January 1976
Australia
This is a short clip but I love it. It's from FZ's second trip to Australia in 1976. The release "FZ:OZ" came from that trip as well. All the info we have on this but wanted to include it as it made me smile.
January 22, 1976
GTV Ch. 9, Australia
4 min.
January 22 1976
GTV Ch 9
The Mike Willesee Show
InterviewIntroduction/Footage with Bongo Fury overdubbed/Being Interviewed/Truthfulness/Print Media/Fans/Germany/Marines at the Garrick/1971 Accident/Smothers/Tape Bust/The Real FZ/Religion.
16 minutes b & w
January 30, 1976
NBC TV
11 min.
Introduced by Wolfman Jack. FZ alone, talks to camera and tells the story of his life (including a description of his first composition, "Mice") and the early days of The Mothers. Includes footage from A Token Of His Extreme. The show was usually hosted by Helen Reddy.
Frank describes his life and career.
Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany
February 14, 1976
30 sec.
A newly surfaced 30 seconds unreleased video footage snippet of "Honey, Don't You Want A Man Like Me?", from a 1975 concert with Napoleon Murphy Brock, pobably from Chicago!
The text "... LIVE IN CHICAGO 1978" was mistakenly inserted here by the German TV editorial team.
Napoleon probably brought this video footage from his private archive, but the TV definitely messed it up.
My guess is that this footage comes from one of the early German concerts in 1976.
FZ is wearing the same clothes than this photo taken by C.Kranz and released in Bravo magazine April, 1976
Intrigued by Al_Fresco's comment, I googled a bit with keywords "zappa 1976" + each of the names of German cities that FZ visited during the tour, and found that German photographer Isolde Ohlbaum took some photos at the Munich concert, which can be seen at Bayerische Staatsbibliothek and Ohlbaum's own archive. I think that the pattern and position of the scarf FZ wears around his head looks almost identical to the one in the video
March 8, 1976
According to the correspondants of the Spanish mag Popular 1 (see issue #34 April 1976) at Palais des Sports concert who estimated an audience about 4000, a half entry to show. "It's 10 o'clock at night (...), at hall sport gate there is no crowd this time, perhaps because Zappa will make an appearance on T.V."
March 18, 1976
WDR, Germany
1 min.
Short interview wherein FZ talks about the biggest problem in the world: bad mental health.
March 19, 1976
TV2, Finland
3 min.
FZ talks about the new Mothers and his last orchestral project.
Available at Elävä Arkisto (2:46 min.)
1976
23 TV (Israel)
Israel 23 TV channel educational television show from 1976 which used music by Frank Zappa, like "Sofa No. 1" and "Inca Roads" from One Size Fits All, or "Dog Breath, In The Year Of The Plague" and "King Kong" from Uncle Meat.
Some examples: "FZ english teaching ?" (00:37 min.) (DweezilZappaWorld); "Gabby And Debby" (05:30 min.) (YouTube); Gabby & Debby, Chapter 2 (18:47 min.) (YouTube)
More information about the show: Gabby & Debby.
Informant: Javier Marcote
October 28, 1976 (aired November 11, 1976)
NBC TV
15 min.
November 4, 1976
YouTube: WHO THE F*@% IS FRANK ZAPPA: "Titties and Beer" 10-day Countdown teaser (0: 35 min.)
November 19, 1976
Vernissage, ZDF
Came across this on IMDb. Can't find much info on it. I'm guessing it's a broadcast or feature of A Token Of His Extreme perhaps?
Vernissage
Frank Zappa Special Mit Den 'Mothers of Invention'
(19 Nov. 1976)
TV Episode | DocumentaryCast (in credits order)
Frank Zappa ... Himself—Musician
George Duke ... Himself—Musician
Tom Fowler ... Himself—Musician
Ruth Underwood ... Herself—Musician
Napoleon Murphy Brock ... Himself—Musician
Chester Thompson ... Himself—Musician
December 6, 1976
The Bottom Line, NYC, NY
5 min.
