Frank Zappa - King Kong (LP version)

[@benaustin6361]

Funny story. I listened to this record, and this song, about a billion times when I was age 13. Changed my life. Not quite twenty years later, I was working for a music software company. A guy calls in asking for tech support. Me: "Can I have your name please? Musician: "Ian Underwood." Me: "Oh my, are you THE IAN UNDERWOOD?" Musician: "um, yeah?" I think I freaked him out a bit, because there are only a handful of us who spent an adolescence listening to him whip it out, over and over, and thus regard him as a lesser deity. Thanks to all my Mothers.

[@stephenmcgavran5789]

Now that's funny, Ben. Great story.

[@jan_Travis]

What else did you say to him? Or was it just business from that point on.

[@esquinarumbera]

Great story! I would have said, "All right Ian - whip it out!" lol

[@RickShagCreative]

HOLY SHIT

[@johnprunier9044]

Great story, great experience. You made his day.

[@larrygonzales821]

All you weirdos commenting on a 50+ year old Avant Garde piece. Where have yall been all my life? I was ostracized for listening to this in Texas in the 70's.

[@icewaterslim7260]

I loved this all the way through. Somehow though some of us that snuck into an Amarillo drive-in 3 in the trunk of a 61 Cheby nearly dragging the rear bumper took a real liking to Jimmy Carl Black in 200 Motels. Had to see that part twice. . . . Texas you know.. . . Comancheria

[@pete3883]

Livin' life, it's not conducive . '69 in Rhode Island.

[@pete3883]

'69, Barrington, R. I. , Uncle Meat. Fusion magazine.

[@spudeleven5124]

That was also me, but with Brian Eno.

[@lumburgapalooza]

There's more music easily available than ever and a large number of young music geeks that love to branch out, find roots and share stuff. I always say we're in the best era for music because it's _every era combined!_

[@davidzimmerli489]

Zappa wrote and performed some of the most brilliantly creative music I have had the privilege to listen to.....

[@arol10555]

The Mothers of Invention Sincerely Regret to Inform You

[@andragg]

This song changed my life when I first heard it in early 1970 when I was 15 and is my favorite version. Don Preston's wonderful Rhodes solo was an inspiration for me to become a keyboard player and King Kong was the first song I learned because the music score was in the nifty 12 page book. Uncle Meat was the next one. Zappa's guitar comping is superb throughout. I had for years wondered who played drums on the first part played by the Mothers in a studio and suspected it was Billy Mundi playing that wonderful 6/8 jazz rhythm because the live version didn't have that nice drum groove going. I checked with Art Tripp about this after I emailed him in 2004 and he said it was indeed Mundi. Who better to ask? Ansley Dunbar would go on to play that jazzy style too when he played with The Mothers.

[@gobuns2]

wonderful information there, Zappa and Beefheart fans are always on the neck of the musicians about their past music and it is doing us so much good! :D

[@pete3883]

Did a reply from Ga. Ian , Whips It Out.

[@Chromexus]

I was a young sax player who decided to play keyboards after hearing Ian Underwood's solo in "Burnt Weeny Sandwich". Guess a lot of Zappa's music could be called inspiring. I first hear an embryonic version of "King Kong" when the original Mothers played a concert at the University Union building @1966. That concert ( where they played stuff from Absolutely Free pre-release) and the Freak Out list changed my life and musical interests.

[@Chromexus]

the solo was on "LIttle House I used to Live In"

[@edwardheglinps5242]

@@Chromexus Damn. Now I'm going to have to get a copy of "Burnt Weeny Sandwich" on vinyl through Amazon. While I have over 50 Zappa vinyls, BWS isn't (yet) in my collection; further, I won't listen to it on KZbin because I'm quirky like that. I refuse to listen to any FZ/Mothers cuts I don't already own on vinyl. That's why I've never (ever!) heard Lumpy Gravy, either. My goal is to have a "completist" set of original FZ/Mothers vinyl, and I'm getting close!

[@pete3883]

I'm only 69 years old, & still listen to this shit.

[@lovelyandsmartcommentator5130]

Me too!

