Suzy Creamcheese
Suzy Creamcheese is a recurring fictional character on Frank Zappa and The Mothers' earliest albums, originally voiced by Jeannie Vassoir, later by Pamela Zarubica.
When Zappa toured Europe in 1967, Suzy Creamcheese was performed by his friend Pamela Zarubica and Susan Ziegler (sometimes spelled as Suzy Zeiger) . [1]
Contents
Freak Out!
She is referred to on the back cover of Freak Out! in a speech balloon pointing to Zappa's face, where he asks: Suzy Creamcheese, what's got into you?", a question also asked during the intro of the song The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet. On this recording, she is voiced by Jeannie Vassoir (sometimes spelled as Jeanne Vassoir). [2] On the back cover, a supposed letter by her is printed too:
"These Mothers is crazy. You can tell by their clothes. One guy wears beads and they all smell bad. We were gonna get them for a dance after the basketball game but my best pal warned me you can never tell how many will show up...sometimes the guy in the fur coat doesn't show up and sometimes he does show up only he brings a big bunch of crazy people with him and they dance all over the place. None of the kids at my school like these Mothers...specially since my teacher told us what the words to their songs meant."
Sincerly forever,
Salt Lake City, Utah.
Suzy Creamcheese
On Freak Out!, Suzy Creamcheese is asked about "her development" during It Can't Happen Here, whereupon she replies: "Forget it!". On the next track, The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet, she is asked "what's got into you?".
Absolutely Free
On Absolutely Free, the song Son Of Suzy Creamcheese is about the character, who apparently "blew her mind on too much Kool-Aid". However, during Brown Shoes Don't Make It, the line "What would you do, daddy?" (spoken by Lisa Cohen) is credited in the liner notes as being Suzy Creamcheese. [3]
We're Only In It For The Money
In the liner notes of We're Only In It For The Money, Pamela Zarubica is credited as Suzy Creamcheese during the track Telephone Conversation.[4]
Uncle Meat
On Uncle Meat, Vassoir can be heard again playing Suzy Creamcheese, during The Voice Of Cheese and Our Bizarre Relationship.
Frank Zappa about Suzy Creamcheese
Zappa was interviewed about Suzy Creamcheese during a radio interview at KBEY-FM Kansas City, MO, 22 October 1971 (see Suzy Creamcheese (What's Got Into You?))
Frank Zappa interview from 1974:
"Suzy Creamcheese was a girl named Jeanne Vassoir. And she is the voice that's on the Freak Out album. The myth of Suzy Creamcheese, the letter on the album, I wrote myself. There never really was a Suzy Creamcheese. It was just a figment of my imagination until people started identifying with it heavily. It got to weird proportions in Europe, so that in 1967, when we did our first tour of Europe, people were asking if Suzy Creamcheese was along with us. So I procured the services of another girl named Pamela Zarubica, who was hired to be the Suzy Creamcheese of the European tour. And then she maintained the reputation of being Suzy Creamcheese after 1967. The first one went someplace, we don't know where."
In popular culture
In 1967, a rock band named Teddy And His Patches recorded a song titled Suzy Creamcheese and also quoted from the intro of The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet, even though the band members claimed to have no idea of Zappa, nor its original origins.
In the late 1960s, a boutique was opened in Las Vegas, named Suzy Creamcheese (boutique). It is referenced in Martin Scorsese's film Casino (1995), by character Jennifer (played by Sharon Stone).
The Law & Order episode "Rebels" (Season 6, Episode 2, original airdate September 27, 1995), about a murder at a biker bar, includes the line, "Mr. Bell wanted Tommy to marry Suzy Creamcheese and move to the suburbs." In this case, the name is used to refer to an ordinary white-bread girl as opposed to the victim's actual girlfriend Caridad, who the victim's father called "that Puerto Rican slut." [5]
Suzy Creamcheese is also the name of a band. Its members consist of Kimona (vocals), Fredric Freeman (rhythm guitar), Rob Nelson (lead & rhythm guitar), Tony Sama (bass) and Eric Gardner (drums). [6]
See also
References
- ↑ https://www.donlope.net/fz/notes/1967.html#EuropeanTour1967
- ↑ https://www.united-mutations.com/v/jeannie_vassoir.htm
- ↑ https://www.donlope.net/fz/notes/Absolutely_Free.html
- ↑ https://www.donlope.net/fz/notes/Freak_Out.html#SuzyCreamcheese
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629395/
- ↑ https://suzycreamcheese.bandcamp.com/album/neurotic
