Frank Zappa - What's My Line, TV Appearance 1971

[@gravematter1]

This whole thing is mindblowing. Frank Zappa on What's My Line? Soupy Sales guessing his identity? A two minute chat about video editing on primetime TV? Outstanding.

[@guyfihi]

To me Frank is not that strange, just an intelligent, creative, brutally honest, opinionated guy.

[@gepmrk]

Back in 1971 you could witness an intelligent conversation between people on TV. What Happened?

[@crystalrunez]

Oh Frank, we miss you. What a shining light you were.

[@astrosteve]

I didn't realize Zappa was ever that mainstream popular. Damn. That's pretty cool.

[@davidtooke5964]

Soupy Sales was ahead of his time, really. He clearly supported innovative music. His sons Hunt and Tony formed the rhythm section of Tin Machine, fronted by David Bowie.

[@cynthiaennis3107]

David Tooke Cool...didn't know that!

[@jamessonhil5291]

And runt!

[@mackereltacos2850]

You could ask the man ANY question and he'd give the most sincere well thought out response in a flash.

[@richardfederico1672]

Zappa never fails to explain away his secrets and delve into the minutia of his production process's. Priceless shit for those interested in the recording techniques and technical capabilities of the 60's and 70's. A true teacher!

[@JazzKeyboardist1]

+Richard Federico sorry

[@JazzKeyboardist1]

***** ..Good one.. But Does Frank explain how playing bicycles on the Steve Allen show was his ticket for being the hero to millions of his groupies? Yoko Ono stole his act

[@BitterBosh]

Richard Federico Agreed. Usually they whisk the mystery guest off far too quickly, nice to see them "talk shop," as Wally said.

[@designerlarry]

His lyrics and the songs themselves may be off the wall, but he indeed takes his music very seriously and uses the technology at the time to the limits, and yes always open to discussion.

[@ForeverYoung58]

Very surprising that someone from that panel figured out it was Zappa; but Soupy Sales was much hipper than he was given credit for. A surprisingly cool dude.

[@nickpelkey]

A night club performing, composer, singer who is a bullfighter. Pretty accurate. I love that Frank decided to get all technical during his interview.

[@MrMaskedhater]

Is there anything musical about your work? "Some people think so"

[@dennis4189]

Who could imagine Frank Zappa and Wally Bruner having a serious discussion about film editing? RIP Frank.

[@EpicRacingUK]

I love listening to Mr Zappa's detailed explanation of how the film was edited. Clearly a very intelligent man who was totally switched on. Missed by many music lovers. He was truly unique and a fantastic composer who pushed the boundaries.

[@MrDboyle100]

A man who was way way way a head of his time cannot believe its nearly 20 years since he passed, rest easy Frank!!!!!!!!!!

[@MOTOPAC]

Soupy got it! Soupy's sons played with Iggy and David Bowie.

[@LechDharma]

FZ was underappreciated as an envelope-pushing composer, and an innovator in both music AND video art. His deliciously-wicked and irreverent sense of humor was often misunderstood by the general public. His dedication to "product" excellence, and his anti-drug policy, often drove his various "Mothers" crazy. But, to chosen by him to be a Mother, was an honor like no other. At a time when most "rock stars" were drooling, drugged-out, half-wits, Zappa was a musical genius. IMHO.

[@HunterMann]

Frank helped me to start my first dental floss farm many years ago. Pure genius!

[@InsertName130]

That was awesome. Soupy Sales and Frank Zappa are both awesome! I can't believe how fast he got it!

[@johnbidochka2795]

They missed their opportunity to collaborate on a record together, it could have been called "Soupy Gravy"!

[@InsertName130]

John Bidochka Greatest comment in the history of the world!

[@chemicalcarlos]

His kids turned out to be rock & rollers who played with Bowie in Tin Machine. Maybe ole Soupy was hipper than he let on.

[@fadethetrade]

cause even in 72 zappa wasn't any slouch. He had been invited to play at woodstock and played in a concert series with hendriz in switzerland so even in 72,people were already taking notice in their circles.Then grand wazoo came out and rolling stone rated it 5 stars!The rest is history.

[@terr777]

InsertName130 Both his sons, Tony and Hunt were in music...they played on Todd Rundgren's first solo album, "Runt".

[@TorkG8]

I would've known him right away just from his vocal tone..I just love Frank's voice, whether he's speaking or singing.