[@zappafanseeker1099]

@@lovelyandsmartcommentator5130 72 here. Me three

[@Boots11]

65 tuning in

[@lumburgapalooza]

_Nice._

[@dhthompson]

Hi! I'm only 70! Never a day goes by without something by FZ on the turntable/CD/wireless thingy... Don't know how anyone can live without it.

[@bridgmjm]

I start listening to Zappa first thing in the morning and before I know it my work day is done. Thanks Frank

[@B4NDllKOOT_]

Man I can probably catch up to do the same routine like you 😮

[@marcoguevara9593]

Withouth Zappa there is no XX century And today all the world need more persons like him in music

[@MoCoJags]

No we don’t. Pretentious droning bullshit I’ve yet to be impressed with this guy’s music

[@poindextertunes]

@@MoCoJagsthis comment says so much, just not about Zappa 😂

[@YAWN....]

​@@MoCoJags oh, you must be a Taylor Swift fan...

[@joeyjo-joshabadu9636]

Best version of this song is on Babe Ruth's First Base LP. The worst version is the one John Lennon and Yoko Ono took credit for as "Jam Rag" on the live plastic ono LP.

[@Halliday7895]

How can one take credit for playing when they are clearly improv singing...i think the world then would know...and lennon assumed the world knew who frank was and that Yoko "sang" like that. They had an agreement john would use it for what he wanted. I bet the label made the credits not john. This is just a misunderstanding zappa liked drama he's kind of a dick too. Saying that after lennon was dead and not able to defend it.

[@yourewrongabouteverything]

@@Halliday7895 wow you're not very bright are you? Lennon stole a lot of music and this is just another example of it.

[@richardzowie1984]

@@Halliday7895 Dunno. Zappa was pissed enough to where he eventually sued and, if I remember correctly, received partial songwriting credit. Did Yoko ever truly sing or has she always "sung" as a form of performance art?

[@PollisDrake]

@@richardzowie1984 What's the distinction between "truly singing" and "performance art"? If Zappa's music tells us anything, it's that there is no meaningful distinction. Music is "organised sound" as Varese said, not "organised nice sounds". Was Roy Estrada's "high weaselling" "truly singing" or just "performance art"? Dissolve the categories!

[@notfound-rr6ph]

While I believe that Zappa was in the right, due to the composition itself clearly being King Kong; I see no problem in Lennon using it on his live album considering their agreement. But to not credit the man for a piece he clearly composed is a slap in the face. Could have been the company Lennon was with at the time, but the man was John Lennon. They would practically do anything he says because of his standing in the industry. I mostly think there was a severe miscommunication.

[@kafkastrial8650]

This blew me away back then ,and still manages to do it today ..

[@bigtone1348]

Zappa taught me to stop taking myself so seriously. Thanks to Frank.

[@ballzoffire123]

0:00 itself (as played by the mothers in a studio) 0:52 (it's magnificence as interpreted by Dom DeWild) 2:12 (as Motorhead explains it) 3:58 (the Gardner varieties) 10:19 (as played by 3 deranged Good Humor trucks) 10:51 (live on a Flat Bed Diesel in the Middle of a Race Track at a Miami Pop Festival..... The Underwood Ramifications)

[@Swordshreader]

For those who do not know what this comment means: Those timestamps go to the 6 parts of this song and the captions after are the names of the parts.

[@benaustin6361]

Thanks. This is the "answer key" I remember from when I was thirteen years old. Appreciated.

[@robertorick6383]

The best part: The 3 deranged Good Humor trucks at 10:15. Utter madness mixed with genius.

[@SpaceHopper777]

I'll always remember listening to Zappa when I had my heart operation in 2004 haha🤣 I had my own personal button pusher changing my cd's and dosing me on drugs... Good times!