FZ—guest guitar & vocals
Howard Kaylan—vocals, tambourine
Mark Volman—vocals, tambourine
+
Flo & Eddie Band:
Bruce Fowler—trombone
Walt Fowler—trumpet
Albert Wing—sax
Erik Scott—bass
Craig Krampf—drums
I think I recognize Craig Krampf [drums], Erik Scott [bass], and Bruce Fowler [trombone] in the video, all of whom were in the Flo & Eddie band in 1976. (An off-camera saxophone is also audible. That would be Albert Wing. Walt Fowler played trumpet.)
From Russo (p131, Son of Revised):
"Zappa also appeared at a Flo & Eddie show at The Bottom Line in New York in December [1976]."
He doesn't give the exact date, but I should be able to find it in the Village Voice.
So I think it's highly likely that the "What Kind Of Girl?" video comes from The Bottom Line, New York, December 1976.
It was a two-night engagement, so I don't know the exact date that FZ sat in. But it was either Sunday, December 5, 1976, or Monday, December 6, 1976.
The Bottom Line's (official?) website has the performance history of the venue: http://www.bottomlinecabaret.com/tline_76.html And it includes this entry:
DEC 5-6, 1976
FLO AND EDDIE
JIMMIE SPHEERIS
* FRANK ZAPPA romps with FLO AND EDDIE on the night of Dec 6
Additional informant: Charles Ulrich.
YouTube: Frank Zappa (Vintage—Live) What Kind Of Girl (05:22 min.)
December 11, 1976
Saturday Night Live, NBC TV
90 min. (full show)
December 22, 1976
WNEW 5, NYC
10 min.
Hosted by Bill Boggs (interview)
1976-01-21 New York Mid Day Live TV interview by Bill Boggs (cassette)
29. vibes of the city / disco / gray hair
30. drugs / early days / Don Pardo
Additional informants: Charles Ulrich, Javier Marcote
YouTube: Frank Zappa—Television Interview 1976 (08:48 min.)
December 26-29, 1976
The Palladium, NYC, NY
I will also mention that the Palladium show in '76 with the Brecker Bros.
was filmed—I saw the camera right near the soundboard. Don't remember
it it was 16mm or what....
January 31, 1977
Böblingen, Germany
March 22, 1977
NBC-TV, US
15 min.
1977-03-22 Tomorrow TV Show interview by Tom Snyder (cassette)
10. intro / conducting / concert loud volume
11. musicians / touring
12. operating a band as a business / cover design / tour support
13. FZ pushed off stage story / group name
Additional informant: Charles Ulrich
May 21, 1977
ITV, UK
52 min.
Directed by Tony Palmer
The state of pop music after the death of Brian Epstein and the the 1960s came to an end, featuring such acts as The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who and Frank Zappa.
Featured: Rolling Stones, Eric Burdon, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, Manfred Mann, Janis Joplin, Donovan, John Lennon, Paul Mc Cartney.
History of popular music series, produced and directed by Tony Palmer. ITV tx (London area) 1977/02/12—1977/06/04 (Sat) 17 eps. x hour A London Weekend Television Production.
September 13, 1977
Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, TX
3 min., color, silent
This home movie captures musician Frank Zappa performing a concert at the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin.
Informant: Javier Al Fresco
October 28-31, 1977
The Palladium, NYC, NY
February 1, 1978
Philipshalle, Düsseldorf, Germany
8 mm.
10 min.
The movie was filmed on February 1st in 1978 at a concert in Düsseldorf, Germany. It is on the Super 8 format filmed with a Fuji Single 8 camera. This made it possible to multi-expose the film. So you can see Zappa several times on the screen. The movie is with sound but not synchronal. The sound (from the original concert) was transfered later on the sound track.
The film is 60 meter long, lasts about 10 minutes and is still in perfect condition.
I guaranty that there was never made a copy in any way of this movie and I will also not make one to keep it. So it's only you who will own this specific document.
February 19, 1978
Konserthuset, Stockholm, Sweden
21 min.
