United States of America
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While Zappa was born and raised in the United States he was often critical of the American government, its foreign policy, organized religion, media, corporations and the consumer culture.
Track and album references to America
- 200 Years Old: (Pennsylvania mentioned)
- Agency Man: "Let's try California..."
- America Drinks
- America Drinks & Goes Home
- Amnerika
- Be In My Video (satire of MTV)
- The Beltway Bandits
- Billy The Mountain
- Bobby Brown Goes Down "Oh God, oh God, I'm the American dream!"
- Broadway The Hard Way
- Brown Shoes Don't Make It: "I'd like her do a nasty/on the White House lawn."
- Camarillo Brillo "... and every newt in Idaho" (...) "by the bush in Buffalo"
- A Chance Encounter In Cincinnati
- Cheepnis: "Then I watched a movie from Hollywood..."
- Cocaine Decisions
- Concentration Moon: "American way/how did it start? Thousands of creeps killed in the park..."
- Conehead
- Debra Kadabra "Just across East L.A."
- 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"
- Dickie's Such An Asshole (about Richard Nixon)
- Do Not Pass Go (from the American board game "Monopoly")
- Dog Breath, In The Year Of The Plague: "Going to El Monte Legion Stadium"
- Dumb All Over
- Elvis Has Just Left The Building
- Emperor Of Ohio
- Fembot in A Wet T-Shirt Nite: "And Mary is the kind of red-blooded American girl who'll do anything..."
- Flakes: "California's got the most of them." (...) "All what we got here is American made."
- The Florida Airport Tape
- Flower Punk: "I'm going up to Frisco to join a psychedelic band." (...) The youth in America today is so wonderful."
- Food Gathering In Post-Industrial America
- God Bless America
- H.R. 2911
- 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 my precious time to something as boring as reproduction!"
- Harry You're A Beast: "That's you, American womanhood."
- Heavenly Bank Account
- Hotel Atlanta Incidentals
- Hungry Freaks Daddy: "Mr. America walk on by..."
- I Don't Wanna Get Drafted
- I Left My Heart In San Francisco
- The Idiot Bastard Son: "The father's a Nazi in Congress today/The mother's a hooker somewhere in L.A."
- If We'd All Been Living In California...
- It Ain't Necessarily The Saint James Infirmary
- It Can't Happen Here: "Who could imagine that they would freak out in Minnesota (...), Kansas, (...) Washington D.C.?"
- It Has Just Been Passed… is about a ridiculous law in Arizona.
- It's From Kansas
- JCB & Kansas On The Bus 1
- JCB & Kansas On The Bus 2
- Rhymin' Man (about Jesse Jackson)
- Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk
- Jim & Tammy's Upper Room
- Just Another Band From L.A.
- Legend Of The Illinois Enema Bandit: "A famous criminal from right around Chicago".
- Let's Make The Water Turn Black: "Selling lamps and chairs to San Ber'dino squares"
- Let's Move To Cleveland
- Lonesome Cowboy Burt "All my family from down in Texas" and "Come out here to Californy"
- Lonesome Cowboy Burt (Swaggart Version)
- Love Story (about an old Republican couple)
- The Madison Panty-Sniffing Festival
- The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing
- Montana
- More Trouble Every Day (Swaggart Version)
- Mudd Club
- Nig Biz
- Orrin Hatch On Skis
- Outrage At Valdez
- Penguin In Bondage (Swaggart Version)
- Plastic People: "Ladies and gentlemen: the President of the United States!" (...) "My fellow Americans""
- Poofter's Froth Wyoming Plans Ahead (about the 200th birthday of the U.S.A.)
- Porn Wars
- Porn Wars Deluxe
- Promiscuous (about C. Everett Koop)
- The Radio Is Broken
- Reagan At Bitburg
- Redneck Eats
- Republicans
- The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet: "America's wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful... it really makes it!"
- Ride My Face To Chicago
- Road Ladies: "I remember there was one time in Minneapolis..."
- San Ber'dino
- Semi-Fraudulent/Direct-From-Hollywood Overture
- Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch: "America's polluted waters"
- Soft-Sell Conclusion: "Worshipping together in the church of your dreams. Only in America!"
- Star Wars Won't Work
- Stevie's Spanking
- Strictly Genteel: "A disaster area the size of Atlantic City, New Jersey."