[@tuxguys]

From 1969, and, according to Wikipedia: "The album concludes with "King Kong", a piece in 3/8,[4] although the instrumental's prelude, a free jazz improvisation over a rhythm section playing in a 5/8 time signature, occurs much earlier in the album. Six variations of the melody appear as the album's finale, with the first establishing its simple melody, the second being a Fender Rhodes Electric Piano solo by (Don) Preston, the third showcasing a saxophone solo by Motorhead Sherwood, and the fourth featuring Bunk Gardner playing a soprano saxophone through various electronic effects that emulate the sound of a contrabassoon doubling his solo lines. Two more variations conclude the piece, which include a live recorded performance featuring a saxophone solo by Ian Underwood and then finally ending with a version with sped up gongs, overblown saxophones and other instruments." Miles and 'Trane had been coming at this from one direction, FZ from the other, and just imagine: In 1969, stoners who had been avoiding Jazz like the plague sat down, and expecting to hear Suzy Creamcheese and "Hungry Freaks, Daddy," instead, heard this...

[@edwardheglinps5242]

Dang. And I thought it was really a bassoon...

[@jess4728]

did stoners really listen to the mothers? "every town must have a place where phony hippies meet" and all that, it seems like, to frank, if you were a stoner that automatically made you a "phony"

[@tuxguys]

@@jess4728 I was there, and the answer is YES.

[@edwardheglinps5242]

My band director in junior high and high school was a bassoon player... I wonder if he ever listened to this?

[@steveho69]

Side IIII of this double album blew my mind. Bunk and Ian. Incredible.

[@reverendbryan]

The best version Frank ever recorded, and he recorded many many times.

[@iamdamosuzuki_]

I'd say this and the BBC version are tied.

[@rainerkornmusic]

Jam Rag

[@artkirakosyan2633]

@@rainerkornmusic yes john Lennon stole it from frank. You are right

[@BazookaToe]

@ Rainer Korn, nice 😁

[@behindthen0thing525]

What about the version with Yoko

[@helmutmeng350]

I have no words to express what this song means to me. Freak out y'all Peace out. This and the Gumbo variations

[@iamdamosuzuki_]

Don't forget "The Little House I Used to Own"

[@TheBigMclargehuge]

Then shut up about it.

[@jdmresearch]

Hugh Hopper said that this song was a big inspiration for Soft Machine 3. You can clearly see why. Great stuff.

[@slickjames2541]

so much creative stuff going on at that time. You can hear his influence on a lot of Canterbury scene bands for sure

[@haydenwalton2766]

I just said to a friend an hour ago, listening to the soft machine - frank would have dug this and frank might have gone to one of their gigs

[@goatuscrow4135]

I think Uncle Meat is the peak Mothers album, I simply love it to death

[@johnprunier9044]

You're not wrong. This was as far as he could take the original Mothers.

[@theinvisibleman2194]

Agreed.

[@PsychedelicPsoothesYourPsoul]

So hard to choose...all so good!

[@johnnytoobad7785]

Certainly one of my favorite Zappa/MOI tunes. This is band and "Traffic" got me into Jazz at very young age. I could only listen to so much "guitar rock" back then.

[@davidbussell7799]

This great I have listened to it many times through the decades and think it is one of the greatest compositions ever . I know of nothing that can match it.

[@Unos_mates_calentitos]

The house i used to live in, also by Zappa and the mothers

[@NLite486]

This, Dog Breath, and Sleeping In A Jar are the easy highlights of this album

[@auntiemoshbcs5892]

Masterpiece, great rhythm guitar at the start

[@nedd.8479]

Underrated song.

[@elvergalarga4461]

fast and bulbous.

[@RyanBedlack]

One of his crowning achievements, in my opinion

[@aulos52]

Masterpiece ! The best Zappa !

[@johnprunier9044]

As a running gag I throw the main melody of this or Big Swifty into songs I'm playing (where it fits) and without exception someone approaches me and asks "We're you throwing Kong and/or Swifty" into that song? It's actually a pretty great feeling to find all y'all that way.

[@gwts1171]

This studio version is actually my favorite!