[@lancegoerner1719]

The guy had it right the first time, Mr Zappa was a Bull fighter. He fraught bull shit every chance he had.

[@chemicalcarlos]

I knew it. He was just a geek at heart. Miss the man, wish he was around today. RIP Frank, in your unmarked grave.

[@TehJew22]

Zappa was years ahead of his time, with video editing. :O

[@EpicRacingUK]

You're spot on. He was always looking for new ways to do things, i mean in everything. His compositions too. Such a variety and approach in compositions.

[@TehJew22]

EpicRacingUK Thank you. :)

[@Dejahthoris22]

Soupy Sales nailed it. I love Soupy

[@PedroPetracco]

Gotta love the guy who put Hunt and Tony into this world!

[@DarkeningSkies1]

And his kids Hunt & Tony were Iggy Pop and David Bowie's rhythm section for a while. Cool begets cool.

[@krelbar]

Funny thing is...I would have known who it was as soon as I heard his voice.

[@TheRecordSaver]

Interesting is that he's one of the few (if not the ONLY) mystery guest to NOT disguise his voice to confound the panel..

[@staceyanimacie2539]

Never knew Shelly Manne was on Lumpy Gravy. I'll have to check that out. Nice to hear him talk about 200 Motels.

[@soulierinvestments]

June Lockhart in her mid luscious period. She started performing in the 1930s and still performed in various mediums clear into the 2000s. She started appearing in TV in the early 1950s and continued appearing in TV clear into the 2000s. Only a handful of performers can claim to appearing in games shows in the 1950s, 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s. June is one of them. For sheer TV longevity, only Betty White out did her. Betty started in the 1940s and is still active.

[@andytaravella8124]

You can tell they were impressed with him. Don't think they expected him to be well spoken and sober lol

[@weaselsuit]

Such a wonderful artist. Bless his heart.

[@nicolesturgis3578]

(

[@kmc55]

He was a genius. I never had the chance to see him perform live but I did see Dweezil last year at The Kent Stage doing Zappa Plays Zappa - absolutely incredible musician like his Father.

[@18Bobjohn]

Soupy Sales and Frank on the same show. Classic!

[@omagine]

of course Soupy nailed it. He was pretty hip. His son is in music too. Played with some of my friends. :)

[@5Be4Funk]

I love it ... Frank is so far ahead of the world musically and technically that he sounds like he came from outer space .... oh yeah, almost forgot ... he did

[@Mr39036ce]

I absolutely idolized Frank Zappa but as a side note to this,As a kid my dad,sister and I would watch the Soupy Sales Show. It was a half hour of laughing so hard we would hurt. Some of his shows are on KZbin. You should remember the time period of this was late 50's early 60's.Some of it was a bit Adult if you catch the drift.

[@HunterMann]

That was great guess work on Soupy part. I like that he mentioned the legendary jazz drummer Shelly Manne(RIP 1984).

[@llihmailliw9780]

Frank - what a brilliant man, and what a sad, sad pity that you left us so long ago - far too soon. We need you now more than ever; you weren't the glue that held everything in place - you were the force that kept everything in check.

[@canturgan]

Zappa didn't think anything of going on mainstream TV, he didn't consider himself above any of that.

[@MarcBrewer]

I figured Soupy would get it. His boys played drums & bass with Iggy and Bowie for years, so he probably heard a lot of rock records at home.

[@renduke]

i would know that voice anywhere

[@BHAKTIBROPHY]

I've never seen this! Thank you SO much for posting. I miss Frank. Such a genius!

[@recubejim1]

Soupy was one smart awesome entertainer no one under the age of 50 has had a chance to enjoy. Of course FZ is the Most AWESOME!

[@ZAPPAFREAK59]

this is why Frank is just the coolest cat around!

[@HerbTBS]

June Lockhart and Frank Zappa together for the first time.

[@Mr.Altavoz]

miss you Frank!

[@downloader1970]

The moustache did it LOL

[@jimmythecreep]

hunt and tony sales are soupy sales sons, both very accomplished musicians who have worked with iggy pop and david bowie.

[@ludovica8221]

So much detail about the film editing!

[@baronoflivonia.3512]

Frank Zappa was a Genius. He probably recorded more music than any other 2 artist's combined, gave the world trout Mask Replica and Alice Cooper. He was the Mozart or Bach of our time.

