Performance / Video:
Frank Zappa. The Purple Lagoon. Saturday Night Live NBC, 11 December 1976. Featuring John Belushi as Samurai “Be-Bop” Futaba on saxophone, Ruth Underwood on marimba, Patrick O’Hearn on bass and Terry Bozzio on drums. Born in Baltimore, Maryland on December 21, 1940, Frank Zappa was a counter-culture icon. Leading a life devoted to composition, he worked in almost every musical genre. He wrote for pop, rock and jazz ensembles (producing more than fifty albums) as well as for classical chamber ensembles and orchestras. “What do you do for a living, Dad?” If any of my kids ever asked me that question, Zappa said, the answer would have to be: “What I do is composition. I love putting little black dots on music paper…I’d sit for sixteen hours at a time, hunched over a chair with a bottle of India ink, and draw beams and dots. No other activity could have enticed me away from the table. I’d maybe get up for coffee or to eat, but other than that, I was glued to the chair for weeks and months on end, writing music.”
Listening to Zappa’s music always brings to mind the question:
Does Humor Belong in Music? – Well, watch the video and decide for yourself.
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