[@davewhiteford6511]

My Favourite Frank / Mothers era ...x❤️

[@martlang3763]

Thank John and Yoko...I discover this great song...but this one is better than the copy one...Frank is so talented...no one can copy him...even Lennon 🤣

[@MarceloLaraM]

nice mixing as well. Masters in every part of the process

[@KLbSYNCHRONOUS]

I think I hear some real-life sounds mixed into to muddle up the clean studio stuff and I'm a fan of all that inclusivity..sound is all around us & discriminating against those sounds is probably what causes artists to lose inspo & simply SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE as opposed to starting from scratch... nothing against sampling either, but the originators & jazzy groovers are always our best teachers. Frank for example is continuing to influence artist, even me in this moment, and that's speaks VOLUMES to keeping an open-mind and those "dirty" or "inconsistent" sounds that some may consider weird are really the most beautiful ebbs and flows imitating life thru frequency and acoustic. I appreciate this piece on very deep level. Thank you FrankyZ, you are a true creative and I admire your vision and work. XO TakeXare 💋👌

[@tom-tom-t]

je pars regarder "200 motels" des même après l'écoute ici !

[@duzzybicenfongos6430]

One whole side of KING KONG!

[@JohnJB-et1cw]

Sounds like Charles Mingus. And I mean that like a compliment.

[@johnbreedlove3245]

that last minute 25 sec is ridiculous funny

[@montythepython7614]

Does humor belong in music??? Inbubidubly......

[@oliverhessenreither9511]

beim ersten hören war ich nach ca. 3min bedient..dann nach 5min und dann verstand ich es und .."it blow my mind" . komisch das einem musik die sich einem erst mit der zeit erschliesst, wirklich ein lebenlang nicht mehr loslässt....

[@Bill_Woo]

After numerous labored attempts for me to grasp and appreciate this, I reached a point of semi-awareness and felt that I felt and connected with at least a small portion of the song. And then so help me God Frank changed the song. That's right, 30 years after his ascension, he reached out and changed it. Clearly the obsession for perfection truly has no bounds.

[@BLzBob.7268]

Love this jam session.

[@colt1954]

I think its the greatest album ever made

[@haydenwalton2766]

I've often thought uncle meat is more of an old friend than a record

[@pete3883]

Woodstock & Beatles, but same ole same ole ?

[@danielwargo7150]

Damn Right Sparky...

[@LamiaceaeMW]

Nice. It seems Frank Zappa was a fan of John Coltrane & Eric Dolphy, note their tune "India"!

[@mantislake4141]

Note Zappa's tune, "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue"

[@carladiniz3253]

inclivel, maravilhoso, inacreditavel

[@christhomas835]

I enjoy thinking about King Kong. 77 version was the cats pajamas😊

[@wolfgangkohne2177]

Information is Not Knowledge Knowledge is Not Wisdom wisdom is Not truth truth is Not Beauty Beauty is Not Love Love is Not Music Music is The best...? F.Z.

[@opisthokonta]

Maybe this, The chrome plated megaphone of destiny and The little house i used to live in are the very best of Zappa. What a genius srsly.

[@duckface524]

don't know about the chrome plated tbh

[@danscott3880]

LHIUTO LIN...ANOTHER Triumph..

[@PollisDrake]

CPMoD is his first substantial set piece of musique concrète, I agree, it's one of the key "manifestos" of early Zappa.

[@danmartinazzi]

True masterpiece

[@montythepython7614]

Happy mother's Day!!;;

[@rogerreinitz5315]

Some people dont like Uncle Meat.Those people are wrong.

[@nikolaypavlov1984]

Feels like brain massage with hyper cool vibes

[@jedzeniecukrowjestprzyczyn2196]

WOW :D From 3:55 to 10:13 is the longest Joseph Pujol's performance ever heard!

[@johnsverrejohnsen9146]

Nice 😁I Think there is a lot of people that never heard about Joseph Pujol, the greatest fa*ter in the world!

[@bobknobbe3561]

wow that is something Ron Burgandy would play with his jazz flute. a mish mosh of Casio keyboards and drums that belongs in a drive inn B movie cop chase

[@numerousattention103]

1968: Great song 1971: Why tf is there Yoko screaming? That makes no sense

[@hamiltonmackenzie3340]

She performed it with frank and Lennon at Fillmore 🧐

[@PollisDrake]

I get so confused by this Yoko-hate. She makes the same kinds of unpleasant sound that the Mothers make! You've heard Weasels Ripped My Flesh, right? You've heard Estrada's nerve-jangling falsetto. Yoko's screaming makes total sense in that context. If Motorhead Sherwood was making that Yoko-sound on his sax (as he sometimes did!) the fans would be like "Classic Motorhead, he's so unpredictable and absolutely free".