- Take Me Out To The Ball Game
- Theme From "Bonanza"
- This Ain't CNN
- Times Beach
- Tinseltown Rebellion
- Trouble Every Day: was inspired by the Watts riots
- Truck Driver Divorce
- The Untouchables
- Valley Girl (about girls from the San Fernando Valley)
- Village Of The Sun
- The Voice Of Cheese: "Hello teenage America!"
- Welcome To The United States
- Were We Ever Really Safe In San Antonio?
- What's New In Baltimore?
- When The Lie's So Big
- When Yuppies Go To Hell
- Who Needs The Peace Corps?: "Go to San Francisco"
- Why Don't You Like Me? (about Michael Jackson)
- Willie The Pimp ("standing on the porch of the Lido Hotel")
- Would You Go All The Way? (for the U.S.A.?)
- 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
- 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 moniker "American composer" to describe himself in the most straightforward way.
Locations
- 125th
- Alabama
- Baltimore
- Boney's Market
- Broadway
- Cafe au-Go-Go
- California
- Canal
- Canoga Park
- Canter's Deli
- Cheviot Hills
- Chicago
- Cucamonga
- Detroit
- Downey
- Edwards Air Force Base
- El Monte Legion Stadium
- Encino
- Fillmore East
- Fillmore West
- The Freak Out! Hot Spots (where all 69 locations are American)
- Freak 2: Hot Spots
- Fresno
- Garrick Theatre
- Georgia
- Glendale
- Glenoaks
- Granada Hills
- Greenwich Village
- Hollywood
- Hollywood Boulevard
- Houston
- Huntingpark
- Irwindale
- Jai Alai Fronton
- Kansas
- Lancaster
- Langley
- Lankershim Boulevard
- Las Vegas
- Laurel Canyon
- Lincoln Center
- Los Angeles
- Massachusetts
- Miami
- Mojave Desert
- Monterey
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ontario (California)
- Orange County
- Pal Studio
- Palmdale
- Palo Alto
- Park Avenue
- Pauley Pavilion
- Pennsylvania
- Playa del Rey
- Pomona
- Reseda
- Royce Hall
- San Diego
- San Fernando Valley
- San Francisco
- San Joaquin Valley
- San Quentin
- Santa Monica
- Shrine Exposition Hall
- Sun Village
- Sunset Boulevard
- Uptown Hall
- Utah
- Ventura
- Virginia
- Wall Street
- Washington
- Westchester
- White Street
- Wyoming
- Category:Clubs And Bars
- Category:Radio Stations
- Category:Recording Studios
- Category:Schools & Colleges
References to American institutions and brands
- American Civil Liberties Union
- American Medical Association
- Barbie, Ken and Cindy
- Boston Globe Jazz Festival
- Capitol Records
- Central Intelligence Agency
- CNN
- Department of Defense
- Dodge
- DownBeat
- The FBI
- Guitar Player Magazine
- Hustler
- The I.R.S.
- Jack Daniels
- L.A.P.D.
- Life (magazine)
- Look
- Los Angeles Free Press
- Los Angeles Philharmonic
- Lucky Strike
- MGM Records
- MTV
- Miami Pop Festival
- Mormons
- NBC
- The New York Times
- Newport Jazz Festival
- Oldsmobile
- PTA
- Parents Music Resource Center
- Pepsi Cola
- Playboy
- Playgirl
- The President
- Record World
- Relix
- Rolling Stone
- Statue Of Liberty
- Stereo Review
- Studebaker Hawk
- The U.S.O.
