United States of America
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Frank Zappa was born in Baltimore, U.S., but later moved to Lancaster, near the Mojave Desert.
In his work Zappa was very critical of his home country, especially the American government, its foreign policy, organized religion, media, advertisement corporations and the consumer culture. This is one of the reasons why his music was far more popular in Europe.
Despite his criticisms Zappa didn't hate his country.
Contents
- 1 Locations
- 2 Track and album references to America
- 3 References to American institutions and brands
- 4 Composers and conductors
- 5 Blues singers
- 6 Doo-wop and R&B singers
- 7 Jazz Composers
- 8 Rock, Folk and Pop Artists
- 9 Writers
- 10 Comedians and TV Presenters
- 11 Politics, Religion and Business
- 12 Criminals
- 13 Fictional characters
- 14 Scientists
- 15 Painters
- 16 Bandmembers, Supporting Cast, Family Members and Other
- 17 Miscellaneous
Locations
- Baltimore
- California
- Glendale
- Palo Alto
- Los Angeles
- San Diego
- San Fernando
- Ontario (California)
- San Fernando Valley
- San Joaquin Valley
- San Quentin
- San Francisco
- Santa Monica
- Saint Louis
- Sun Village
- Palmdale
- Irwindale
- Lancaster
- El Monte Legion Stadium
- Orange County
- Encino
- Monterey
- Edwards Air Force Base
- Las Vegas
- Pomona
- Park Avenue
- Chicago
- Nevada
- Utah
- Georgia
- Alaska
- Virginia
- Washington
- Miami
- Alabama
- New York
- Manhattan
- Madison Square Garden
- New Jersey
- Broadway
- The Broadway
- Lankershim Boulevard
- Laurel Canyon
- Long Island
- White Street
- Canter's Deli
- Mojave Desert
- Cucamonga
- Garrick Theatre
- Greenwich Village
- Reseda
- Houston
- Sunset Boulevard
- Westchester
- Huntingpark
- Langley
- Cheviot Hills
- Boney's Market
- Pal Studio
- Granada Hills
- Lincoln Center
- Hollywood
- Hollywood Boulevard
- Fresno
- 125th
- Pomona
- Fillmore East
- Fillmore West
- Wyoming
- Playa del Rey
- Pauley Pavilion
- Shrine Exposition Hall
- Jai Alai Fronton
- Royce Hall
- Uptown Hall
- Glenoaks
- Canal
- Cafe au-Go-Go
- Canoga Park
- Circle Star Theatre
- The Freak Out! Hot Spots (where all 69 locations are American)
- Freak 2: Hot Spots
- Category:Clubs And Bars
- Category:Radio Stations
- Category:Recording Studios
- Category:Schools & Colleges
Track and album references to America
- Hungry Freaks Daddy: "Mr. America walk on by..."
- Trouble Every Day: was inspired by the Watts Riots
- It Can't Happen Here: "Who could imagine that they would freak out in Minnesota (...), Kansas, (...) Washington D.C.?"
- The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet: "America's wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful... it really makes it!"
- Plastic People: "Ladies and gentlemen: the President of the United States!" (...) "My fellow Americans""
- America Drinks
- Soft-Sell Conclusion: "Worshipping together in the church of your dreams. Only in America!"
- Brown Shoes Don't Make It: "I'd like her do a nasty/on the White House lawn."
- America Drinks & Goes Home
- Who Needs The Peace Corps?: "Go to San Francisco"
- Concentration Moon: "American way/how did it start? Thousands of creeps killed in the park..."
- Harry You're A Beast: "That's you, American womanhood."
- Flower Punk: "I'm going up to Frisco to join a psychedelic band." (...) The youth in America today is so wonderful."
- Let's Make The Water Turn Black: "Selling lamps and chairs to San Ber'dino squares"
- The Idiot Bastard Son: "The father's a Nazi in Congress today/The mother's a hooker somewhere in L.A."
