Rollo / Ruth Underwood and Zappa 日本語字幕

Ruth Underwood Played St.Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast (Rollo Interior) in just 30 years.
ルースが30年ぶりにRollo を演奏。

[@BirdYoumans]

3 mistakes indeed lol! Ruth was in the band when Tom Fowler broke his finger on tour and I got to fill in for him (early 70's) for a few weeks on bass. She is a monster. No other way to describe it. A beast. I loved her! But then, George Duke, Chester Thompson, Napoleon Brock, all monsters. And then there was Frank who wrote all this stuff. I miss him. There are very few as unique as he was.

[@peterdelaney7061]

Says the guy who gave us Sleep Dirt. Legend

[@eprn1n2]

I love the background on Frank's music having listened in awe for the last 45 years. I love how Dweezil honors his dad's music.

[@stormbringer67]

and your name is?

[@icespittingfire]

@@stormbringer67 see his username, it's James "Birdlegs" Youmans. A legend! May only have toured with the band for a week but ended up on a lot of records... One Size Fits All, Sleep Dirt, Studio Tan (where you can hear him say "my fingers got stuck" on the beautiful title track).

[@TheKitchenerLeslie]

Did you ever know a guy named Kerry Magness? He was a friend of mine who grew up with Jeff Simmons and knew FZ a little bit.

[@davepuette7101]

Ladies and gentlemen.... Watch Ruth! She is the undisputed queen of Frank’s sound in that era I love you Ruth

[@markhammer643]

I had the honour and terror of meeting and interviewing Frank on August 16, 1969. I had hoped to hitchhike to Woodstock from Montreal, but when my father saw the traffic jams on TV, I was forbidden to go. My consolation prize was that Frank and the Mothers of Invention gave 5 free concerts at the former Expo 67 site that famous weekend, and I attended all 5. The band was most of the crew that had recorded Uncle Meat: Bunk Gardner, Roy Estrada, Don Preston, Ian Underwood, Motorhead Sherwood, Jimmy Carl Black, and of course Frank. Somehow, I wangled my way backstage, and got my 10 minutes with him, between the two Saturday afternoon shows, wedged between all the other actual reporters who each got their 10 minutes. One of the things Frank told me was that he was always working on arrangements, and just like some of the pictures shown here, he brought a pad of music paper, a box of HB pencils, and an electric pencil sharpener with him, wherever he went, whether it was on the bus, in the hotel room, or backstage. Any improvised segments were planned such that the personality characteristics of the band-member he pointed to would complement the piece. Sadly, exasperated with what I gather was a frustrating tour (I think it was Bunk who told me the PA they had been promised for a show at a stadium turned out to be a 35 watt Bogen, of the sort for announcing that someone's headlights had been left on), he broke the band up on the Monday the 18th, declaring that "people wouldn't know good music if it bit them on the ass". Hearing people in the front row yell out requests for "Louie Louie", I can understand his irritation, though I would imagine other things factored into the mix. About 2 months later, he released Hot Rats.

[@terjhar]

Great story Mark - well told also. Uncle Meat was my first exposure to Frank. These guys are so few and far between - but at least Frank is reasonably documented for future humanity in part to KZbin. That's a good thing considering nobody reads music anymore! He did and his manuscript chops were impeccable. Another skill gone by the wayside. Thanks

[@jamespuleo3269]

Thanks for the great tale~~~ Who knew???? The culture at large has heard of Woodstock, hu nu there was a cosmic musical counter-weight being exerted by five free Zappa gigs in Montreal?

[@pechondelgado]

@@jamespuleo3269 5 free Mothers of Invention shows in 1969 > Every Woodstock performance and the prize of being able to say you went to Woodstock.

[@christophersleight19]

I lived about 11 miles from Woodstock, not the Concert, the real town. Exit 19 on the NYS Thruway. I have never heard this verified, but the buzz before the concert was moved to Max's farm was "the concert was going to be on the Golf Course in Woodstock." But, the advanced ticket sales, requests revealed the town would be Overrun. Frank Not being at the "Music and Arts Festival" for me is another feather in the cap. Frank Zappa Greatest American composer in History.

[@markhammer643]

@@christophersleight19 My best friend at the time had a subscription to The East Village Other, which I supplemented with intermittent purchases of the Village Voice. Both publications were running 1/4-page ads for "3 days of peace and love" for some time prior to the actual festival date. Boy oh boy it was tempting.