- Uncle Ben's Rice
- Village Voice
- Wall Street Journal
- Warner Brothers
- The Washington Post
- The White House
- Ronald McDonald is mentioned in Packard Goose
Composers and conductors
- Charles Amirkhanian
- George Antheil
- John Cage
- Elliott Carter
- Aaron Copland
- Robert Craft
- Fred E. Graff
- Michael Hedges
- Charles Ives
- Moondog
- Kent Nagano
- Conlon Nancarrow
- Chris Opperman
- Leo Ornstein
- Walter Piston
- Gardner Read
- Roger Huntington Sessions
- Sid Sharp
- Joel Thome
- Jack Tillar
- Joe Stuessy
- Michael Zearott
Hip hop Musicians
- Arsonists
- Action Bronson
- Mike E. Clark
- DJ Signify
- DJ Z-Trip
- Ill Bill
- J Dilla
- J*Davey
- Madvillain
- MF Doom
- Mr. Dibbs
- Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire
- Tyler, The Creator
- Young Chris
Blues singers
Doo-wop and R&B singers
Jazz Composers
Rock, Folk and Pop Artists
- ? and the Mysterians
- The Allman Brothers Band
- Trey Anastasio
- Joan Baez
- The Basooties
- The Beach Boys
- Chuck Berry
- Jello Biafra
- Black Oak Arkansas
- Blood, Sweat & Tears
- Pat Boone
- Tim Buckley
- The Byrds
- John Cale
- Captain Beefheart
- Richard Carpenter
- Les Claypool
- Kurt Cobain
- Alice Cooper
- David Crosby
- Christopher Cross
- John Denver
- Devo
- Disco Biscuits
- Dog Eat Dog
- Dream Theater
- Bob Dylan
- The Feederz
- Wild Man Fischer
- Jon Fishman
- Flo & Eddie
- John Frusciante
- The Fugs
- Bill Graham (1931 – 1991) was a prominent rock concert promoter, who flourished from the 1960s until his death. He operated the Fillmore Venues.
- Grand Funk Railroad
- Grateful Dead
- Bill Haley & His Comets
- Don "Sugarcane" Harris
- Screamin' Jay Hawkins
- Jimi Hendrix
- Chrissie Hynde
- Michael Jackson
- Ron Jarzombek
- Jefferson Airplane
- Janis Joplin
- The Leaves
- Little Richard
- Living in a Box
- Love (The Band)
- Gary Lucas
- Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Madonna
- The Mars Volta
- Punky Meadows
- Moe.
- The Monkees
- Jim Morrison
- Ted Nugent
- The Osmonds
- Elvis Presley
- Prince
- Helen Reddy
- Lou Reed
- The Residents
- Neil Sedaka
- The Seeds
- The Shaggs
- Ron Simasek
- Gene Simmons
- Simon & Garfunkel
- Nancy Sinatra
- Slash
- Grace Slick
- Sonny & Cher
- Bruce Springsteen
- Steely Dan
- Suburban Lawns
- System of a Down
- Telesma
- David Thomas
- Tiny Tim
- The Tubes
- Twisted Sister
- Umphrey's McGee
- Eddie Van Halen
- Vanilla Fudge
- The Velvet Underground
- Frank Vignola
- Tom Waits
- Walk the Moon
- Johnny Winter
- "Weird Al" Yankovic
- Yonder Mountain String Band
Writers
- William S. Burroughs
- E.E. Cummings
- Jules Feiffer
- Lawrence Ferlinghetti
- Eberhard Kronhausen
- William Manchester
- Thomas Paine
- Robert Sheckley
- Cordwainer Smith
- Theodore Sturgeon
Comedians and TV Presenters
- Steve Allen
- Roseanne Barr
- John Belushi
- Lenny Bruce
- Lord Buckley
- Johnny Carson
- Pee-Wee Herman
- Larry King
- Harold Lloyd
- Soupy Sales
- Rod Serling
- Annie Sprinkle
Politics, Religion and Business
- Spiro Agnew
- Jim Bakker
- George H.W. Bush
- Jimmy Carter
- Jerry Falwell
- Larry Flynt
- Al Gore and Tipper Gore
- Billy Graham
- Orrin Hatch
- L. Ron Hubbard
- Reverend Hymers
- Jesse Jackson
- Thomas Jefferson
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- John F. Kennedy
- Henry Kissinger
- C. Everett Koop
- Abraham Lincoln
- Ed Meese
- Merrill Lynch
- Sun Myung Moon
- Richard Nixon
- Oliver North
- Bob Packwood
- John Poindexter
- Ronald Reagan
- Oral Roberts
- Pat Robertson
- John D. Rockefeller IV
- Rothschild Venture Capital
- Jimmy Swaggart
- Strom Thurmond
- Robert Tilton
- George Washington
- The Iran-contra affair
- The Cold War
- The World Church
Criminals
Fictional characters
- Beavis and Butt-head
- Conehead
- Donald Duck
- Duckman
- Sgt. Fury
- 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."
- King Kong
- Little Orphan Annie
- Raggedy Ann
- Ren And Stimpy
- Santa Claus
- The Simpsons
- Superman
- Uncle Remus
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)