[@user-br3lt9yd7w]

Zappa es el mejor

[@xxgmpxx]

Grande Frank, ci manchi tanto...

[@jeandanieljolivald6256]

Some call this tune a song, I don't see why!=, though it has this recurrent theme as a melody..It's a musical and rythm expansion, explanation, developpement and conclusion , and above all in the key of E flat, like Take five, Sir Duke, Misty , Round midnight, Ain't misbehavin', and others ; great stuff. For keyboard users

[@boytjiejoolz]

This and Weatherapport...💪🤙

[@mikevlade4221]

KingKong - I like to be Mr.Fairbanks, the Captn of the Steamship .

[@donnalife]

thaTS why I have this album up front in my studio

[@damaskboi]

i dont know what this has to do with the giant ape, but this still kicks ass!

[@arman2774]

Just a cool name 🦍🦍

[@parallaxcontinuum7898]

That's a wow.

[@bamcr1218]

Must be yoko ono playing the ear screeching instrument in the background

[@stephenmcgavran5789]

It's 2021. I have a lot of FZ & Mother's stuff, but not this. This is great. So is this, King Kong a whole side of the Uncle Meat LP? Anyone?

[@sharonsnail2954]

The whole of side 4 on a two disc set (at least it is in the UK)

[@UmasPapa]

@@sharonsnail2954 thanks for the response! I was also wondering

[@jean-pascaljean-pascal1949]

John Coltrane should have been credited...

[@jorgerodriguez8918]

Maravilloso 🤩

[@salort2934]

Zappa said that John Lennon stole this song and changed its name for one of his albums.

[@callactm14]

Listen and you will see there is not really much if you ever find anything. Few weird chord changes are typical zappa bit thats about it

[@pete3883]

Original lp in '69 - 20 bucks ,now 50 in Atlanta , ain't bad ?

[@cheeez9438]

2:10 That gong hit and transition is one of the sickest melodies I’ve ever heard

[@blattulanyon9556]

hey kids lets Jam

[@SSurfer1]

Next , don't call us we'll call you Frank !

[@jammin6816]

I was expecting to hate this piece because Zappa was a complete asshole. But I like it…a LOT

[@M5guitar1]

Yoko: ahhhh ahhhh ahĥh yayayayaa yewbbBababa hshshsha uoooh oohhh ooh

[@awaken77]

Is King Kong connected with Smoke On The Water song history?

[@brandoncallaway5354]

Yes, Of Course!

[@writer125]

Absolutely, this was the song that Zappa & The Mothers were playing when that happened. And you know the rest. Thanx for posting this.

[@gruntgrip]

@@writer125 Never even pondered that. Thanks for the info.

[@alanwhite9466]

@@writer125 And they played it a week later at The Rainbow in London just before FZ was pushed into the orchestra pit by some maniac. Ironically just before they play it you can hear Mark Volman saying to Frank "Remember what happened last time we played this"? You can find the full track up on KZbin. That quote is in a separate KZbin video.

[@stephenpogen1035]

God at work

[@kewkabe]

John Lennon wrote this actually, it was called "Jamrag"

[@Bronk0Nagurski]

😂😂😂😂 You're just looking for heat. lmfao.

[@davesargent7304]

just discovered that John Lennon plagiarized this song and called it Jamrag.

[@stevenyourke7901]

Which just proves that Lennon was an asshole. What a shitty thing to do!

[@SSurfer1]

Mmmmm he had a sense of humour hence the name hopefully !

[@albertsanchez5619]

Smoke on the whater

[@treatb09]

Saying John Lennon stole this is like saying jimmy page stole dazed and confused.

[@pete3883]

Another little ditty, Underwood whips out on stage in Copenhagen ?

[@jazw4649]

This is the song John Lennon and Yoko Ono ripped off during a live performance with Frank Zappa apparently.

[@ernestogasulla7763]

The art of jamming any shit and convincing audiences you are a genius. In that regard, Zappa was unique.