[@IAm-qf2xb]

Ruth is the picture of grace and a sensational beauty.

[@namcat53]

Well put.

[@ellenrosenblatt5463]

I love how Ruth humbly acknowledges the "3 mistakes" after not having played this difficult part for 3 decades. Three mistakes that none of us heard, but she did. Pretty. Pretty damn good

[@zolarczakl3880]

First, Zappa imagined and wrote that music. Second, Ruth played that music! Zappa and Ruth. She should've lasted longer with the band, but while she was there, it was the best Mothers line-up, and that says a lot.

[@markhammer643]

I suppose she wouldn't have had the same training or encouragement if they had been contemporaries, but just imagine if Ruth and Charles Ives HAD been contemporaries. Ives would only get to hear the music he composed, after coming home from his insurance-company day job, by hiring the cream of New York talent. And, as musicians trained in "the 3 B's" (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms) they generally weren't up to the task of polyrhythms and fast chromatic runs.

[@FreeSpeech101-pb3lg]

1974 was a peak year, for a lot of things, before the de-evolution and corporatization of music began, in earnest.

[@makucevich]

I bought Apostrophe (') when it came out, listened to it immediately and when the Rollo section came around was absolutely stunned. All I could think was "This blows Emerson Lake and Palmer completely out of the water".

[@boujeemelon7305]

True, but ELP still the bomb nonetheless

[@felipepaez2556]

As a keyboardist myself, and die-hard ELP fan and scholar, I must admit Thomas' comment hahahaha

[@jamesconraadtucker]

Hmm, "blown out of the water". First, it wasn't written for that. 2nd Never compare ELP (or anything) which is pretty juvenile. Keith not only was insanely virtuoso(from classical to rag), but could play the keys backwards, upside down, etc. Let's just say these individuals were very uninhibited.

[@DropAnchor1978]

Dweezil, we salute you! You carry on with Frank's legacy doing it right! No coat-tail riding for you, you dig in and present the material as it should be and beyond!

[@YogsenForfoth]

His younger brother and sister, Ahmet and Diva, have tried like hell FOR YEARS to sabotage Dweezil’s attempts to play his dad’s music. It’s so scummy. 😒

[@carlamurray9696]

The anniversary of his passing ,26 yrs is still tough! I've been a fan of his for 50 + yrs now!!

[@cremesupreme]

i was about to get on my feet and do the funky Alphonso but the video ended.

[@absolutelypositively]

cremesupreme well said indeed!

[@jussiohman1466]

Haha, me too

[@The-F.R.E.E.-J.]

I know, right?!

[@thewordlove4316]

well, he did say to get on your feet so ...

[@porterkerckhoff3451]

Lol😅

[@Aldoborzoni]

Love you Ruth. So may memories of great music. And a lot of fun listening to it. Thank you.

[@raylrodr]

"Jazz is not dead ... it just smells funny".

[@LeopoldBlooom]

Ruth is so awesome!

[@jesuscomplex]

the make her entrance like a queen motif is genius

[@ripposte]

I could listen to Ruth play all day!

[@jeffreyholmes7216]

Ruth is wonderful.

[@aristotle358]

Thanks to Ruth we get an insight to Zappa's difficult compositional ideas.

[@magickriver]

It's so obvious that Dweezil is the only member of the Zappa household who totally GETS his daddy's music & appreciates the rich musical legacy that has passed on to him.

[@shayneoneill1506]

In that he's the only accomplished musician , sure, of course hes gonna have the deeper insight. But honestly lets not wade into that shitty dispute. The zappa kids have resolved their differences, lets not agitate them back again. For what its worth, Moon always had a pretty good sense of what her father was about too.

[@MrProfitsOFDoom]

Shayne O'Neill seems like Moon and Dweezil are the only ones who have any sense of the music. It’s a shame that the Zappa trust is going to ruin the sanctity of his music by making him a hologram.

[@miketayse]

It's great to see Ms. Underwood play and speak, thanks for posting!