- It's From Kansas
- The Voice Of Cheese: "Hello teenage America!"
- Dog Breath, In The Year Of The Plague: "Going to El Monte Legion Stadium"
- God Bless America
- If We'd All Been Living In California...
- Willie The Pimp ("standing on the porch of the Lido Hotel")
- Road Ladies: "I remember there was one time in Minneapolis..."
- Would You Go All The Way? (for the U.S.A.?)
- Semi-Fraudulent/Direct-From-Hollywood Overture
- Lonesome Cowboy Burt "I'm from Texas"
- Redneck Eats
- Dental Hygiene Dilemma: (...) a rancid motel in Orlando, Florida, with the highest MILDEW rating of any commercial lodging facility within the territorial limits of the United States"
- Strictly Genteel: "A disaster area the size of Atlantic City, New Jersey."
- Just Another Band From L.A.
- Billy The Mountain
- Camarillo Brillo "... and every newt in Idaho" (...) "by the bush in Buffalo"
- Montana
- Village Of The Sun
- Cheepnis: "Then I watched a movie from Hollywood..."
- San Ber'dino
- Debra Kadabra "Just across East L.A."
- Poofter's Froth Wyoming Plans Ahead (about the 200th birthday of the U.S.A.)
- 200 Years Old: (Pennsylvania mentioned)
- Cucamonga
- Legend Of The Illinois Enema Bandit: "A famous criminal from right around Chicago".
- Flakes: "California's got the most of them." (...) "All what we got here is American made."
- Bobby Brown Goes Down "Oh God, oh God, I'm the American dream!"
- Fembot in A Wet T-Shirt Nite: "And Mary is the kind of red-blooded American girl who'll do anything..."
- Tinsel Town Rebellion
- Conehead
- Mudd Club
- The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing
- Dumb All Over
- Heavenly Bank Account
- I Don't Wanna Get Drafted
- Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch: "America's polluted waters"
- Valley Girl (about girls from the San Fernando Valley)
- Cocaine Decisions
- The Radio Is Broken
- Love Story (about an old Republican couple)
- Truck Driver Divorce
- Stevie's Spanking
- Harry-As-A-Boy: "just like every other American, I'm too concerned with my own personal health and well-being to think of devoting any of myprecious time to something as boring as reproduction!"
- Be In My Video (satire of MTV)
- What's New In Baltimore?
- Porn Wars
- H.R. 2911
- Let's Move To Cleveland
- The Beltway Bandits
- Republicans
- Do Not Pass Go (from the American board game "Monopoly")
- Jim & Tammy's Upper Room
- Were We Ever Really Safe In San Antonio?
- Hotel Atlanta Incidentals
- Orrin Hatch On Skis
- It Ain't Necessarily The Saint James Infirmary
- The Florida Airport Tape
- Broadway The Hard Way
- Elvis Has Just Left The Building
- Dickie's Such An Asshole (about Richard Nixon)
- When The Lie's So Big
- Rhymin' Man (about Jesse Jackson)
- Promiscuous (about C. Everett Koop)
- The Untouchables
- Why Don't You Like Me? (about Michael Jackson)
- Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk
- Ride My Face To Chicago
- Nig Biz
- I Left My Heart In San Francisco
- Theme From "Bonanza"
- Lonesome Cowboy Burt (Swaggart Version)
- More Trouble Every Day (Swaggart Version)
- Penguin In Bondage (Swaggart Version)
- Star Wars Won't Work
- Take Me Out To The Ball Game
- JCB & Kansas On The Bus
- The Madison Panty-Sniffing Festival
- Emperor Of Ohio
- Agency Man: "Let's try California..."
- Outrage At Valdez
- Times Beach
- Food Gathering In Post-Industrial America
- Welcome To The United States
- Reagan At Bitburg
- Amnerika
- This Ain't CNN
References to American institutions and brands
- The CIA
- The FBI
- The White House
- The First Lady
- The President
- The I.R.S.
- The FCC
- The U.S.O.