[@manoftheworld1000]

This is no real guessing game! After all, Zappa answers with his natural voice, so they can "spot" him right away! He should (have) nod(ed) or shake(n) his head instead!

[@zappafreak58]

Thanks for posting this, I had never seen it before. Very interesting an historically pertinent! He left much to soon.

[@Spudboy182]

Ah, Frank. One of the greatest. Miss you, sir.

[@JGarcia77]

Frank was one really sharp man. I saw him @ 8/ 10 times... So great.

[@CheshireCatband]

Sweet threads Frank! Shelly Manne on Lumpy?! never knew. jazz legend.

[@ZINCOVIX8754]

God the world is shit without MR.Zappa.

[@genericgeorge]

Ah he was plugging 200 Motels. I should have watched it till the end. Very cool film - Especially 'She Painted Up Her Face'

[@Jah_Rastafari_ORIG]

Glenn Wheatcroft My favorite is Magic Fingers. Red balloons just pop behind my eyes...

[@jonathan401]

"Some people think so" hahahahaha great answer.

[@alachabre]

I could be mis-interpreting this, but at 2:23 I see Gene Rayburn lean behind June Lockhart and ask Soupy Sales, "Who's Frank Zappa?" then June turns and looks at Gene with a look of "Are you kidding?"

[@JohnSmith-kz8yo]

+alachabre Gene was probably listening to the Boston Pops in 1971. lol

[@cynthiaennis3107]

alachabre Good catch!

[@jackleford6209]

Lmfao

[@johnmalcolm9980]

Who's Gene Rayburn?

[@wesmatron]

As soon as he utter his first word, my next question would have been "Are you the legend Frank Zappa?'

[@patriot6067]

200 MoTeLs : first feature film shot on video tape , using 4 cameras , and it was shot in 7 days . Nobody's gonna tell me that's​ not a goddamn accomplishment , cuz " I'll stomp on his face till he don't move no more ! "

[@carineii6747]

At the beginning: "Rock Star" Frank Zappa... Hahahahaha! That's hilarious when you really know about the man and his anti-stardom views! Wow! Lol.

[@Qermaq]

Well, he WAS a rock star, whether he liked it or not!

[@TelecasterLPGTop]

Activist would suit him better.

[@georgecandreva2842]

Frank Zappa and George Duke together. Marvelous!

[@markkonzerowsky8871]

Frank Zappa and Gene Rayburn on the same stage. Two polar extremes of cool with Soupy Sales as the mediator!

[@starwolffan13]

"Do you have a moustache?" "Yes." "Are you Frank Zappa?" Yes.

[@BuzzWreck61]

Wally Bruner and Frank "talking shop". Wally was also the pitch man for PlyMart, a home improvement warehouse chain.

[@DeanHaasJr]

He was a true genius - not everyone got what he was doing, even his fans!

[@ledzzappa]

what a great guy he was, never to be matched.

[@lipby]

I didn't know that he had become so famous already. I assumed he was still underground at that point.

[@propellerkuh1603]

such a great guy he was!!

[@trendm0nger]

because people were smart back then, people were curious, people were interested in interesting things......not so much now, I suppose

[@Aldebaron9]

I saw him perform 5 weeks earlier.

[@miserablerhurensohn]

Alright Soupy! I'm glad somebody recognized that distinctive voice.

[@AIKevorkian]

I was too young to remember this show. I don't remember anything before "Truth or Consequences" which became "The Price is Right". But notice how Frank said "first feature film to be shot on video tape". That was light-years ahead of its time, Mr. Zappa. And I have not heard the name Soupy Sales since at least when I was only 22. Wow!

[@dnatz58]

Soupy's son played drums in David Bowie's Tin Machine

[@Natenick5]

Yeah I was honestly shocked the guy guessed him so fast. Out of all the musicians at the time.

[@foggygoggle]

Only " Soupy Sails:"woulda guessed Zappas identity . Kudos ... pie in the face

[@clemguitar]

Just gotta love him

[@RedRadRoot]

@ Ed White - The Sayles brothers' work w./Todd on "Something Anything" is much fun to listen to.

[@anthonylarson7919]

Soupy has two sons, both of whom are rock musicians: bassist Tony Sales and drummer Hunt Sales (who were in the band Tin Machine with David Bowie).