[@breakup66]

I love how Ruth shows us the sheet music and says "Look, it's all 2 chords, no triads!" as if we would know what they look like 😂

[@timw4671]

Its really not that confusing.. a C major scale is CDEFGAB. Seven notes to a major . A C Major chord is a triad.. 3 notes, each one note apart, stacked. CEG.. the 2nd note of the scale was a D.. so a C Major 2, adds in the second note to the triad.. so its CDEG. The notes are numbered.. C is 1, D is 2 etc. The name of the scale tells you what the 1 note is.

[@breakup66]

@@timw4671 Oh yeah, easy! 😂

[@interstellish]

I mean, you don't have to know music theory for that one. When she shows you the lead sheet, every letter, corresponding to the chord of the bar(s), has a 2. G2, F2, Db2, etc.

[@timbermannh]

And...if you add the (major) third back into the 2 chord you now have a mu chord. Sort of a Becker/Fagen reference.

[@interstellish]

@@timbermannh Yep, I had that same thought about the mu major chord. I guess this is a way to formalize it, but looking back at jazz pianist, they had been doing this same thing for decades before.

[@whoknowsknight9628]

3 mistakes. one for each decade i'v been away from ... we surely miss the 74 line up !

[@absolutelypositively]

Whoknows Knight we surely miss ALL the lineups!

[@donaldheitger6731]

Those were his best years in my opinion.

[@Targuer]

Je ne passe pas une semaine sans écouter Frank zappa. Après l avoir découvert à la télé en 1975 !

[@MarkHenryC]

That's Ruth's rusty playing... She plays like it shouldn't be possible, and played a huge part in the Zappa sound.

[@Frip36]

what is rusty playing?

[@somersetcace1]

@@Frip36 Out of practice. 3 decades away from the music and instrument. If you left a piece of metal laying around for that long it would be "rusty," thus the saying.

[@RonGallagher]

Happy Birthday Ruth 2023🎶

[@mexton]

I Love Ruth!

[@truthdweller3454]

How could you not?!

[@rohmer50]

Absolutely correct. There was no one in the "rock music" business who was doing what Frank did. He was a gifted individual (his high school music teacher confirmed that his IQ was way above average) who was operating at a very high level in composition & had the special ability to work in a number of modes or contexts with great facility.

[@michaelgreen5206]

In my book Frank is a genuis...no doubt about it!

[@ljprep6250]

Wow, Ruth on Rollo 30 years later and hard to catch any mistake. Just an amazing lady.

[@Ihitthings3]

I didn’t hear them at first either but I think I caught one. Not really a mistake but she almost missed a note, like she grazed the key next to it.

[@TankZappa]

I just love reading fellow Zappa fans' comments.

[@fintanoclery2698]

Your profile pic is killing me.

[@TankZappa]

@@fintanoclery2698 🤘😁🎸⚡⚡⚡🏴‍☠️

[@rohmer50]

To regard him as somehow a peer of the guys in Led Zeppelin, the Grateful Dead, the Who, or any other rock act popular at that time is to misunderstand his capabilities & powers. There was no one else who was working the same ground he was working...he was out there by himself. And we haven't seen anyone since who could work successfully in as many idioms and styles as he could.

[@phrygiandominant6989]

Well, Captain Beefheart was doing both his own thing, and with Frank too.

[@garymazzantini8879]

rohmer50 king crimson

[@ralphmunn1685]

@@phrygiandominant6989, Donald vV was a genius in his own way, but musically illiterate, and NEVER worked in the Classical world or in "serious" jazz; he just noodled with emotions and fiddled around with horns and took all the credit for what his band of EXCELLENT musicians were able to do with "his" ideas.

[@erotomaniac51]

@@garymazzantini8879 nah king crimson was way different from zappa

[@pechondelgado]

@@erotomaniac51 King Crimson peaked early on and kinda kept the same style all the way until they broke up and then the 80's stuff was forgettable. Robert Fripp is excellent but he never explored music like Zappa did.

[@pepeaguilar2205]

One of the best albums ever...

[@martinbrodie8507]

Apostrophe and Overnight Sensation are arguably his best.

[@frederickkrug5420]

Dweezil is the most underrated guitar player He is simply amazing

[@TarantuLandoCalcuLingus]

my favorite solo of any frank piece is dweezils on 'stevie's spanking'

[@michaelgreen5206]

He got lessons from his Dad, EVH, & probably every great guitar player that played with Frank, like Adrian Belew!!!

