocal and one of Zappa's classic guitar solos. It is the only track that is not instrumental on the album, [5] though the track features a long guitar solo.

Contents

Background

The song appeared as an instrumental on Zappa's Fillmore East – June 1971 , originally split as the last track on side one (2:50) and continued on the first track on side two (1:54) of the LP. Another short version from the 1984 tour appeared on You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4 as a 2'06" segue between "My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama" and "Montana".

The album title Hot Rats comes from a lyric of Willie the Pimp. The origin of the song was explained in a conversation Zappa recorded in 1969. This interview recording was later released as "The Story of Willie the Pimp" on the Zappa album Mystery Disc . [6]

Musicians

Hot Rats version

Fillmore East

You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4

Cover versions

Reception

The song was ranked number 75 on the list of "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time" of Rolling Stone . [7]

References

  1. ↑ Ulrich, Charles (May 13, 2018). The Big Note: A Guide to the Recordings of Frank Zappa. New Star Books. ISBN   978-1-554201-46-4.
  2. ↑ O'Neal, Sean (November 21, 2017). "Can you be a fan of Frank Zappa but not his music?". The A.V. Club . Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  3. ↑ Farber, Jim (December 13, 2019). "'He was a musical warlock': reflecting on Frank Zappa's greatest album at 50". The Guardian . Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  4. ↑ Greene, Doyle (2016). Rock, Counterculture and the Avant-Garde, 1966-1970: How the Beatles, Frank Zappa and the Velvet Underground Defined an Era. McFarland. p. 122. ISBN   978-1-4766-2403-7.
  5. ↑ Brend, Mark (2007-12-06). Rock And Roll Doctor: Lowell George: Guitarist, Songwriter, and Founder of Little Feat. Backbeat Books. ISBN   978-0879307264.
  6. ↑ Slaven, Neil (2009-11-17), Electric Don Quixote: The Definitive Story Of Frank Zappa, Omnibus Press, p. 151, ISBN   978-0-85712-043-4
  7. ↑ "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
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