- L.A.P.D.
- PMRC
- PTA
- M.P.A.A.
- MCA
- PCP
- American Civil Liberties Union
- American Medical Association
- American Society of University Composers
- Department of Defense
- Statue Of Liberty
- Mormons
- CNN
- MTV
- MCA
- MGM
- MGM Records
- Capitol Records
- Warner Brothers
- Playboy
- Playgirl
- Hustler
- Rolling Stone
- The New York Times
- The New Yorker
- Guitar Player Magazine
- Life (magazine)
- Relix
- Record World
- Stereo Review
- DownBeat
- Free Press
- The Washington Post
- Boston Globe Jazz Festival
- Miami Pop Festival
- Los Angeles Museum Of Contemporary Art
- Los Angeles Free Press
- Los Angeles Philharmonic
- Village Voice
- Newport Jazz Festival
- Barbie, Ken and Cindy
- Studebaker Hawk
- Oldsmobile
- Dodge
- Pepsi Cola
- Jack Daniels
- Lucky Strike
- Aunt Jemima
- Uncle Ben's Rice
- Burger King
- Ronald McDonald is mentioned in Packard Goose
Composers and conductors
- Charles Ives
- Conlon Nancarrow
- Robert Craft
- Fred E. Graff
- George Antheil
- John Cage
- Roger Huntington Sessions
- Joel Thome
- Jack Tillar
- Joe Stuessy
- Kent Nagano
- Sid Sharp
- Michael Zearott
- Leo Ornstein
- Aaron Copland
- Chris Opperman
- Elliott Carter
- Gardner Read
- Walter Piston
- Moondog
- Charles Amirkhanian
- Eddie Van Halen
- Michael Hedges
- Kevin Murphy
- Dan Studney
- Tyler, The Creator
- Action Bronson
- J*Davey
- Dog Eat Dog
- Mr. Dibbs
- DJ Z-Trip
- Arsonists
- Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire
- Young Chris
- MF Doom
Blues singers
Doo-wop and R&B singers
Jazz Composers
Rock, Folk and Pop Artists
- Elvis Presley
- Bill Haley & His Comets
- Bob Dylan
- Joan Baez
- Beach Boys
- Jimi Hendrix
- Jim Morrison
- The Grateful Dead
- Janis Joplin
- Punky Meadows
- Peter Frampton
- Christopher Cross
- Michael Jackson
- Madonna
- The Byrds
- The Village People
- Sam The Sham & The Pharaos
- Sky Saxon & The Seeds
- Simon & Garfunkel
- Sonny & Cher
- Keith Moon
- Twisted Sister
- Helen Reddy
- Grand Funk Railroad
- Wild Man Fischer
- Captain Beefheart
- The Velvet Underground
- John Cale
- Lou Reed
- Mötley Crüe
- Jon Fishman
- Larry LaLonde
- John Frusciante
- Henry Kaiser
- The Leaves
- Kurt Cobain
- Tom Waits
- "Weird Al" Yankovic
- Jello Biafra
- The Monkees
- Bill Graham
- Alice Cooper
- Devo
- Trey Anastasio
- Tiny Tim
- Tim Buckley
- David Crosby
- The Allman Brothers Band
- Neil Sedaka
- John Denver
- Jefferson Airplane and Grace Slick
- Chuck Berry
- Little Richard
- Kiss and Gene Simmons
- The Residents
- The Shaggs
- Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Bruce Springsteen
- Bon Jovi
- Amboy Dukes
- The Turtles
- The Fugs
- The Osmonds
- Nancy Sinatra
- Suburban Lawns
- The Tubes
- David Thomas
- Richard Carpenter
- The Feederz
- J Dilla
- Ill Bill
- Madvillain
- DJ Signify
- Dream Theater
- Blood, Sweat & Tears
- Pat Boone
- Black Oak Arkansas
- Gary Lucas
- System of a Down
- Living in a Box
- Walk the Moon
- The Mars Volta
- Moe.