[@fintanoclery2698]

@@michaelgreen5206 Belew's resume is quite impressive to say the least.

[@michaelgreen5206]

@@fintanoclery2698 Agree Fintan. You don't play with Zappa if you don't have some chops.

[@ronfrey5327]

someone bent his ear on picking style and he had to change his overall style to do this but it involves rakes and sweeps and more ergonomic movements with right hand.. something like stacking 4ths with left hand and raking or sweeps with right hand its not natural looking when played but evidently its an easier approach to those patched together runs.. St Alphonso and Inca roads. leap to mind Rollo is neat you hear it and being able to understand the theory of no 3rds and hearing it THE IDIOT BASTARD SON, and know that in your mind your dropping the 3rd to get that midevil Island sound :) just when you thought those cannibals was cool too. I instantly hear THE IDIOT BASTARD SON.... NAPOLEON SINGING THAT PART. Seemingly crafted for Napoleon too sing it. of course you really go Hawaiian and la Choy makes Chinese food should be implied with the secret word being Plooker......

[@sergieagle1834]

The spirit of FRANK, resonates in every instrument, in every performer of its irreverent and beautiful music, thanks ZAPPA, you are always in my heart, in my ears, THANK YOU SO MUCH

[@goetzfrank4090]

I would love if Ruth would issue a Zappa memorial solo record….. She has it in herself…. Ruth please share it with us!!!😊

[@markvador6667]

ATTENTION DROGUE DURE !!! Le talent couplé au génie donne Apostrophe en 1974, cet album à 40 ans cette année et il est d'une redoutable efficacité encore aujourd'hui et pour longtemps encore... St Alphonzo m'a littéralement décroché la machoire la première fois où je l'ai entendu, j'en ai acheté l'album et je suis tombé dans Zappa pour ne plus jamais en ressortir...C'est comme si on avait ajouté des couleurs à l'arc en ciel, une illumination !!!... Ruth Underwood enflamme la musique de FZ, véritable "xylophone-hero", comme un Hendrix transcendait un blues avec sa gratte... Réellement stupéfiante !

[@dariomaiello393]

Lots of orchestras continuing to play The treasures your Dad left us as a precious Gift! Uncle Frank Genius Lives♥️✨

[@1369buddy]

Ruth was amazing on the Zappa tours I saw

[@pmvoice88]

Without Ruth the classic "Zappa Sound" would not exist.

[@pechondelgado]

I'd also throw in George Duke's beautiful soulful voice.

[@pplo]

@@pechondelgado and I agree with you both

[@juanvolpe8607]

That's a load of bullshit. Al my respect to al who played with zappa. But Man did you just take a shit bigger than your ass. Zappa mande the zappa sound. Now kindly fuck off.

[@ambush77]

Zappa will never be appreciated for the genius he was

[@LiamPorterFilms]

You're right. People never call him a genius. That never happens. Ever.

[@bigtone1348]

+AyBeSea That's because people can't see past the toilet humor

[@donaldwhittaker7987]

Yes, he will. Give it time.

[@donaldheitger6731]

Some do,but not many.

[@zolarczakl3880]

He already is. Look at how many people are playing his music right here on KZbin. Plenty of amateurs as well as professional orchestras are delving into his music and playing it. They're tackling some of the music he composed on the synclavier, which at the time he thought couldn't be played correctly or consistently by humans. People see the genius in Frank Zappa and respond to it.

[@b.scottfarthingsworth]

We were blessed to have Frank and all the musicians that played with him. They were all parts that made up what we know and love. Ruth, a goddess. She could play all that stuff blindfolded, love it all

[@MrZimpoppel]

And you can tell she is really enjoying it, always smiling even when playing those superhuman parts. A goddess indeed !

[@AmadeuCarvalho-ug7hn]

She gave talento and graceousity,a Kiss for you dear 💐

[@ignatiusdemonseed]

Ruth is the sexiest woman of rock. I wish I knew half of what she's forgotten about music.

[@funkyalfonso]

Sensational.

[@cgmahony]

Dweezil is so understanding and articulate about Frank's music. 'Who are the brain police' comment was bang on 'cartoonesque' perfect adjective not to mention his use 'filigree'...

[@farshimelt]

You can find the roots of that music in the compositions of Raymond Scott.

[@Aiden057]

Love Ruth, always did, always will.