[@randyj420]

what a great post - thanks so much - this is a great capture of Frank - still so sad he left us - but so happy he put out so much amazing music.

[@minish1]

So ahead of his time

[@genericgeorge]

They're blindfolded but the voices were a dead giveaway on this show. They should have had them treated

[@Wayzor_]

This made my night. Thanks.

[@johnslattery6132]

It's great that they zeroed in on his identity once "composer" was posed as a question!

[@Labor_Jones]

Soupy Sales sons were Musicians and had some Top 20 hits I think.

[@secondhandprophet]

Soupy's sons were in a band called Tin Machine with David Bowie

[@BitterBosh]

Indeed they were. Played on Iggy Pop's Lust For Life & played with David Bowie in Tin Machine!

[@michaelshea8647]

+Marvin Gershowitz His sons were the rhythm section for David Bowie's band Tin Machine, they rocked hard.

[@Labor_Jones]

I heard about that recently, Cool!

[@Tuning_Spork]

They were in Iggy Pop's band in the mid-'70s. Rock on!

[@Croot_Music]

Shelly Manne is a fucking amazing drummer

[@CusterFlux]

+Flavio Rocha When it comes to Mr Zappa … nothing less would do.

[@jonathonbuttery2041]

Shelly Manne mocked Zappa at the Lumpy Gravy sessions, ridiculed him (dirty ignorant hippie, etc). Manne softened a bit later when he realized that Frank was talented.

[@fishybishbash]

Went to the UK performance of 200 Motels this week and I'm not surprised that the piece took Zappa 4 years to write. It was one of the most remarkable pieces of orchestral writing I ever heard, mind-blowing. And you can't even buy the soundtrack.This situation has to change surely? I don't get it

[@Jah_Rastafari_ORIG]

fishybishbash Whole thing's here on YT to listen to anytime...

[@FZappa20]

I like that he signed in as F Zappa

[@quicksilvermac7]

haha the Mustache gave it away Signature.... :) Legends Never die

[@kaewonf8]

And the winner is Soupy Sales! Thanks for the upload!

[@cannonball666]

They go together like Lost in Space and Moon Unit.

[@Dejahthoris22]

I love Frank Zappa

[@nobodady1]

My father owns Life with the Lions. It's a conceptual album. You could say it is Yoko's album even.

[@chesk13]

I thought he looked happy here. The only time Frank looked shy to me was on the Steve Allen Show in '63.

[@edwhite7475]

Soupy Sales had two sons who were professional musicians-a bassist and a drummer- they were on Todd Rundgrens first album I think-so I would assume he had a pretty musical household- pretty cool though.

[@edwhite7475]

Hunt and Tony Sales- they were also on Iggy Pops albums.

[@IFHorus]

If only Frank gave such a thorough synopsis of the plot of the movie and the fact that Keith Moon plays a levitating nun, and yes, you can see the rope.

[@maxdingotm]

FZ...the mad scientist of rock..one of a kind...sorely missed

[@petemarr824]

How thick are these people.. The voice is Frank Zappa.. How can they not work it out straight away?

[@ForeverYoung58]

+Pete Marr To be fair, unless you were familiar with underground music of the 60s and 70s, you probably would not know who Frank Zappa was. He was not a household name- certainly not at that time. Soupy got him, though. He (Soupy) was a lot hipper than he was given credit for.

[@petemarr824]

Zappa is the only one here I have heard of.. I am from the great U of K ;)

[@brainsareus]

+Pete Marr Remember ,this was years before his many activist appearances on News TV shows;let alone,KZbin,which was decades in the future. His speaking voice,would have been known to almost no one,in '71;let alone ,these straight laced folk. His "popularity" at THAT time ,was completely fringe,and sub/counterculture.

[@brainsareus]

***** They'd not likely to know who he was,if they had ALL day [except,for hip Soupy Sales]. he became much more mainstream years later,and known to people across the board,because of his political outspokenness;not so much,because of his music. and even then,he was never quite a household word.

[@8fot]

Because it's 1971.And they got it rather quick.

[@bridgmjm]

Rest In Pease FZ

[@eightinches6094]

Haha The panel didn't even know what he was talking about. And Arlene Francis probably didn't even know who he was lol!

[@Noobshire]

He probably likes to talk about things that he's interested in I suppose, and the presenter was pretty insistent about Frank talking about it.