[@makofilms3804]

He wasn't the first and certainly wasn't the last

[@PollisDrake]

"Jamming any shit" You mean improvising? Is that somehow less valid than composing?

[@ernestogasulla7763]

@@PollisDrake when the jam has no shape, yes it is. Actually it always is. But Zappa's jams are particularly weak and shapeless. I know you love the guy. A lot of rock fans do. Not my fault.

[@ernestogasulla7763]

@@makofilms3804 true, but other rockers don't enjoy the high status Zappa has.

[@PollisDrake]

@@ernestogasulla7763 But it does have a quite obvious shape. Its shape is an opening head section, then a sequence of solos, then a longer live version of the head section again. It's a typical jazz-type A-B-A structure. If you don't *like* the shape, fair enough, but to say it doesn't have a shape is just wrong.

[@edwardheglinps5242]

Who'da thunk a bassoon could be so cool??

[@jkljkl1945]

WHAT is the solo from 3.55 to circa 10.20? Is it a sax through som electronic octave-device? Did such a thing exist in the late sixties? I know Hendrix used a octave/fuzz-pedal on Purple Haze, but this is much different.

[@UmasPapa]

I am also wondering this! I could be wrong, but it sounds like a muted trumpet that was put into an octave down pedal of some kind. I believe this tech existed at the time. I read that Zappa was at the forefront of this kind of electrical wizardry. I believe he had custom circuits designed for his myriad of purposes.

[@MusicissuperiorEVHROX316]

This was the song that John Lennon and Yoko Ono stole from Zappa on the live album “Some Time In New York”. Yeah, imagine no possession my ass…

[@jeremykrane4855]

john lennon, love that man, but i agree that stealing this song was a huge L on lennon’s part

[@rafaelparedesspillari2511]

Like 'cause it Is new

[@random_content_generator]

bloody fuchs the second half is even beter even better than the reel part

[@danielripplinger5013]

awesome but the prelude is missing

[@tomn9094]

missing what? listen again

[@danielripplinger5013]

@@tomn9094 listen to the whole album

[@arol10555]

The Mothers of Invention Sincerely Regret to Inform You

[@Krachitos]

11:11 You're welcome

[@DemK_Music]

My man, you read my mind

[@kb4446]

Next check out all the cruisin for burgers! This album up to the live in new york version. Its total balls.

[@kb4446]

Tit in a punchbowl!

[@kb4446]

Wicked tit!!!!

[@yamofranko8899]

This sounds like something i would make if you put me in a room full of instruments and told me to make a song using all of them

[@TheDiamondsions]

Yeh except it wouldnt be anywhere near this song. It would be a bunch of noise compared to this.

[@larrygonzales821]

That would be closer to the Ritual Dance of the Child Murderers and Return of the Son of Monster Magnet off of Freak Out.

[@callumgillies9611]

Doubt.

[@menkekkoen]

I like it

[@PimpinOutBlocks]

Ha an Lennon an Yoko stole this fucking song and renamed it. Jokes shout out to the man Zappa who had a fucking 170 IQ higher than any average person let alone presidents. He was such a genius who shoulda lived on over 100+ years. RIP Frank you will NEVER be forgotten for the impact you made.

[@AGETheGawdYT]

I think the 2 versions sound drastically different. Kinda prefer the Lennon one....Idk...Who exactly was playing on the Live Lennone one, and on this one? Idk. Controversial opinion maybe. This one is really fucking good though.

[@hugovandermeer1566]

Jazzappa!

[@NatSatFat]

Not bad at all!

[@danielpaskoful]

Didnt Frank steal this song from John and Yoko? 😎

[@orionkyunarukami1918]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@pete3883]

Jazz or Americana ,both.

[@pete3883]

LP - $ 30 in Atl ?

[@oldschoolsuper840]

Is that a bassoon or stylophone?

[@garrypye1916]

Electronically treated clarinet by Bunk Gardner, I believe.

[@oldschoolsuper840]

@@garrypye1916 Good to know, thanks!

[@pete3883]

dick - da phone in your Ear ?

[@seeeabaasssiliketransforme9904]

#TeamKong