[@MrZootalores]

i like how Frank wrote stuff for his very talented bandmates and Ruth added such a different sound to the music.It's interesting to see her recollections of their performances,she's still amazing(always will be) and what a lovely person too!

[@aquabot]

Ruth is a national treasure. And I'm not even american.

[@CaseyVan]

On the 8 track that would fade out as it changed tracks, and it would repeat part of it over again which actually was kinda cool.

[@stevedudeman]

On Ruth!!!!

[@oldbird4649]

That's Ruth

[@tonyord1067]

Gorgeous in every way!

[@austinbaird6311]

on ruth on ruth aha thats ruth

[@oldbird4649]

Ruth's got the lick ...

[@jimmyjennings4089]

I always considered Frank Zappa as a musical genius, ive never heard anyone els do what he did anywhere anytime, not saying there might not be someone somewhere doing it, but i will say ive never heard of them, i grew up listening to Franks music and i have to say when something is part of your life and you just love hearing the next thing he was going to come up with, id have to say the only other musician that did that for me besides Frank Zappa was Eddie Van Halen, may both these two geniuses R.I.P.

[@stikcler]

Get on your feet and do the Funky Alfonso ( It needed to be said ).

[@msyracuse]

Thanks for sharing this piece of musical history! It is great to hear the backstory…please do more!

[@ThePsho]

Man, I want those isolated tracks badly 😭

[@timprescott4634]

I could watch Ruth for Hours!

[@namcat53]

This is SO much more advanced and interesting than any other contemporary group. Certainly lightyears beyond the comprehension and skill level of say..the Grateful dead cover band dead&co. Just 10 seconds of Dweezil's guitar part would blow them away. Thanks Frank!

[@thehotyounggrandpas8207]

Rollo may well be my favourite piece of music ever... wish it were mine.

[@rauldossantos6542]

Great material! Thnkw

[@steveschmitz2839]

Holy Crap, I want to cry. Thanks Ruth, love ya.

[@762mal51]

that`s Ruth!

[@zwwwz12]

Bizarre, Bizarre, Bizarre! My fav. Zappa/Underwood part. It shows the master.

[@quogir1]

Its nearly impossible to Even slightly comprehend what he. has. done considering the Statement of dear Ruth about how hes composed such wonders: as fast as possible.-. Z Stands for Zappa

[@jamespuleo3269]

Thanks for posting this! ~~~ Can't believe this has been on utube almost 10 years and I haven't seen it til now~~~

[@Betterthantelly]

Fascinating.

[@ZOOTSUITBEATNICK1]

loved fz in person, love these vids...

[@cosmikdebris4950]

Pure genius!!

[@markwitkowski6418]

Freak out was my first,followed by We're Only in it for the Money.

[@Tarabos1]

There´re two approaches to play foreign composers music: 1) You can read scores/musical notes and play them technically or 2) You have a memory extraordinaire And you must be a genius to remember all notes from a Debussy or Ravel orchestral work when u ain´t able to read them from the score. Frank Z. and John L. had a similar political attitude, but as composers they were lightyears away from each other !

[@bassistwd]

lovely!

[@adrianwaters3265]

Ruth!! You are incredible! always loved your playing Would be so good to hear all your Zappa parts on one album (well probably several 😆)

[@jaggs7346]

Magical.

[@hv1461]

I love learning about Zappa

[@jublaim]

Ruth. Can I just sit there and listen to you playing these chords/tunes and be at please with myself? This what I'm feeling is what music is about. Read Bob Zappas book about Frank and his upbringing, made me "feel" his songs and lyrics more.

[@phillipleblanc7823]

I would have loved to have interviewed Frank about the goings on in Laurel canyon back in the 60's.

[@audiojonny]

That was spiritual!

[@flamhit]

Oh Miss Ruth you are Magic x

[@pplo]

amazing

[@richardbailey1993]

He turned the tonic triad into a second! Hehehe... wow, could he compose.

[@icespittingfire]

love the way she says it. "tawnic troiad"

[@ronfrey5327]

@@icespittingfire Guacamole queen Guacamole queen its natures lubricant and its green.

[@Phrasiebellehumeur]

Tous des génies ! / Bunch of Genious !

[@bikingfencer]

How can one not like this?

