Groupies (CC)

Groupies have been one of Zappa's favourite topics throughout his musical career. Especially in his early-70s work, groupies were a central lyrical theme; the "life on the road" continuity of the Flo & Eddie revolved to a large degree around sexual intercourse with groupies.

Suzy Creamcheese as a groupie

• "In its libretto on Absolutely Free, the song "Son Of Suzy Creamcheese" is decribed as "a stirring saga of a young groupie. Her actions are all motivated by a desire to be 'in' at all times. Hence the drug abuse."
• The tracks "The Voice Of Cheese" and "Our Bizarre Relationship" from Uncle Meat also allude to Suzy being, or having been, a groupie ("I'm Suzy Creemcheese because I've never worn fake eyelashes in my whole life / And I never made it on surfing set / And I never made it on beatnik set / And I couldn't cut the groupie set either").

Groupies in the songs of the "life on the road" continuity

Originally, Zappa planned to put a lot more material into his film 200 Motels before he ran out of time and money. One suite that was cut from the script was the so-called "Groupie Routine" which revolved solely around a sexual encounter between the band and some groupies (who will only get down to business with them if the band sings them their latest hit single - "With a bullet!"). Even though most of the songs did not appear in the movie, they did make it onto various albums:

• "What Will This Evening Bring Me This Morning" (from the soundtrack album)
• "What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?" (from Fillmore East, June 1971)
• "Bwana Dik" (from Fillmore East, June 1971)
• "Latex Solar Beef" (from Fillmore East, June 1971)
• "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy" (from the soundtrack album)
• "Do You Like My New Car?" (from Fillmore East, June 1971)

Another suite from the 200 Motels film (which actually did make it into the movie) is "Shove It Right In", which follows the groupie Janet who prepares herself for a night out. This suite consists of (not including the interpolated intrumental pieces):

• "She Painted Up Her Face"
• "Half A Dozen Provocative Squats"
• "Shove It Right In"

Groupies in other Zappa material

• "Groupie Bang Bang", an unreleased song from the Freak Out! sessions, found on The MOFO Project/Object (Deluxe Edition).
• Uncle Meat (The Film): Phyllis says about Aynsley Dunbar's character in the movie that he is "into a whole groupie thing with whips and things".
• "Champagne Lecture" on Playground Psychotics: in this excerpt from a performance of "Call Any Vegetable" FZ tells a story about Aynsley Dunbar's encounter with a groupie (also referenced in The Real Frank Zappa Book).
• "Penguin In Bondage" on Roxy & Elsewhere: the title of the song is a reference to a white groupie in black leather straps (See also: background information on Roxy & Elsewhere).
• "Florentine Pogen" and "Inca Roads" on One Size Fits All: both songs make reference to drummer Chester Thompson's encounter with a particularly unattractive groupie (a "booger-bear", or "Chester's gorilla"); in the liner notes of the album, Thompson is also referred to as a "gorilla victim".
• "Crew Slut", "Fembot In A Wet T-Shirt" and "On The Bus" on Joe's Garage Act I: these songs deal with the character Mary's "naughty exploits" with the road crew of the rock group "Toad-O".
• "Pick Me I'm Clean" from Tinsel Town Rebellion: the lyrics describe an obtrusive foreign groupie ("Do you know Vinnie? / He used to like me / I speak good English / I'm bathing with Peter / Pick me, I'm clean!").
• "Stevie's Spanking" from Them Or Us: the lyrics tell the story of Steve Vai's encounter with long-time FZ groupie Laurel Fishman.

See also

• Groupies As People