Growing up in Southern California in the Sixties, I was exposed to a fuselage of contemporary music from radio stations like KHJ, KRLA, KPPC (an FM station in the basement of the Pasadena Presbyterian Church) and student radio from the Claremont Colleges. The middle and late sixties were periods of transitions for Rock and Roll and produced some great musicians. And there were few better regions to experience the melodic sounds of those times than Southern California.
Seeing live music at venues like the Troubadour, the Whiskey and the Ice House in Pasadena fueled my interest in the music of the times, and it didn’t take me very long to understand that the roots of the music I enjoyed were rooted in the Doo Wop and swing eras.
And then late one evening I heard a sample recording from an unknown musician from the grittiest part of Southern California. The musician’s name was Frank Zapppa and I was impressed with his approach to orchestral arrangements for his records. Zappa wasn’t big back when, and his music had a cult following centered around El Monte, and Pomona, California.
El Monte, more than Los Angeles shaped much of the music I heard on less than commercially successful radio in Southern California.
If you grew up down here, you can’t help but remember the ads for bands playing at the El Monte Legion Stadium,plugged by concert promoter/disc jokey Art Le Boe “Be There or be Square, the El Monte Legion Stadium!”
Zappa was there often and I came to enjoy my occasional Saturday night pilgrimages to hear his music at the El Monte Legion Stadium. I didn’t have to listen to Zappa very long to understand the influences of Doo Wop and the musical parody of Spike Jones were among the bedrocks of his approach to music.
There have been several books written about the late Frank Zappa, but until I I read Zappa Do Wop, by Skokian Guy (aka Bruce Whitaker, a longtime Zappa fan and former neighbor from San Bruno California, I didn’t really understand this eclectic musician. SO what makes Zappa Do Wop such a good read?
First it's a deep dive into Zappa’s influences written by a musician who grokks Zappa and the Mothers of Inventions like no other writer who’s covered this subject, Whitaker writes with the crispness and clarity of damn few first-time authors and was unafraid of deep dive research that led him to the discovery that one of Zappa’s major promoters-- Art LeBoe--at 93 was still alive and had clear memories of Zappa and his music.The material that resulted from this hidden treasure find is priceless.
Oh the artwork for this book, comes from its author's fine hand.
The organization of this book syncs nicely with its subject, and supporting musicians and guests are woven in and out of the story very tightly in this book.
Zappa Do Wop is absolutely not a stab at aping albumn liner copy. It's the sort of writing that comes from excellent research and someone who has the fine tuned ear of a reporter.
It’s a great read and I'm proud I encouraged Bruce Whitaker to take a deep dive into the foundations of Frank Zappa’s music and publish this work..--jim FoOh Bruce guess which band i’d love to see you write about next?
Oh, after shaving this morning I feel like weasels ripped my face----Jim Forbes on May 25, 2020.
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