- Les Claypool
- Umphrey's McGee
- Frank Vignola
- Yonder Mountain String Band
- Wayne Krantz
- Disco Biscuits
- Ron Jarzombek
- Steely Dan
- Slash
- The Seeds
- Isaac Hayes
- Telesma
- Ron Simasek
Writers
- Robert Sheckley
- Cordwainer Smith
- William S. Burroughs
- Jules Feiffer
- Theodore Sturgeon
- Lawrence Ferlinghetti
- Eberhard Kronhausen
- Thomas Paine
- William Manchester
- E.E. Cummings
Comedians and TV Presenters
- Johnny Carson
- Steve Allen
- Pee-Wee Herman
- Lenny Bruce
- Soupy Sales
- Roseanne Barr
- Rod Serling
- 3 Stooges
- Harold LLoyd
- Larry King
- Ted Koppel
- Joan Rivers
- Dan Rather
- John Belushi
- Lord Buckley
Politics, Religion and Business
- George Washington
- Thomas Jefferson
- Abraham Lincoln
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- Spiro Agnew
- Richard Nixon
- Henry Kissinger
- Jimmy Carter
- Ronald Reagan
- Ed Meese
- John Poindexter
- Oliver North
- C. Everett Koop
- George Bush
- Billy Graham
- Jerry Falwell
- Jim Bakker and Tammy Bakker
- Pat Robertson
- Jimmy Swaggart
- Robert Tilton
- Oral Roberts
- L. Ron Hubbard
- Reverend Hymers
- Jesse Jackson
- George Lincoln Rockwell
- Al Gore and Tipper Gore
- Strom Thurmond
- Orrin Hatch
- Barry Goldwater
- John D. Rockefeller IV
- Ted Turner
- The Iran-contra affair
- The Cold War
- Larry Flynt
Criminals
Fictional characters
- King Kong
- Donald Duck
- Duckman
- Uncle Remus
- Beavis and Butt-head
- Ren And Stimpy
- The Simpsons
- Raggedy Ann
- Sgt. Fury
- Superman
- Little Orphan Annie
- Santa Claus
- Hunchentoot: "He's a COMMUNIST, you dip-shit! It's your DUTY as an AMERICAN to release me so I can rid the universe of this stinking son-of-a-bitch."
- Conehead
Scientists
Painters
Bandmembers, Supporting Cast, Family Members and Other
Note: Most of the people listed here are or were Americans and therefore would be too numerous to list each one of them indvidually on this page. Occasionally some of them might be born in another country:
- Category:Bandmembers
- Category:Supporting Cast
- Category:Zappa Family
- Category:Zappa Household
- Category:Babysitters
- Category:Secretaries
- Category:Musicians
- Category:Arrangers
- Category:Managers
- Category:Roadies
- Category:Road Managers
- Category:Record Companies
- Category:Animators and cartoonists
- Category:Producers
- Category:Actors
- Category:Favorite Films
- Category:Favorite TV shows
- Category:Cover Artists
- Category:DJs
- Category:Engineers
- Category:Film Directors
- Category:Lawyers
- Groupies (CC)
Miscellaneous
- United Mutations
- The Vault
- Great Society
- Utility Muffin Research Kitchen
- The Log Cabin
- The Plaster Casters Of Chicago
- Wallich's Music City
- Vito's Studio & Store
- Sam Goody's Record Store
- Hawaiian Lunch
- KABC-TV L.A.
- Mark Spitz
- Willie Mays
- Various characters associated with the U.S.A. can be seen in You Are What You Is (The Music Video), including President Reagan, a Ku Klux Klan member and a Playboy Bunny.
- Palladium
- Church of American Secular Humanism
- The Flag Salute
- Clean American Version, a text that can also be seen on the artwork for Absolutely Free
- The M.O.I. American Pageant is the name of side two of Absolutely Free (track 10-15 on the CD version)
- Zappa often used the monicker "American composer" to describe himself in the most straightforward way.