[@holdencaustic]

Ruth rules. End of story

[@ncironjohn]

Notice the Sun Studio Tee on the guy in the back. Very cool.

[@ncironjohn]

Not Sun Records, but Sun Studio. :)

[@suginami123]

I’m almost crying.

[@bwanna23]

It would probably be even weirder if he referred to him as Dad or Pop.

[@Psycho9263]

What mistakes? I haven't heard any.

[@MrTheBaron]

3:28 - I must've watched this a lot of times, and I only just realized she just played The Idiot Bastard Son!

[@pedropinto2688]

Miss you Frank

[@ericcross7863]

Apostrophe............ my favorite Zappa album

[@Gauchothedog]

2 of my top3 Albums:one size...& Apostrophe

[@klocke-hx3xl]

There's a fair amount of his stuff I like, but his die hard fans just aren't willing to admit that he did the same stuff over and over and over with just minor variations. It reminds me of Mexican ranchero music, which is literally the same two or three songs with slightly different lyrics. I could never wrap my mind around that. The capacity for boredom is impressive.

[@yonickyg9719]

thats Ruth !

[@cjk9013]

anyone who hasn't yet seen dweezil on the zpz tours needs to; those who do not like fz music are accepted. those who do not know whether they like it or not should see this bands amazing performance. I haven't seen the new singer though admittedly.

[@KevinTambling]

I was lucky enough to see Dweezil's band twice. Once with a line-up including Napoleon Murphy Brock, Steve Vai and Terry Bozzio. I brought my high school buddy and current bandmate to see the show, and his comment was "I'm just here to see Steve Vai. Who wants to see music by some old dead guy." I wanted to punch him in his stupid face.

[@curtisconrad3668]

Apostrophe is my most favorite Zappa of all time

[@kerbygator]

Hard for me to believe that Dweezil is 53 years old. I saw Frank play when Dweezil was just 8-10 years old.....

[@timmahoney7475]

What is this video from?! I need to see the whole thing!

[@michaelbrown2220]

It’s from Classic Albums: Frank Zappa - “Overnight Sensation”/“Apostrophe (‘)”.

[@kentclark6420]

It didn't sound like Ruth made 3, or any, mistakes! For sure! How can she play so perfect?

[@KevinTambling]

I think by saying mistake she meant a slight hesitation.

[@ThePsho]

And possibly one time where she accidentally hit 2 notes instead of 1

[@JornLavoll]

I'm just here for Ruth :p

[@MrTortureneverstops1]

2 genuises !

[@adam872]

Me too. Those two tunes made me appreciate what a great composer Frank was. I came from a prog/jazz angle and liked the humour of his music, but those songs really hit home to me how he was the equal of any player and writer of that era.

[@blakebruner6173]

By all means, seek out interviews with Ruth & Ian Underwood and the trained musicians who worked with FZ to get an understanding of his musicianship. Those videos of 'classical conductor reacts to the music of...' are fun, but people like Ruth are the real deal and know the music and the man. And remember, their contribution helped Frank be as amazing as he is.

[@blakebruner6173]

I'll check it out. There are tons of great stories to enjoy. FZ created Black Napkins for Terry Bozzio. Once he learned it, the other parts were written. There's a video on that, of course. I worked a summer at the Ivanhoe Theater in Chicago. Ansley Dunbar played with... I don't remember who. The crew at the venue included pretty young ushers with day jobs as runners at the Mercantile Exchange. We went out to a bar (they're open till 4am there) and Dunbar came with. I went up to him while he was playing pinball and asked what it was like to work with Frank Zappa. I immediately felt rude for not acknowledging him and missed his short answer. I couldn't ask him any intelligent music questions and my Zappa fanaticism allowed me to play a goof. Am sure he wanted to play one of our usherettes. Ah, youth.

[@heckler73]

Wait a minute...I got it--you're a musician! Huh? You're a musicologist? Oh, love your scales... Don't touch the nose, please...

[@hdgboy]

Actually he is the genius that he deserves. We the fans keep his genius alive. Zappa never cared in the least that he’d be recognized as a genius or even that he ever existed. He did his wonderful thing and we were the lucky recipients of his one of a kind genius. The hell with mainstream opinion. I’ve listened to him and his genius since the early 70’s and his music is still as fresh as the first I heard it. Frank, I know you don’t care but we still love you.