An interview between the two shows in which FZ talks about the slime on your TV set, politics, the audience, Baby Snakes, synthesizers, the origin of "Dinah-Moe Humm," and his vocals on Over-Nite Sensation. Also there are some short interviews to concert attendants.
Interview before a concert in Sweden, with some music and footage in between.
YouTube: Cadillac Extravaganza, Part 1 (Swedish broadcast) (04:45 min.) · Part 2 (05:33 min.) · Part 3 (00:59 min.)
March 30, 1978
ORF TV, Austria
34 min.
Directed by
Rudolf Dolezal
and
Klaus Hundsbichler
An interview between the two shows in which FZ talks about the slime on your TV set, politics, the audience, Baby Snakes, synthesizers, the origin of "Dinah-Moe Humm," and his vocals on Over-Nite Sensation. Then, the interview with Rudi, excerpts from 200 Motels ("Mystery Roach"), the performance of "Bobby Brown" with Tommy Mars with another interview about modern music and Mozart, and finally of course the Cadillac extravaganza.
It was in Vienna. This big Bösendorfer piano was on these industrial things. That was incredible, man. And they had a string quartet there. That is a very fond memory.
Interviews and tour report. Frank and the interviewer (Rudi Dolezal) have a disagreement about Cadillacs, which results in a small movie under FZ's direction—funny. Also a rare performance of Bobby Brown, with just FZ and Tommy Mars on the piano.
The "Rudi's Cadillac Extravaganza" should be called "Ohne Maulkorb", which is the name of this first great DoRo (Rudi Dolezal, Hannes Rossacher) film. I'm pretty sure there are no 55 min versions. FZ is at his sneering, cynical "best". The comment "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a classic example of a jerk for an interviewer" is a classic.
Actually "Ohne Maulkorb" (translated "Without Muzzle") is not a film, but a youth orientated Austrian bi-weekly TV show, which was aired IIRC from the end of the 60's to the second half of the 80's. Each episode lasted 45-60 minutes and comprised documentaries about socio-political and musical issues. Regarding the length of the Zappa feature I cannot make a definitive statement, because I've only seen the parts which Rudi Dolezal used in his "Das Leben als Extravaganza" (1993).
In the "Ohne Maulkorb" docu Dolezal asks Zappa, if driving to concerts in a Cadillac is appropriate for an Underground icon. With his indignant counterquestions FZ pretty quickly disconcerts the rookie interviewer. Later that night... under Zappa's direction Dolezal stars as Cadillac maniac who has to be spanked to exorcize his demons.
Amusing sidenote: In the above mentioned "Das Leben als Extravaganza" FZ's "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a classic example of a jerk for an interviewer" had rather euphemistic German subtitles: "Meine Damen und Herren das ist eine sinnlose Frage." ("Ladies and Gentlemen this is a meaningless question").
Additional informant: Brian Lagerman
YouTube: Cadillac Extravaganza, Part 3 (Swedish broadcast) (06:26 min.) · Part 4 (05:28 min.) · Part 5 (06:12 min.) · Part 6 (06:01 min.)
Spring 1978
Village Recorders, LA
August 26, 1978
Open Air Festival, Friedrichsau Festplatz, Ulm, Germany
FZ—lead guitar/vocals
Ike Willis—guitar/vocals
Denny Walley—slide guitar/vocals
Tommy Mars—keyboards/vocals
Peter Wolf—keyboards
Ed Mann—percussion/vocals
Arthur Barrow—bass/vocals
Vinnie Colaiuta—drums
October 13, 1978
Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ
FZ—lead guitar/vocals
Ike Willis—guitar/vocals
Denny Walley—slide guitar/vocals
Tommy Mars—keyboards/vocals
Peter Wolf—keyboards
Ed Mann—percussion/vocals
Patrick O'Hearn—bass
Arthur Barrow—bass/vocals
Vinnie Colaiuta—drums
Deathless Horsie, Dancin' Fool, Easy Meat, Honey Don't You Want A Man Like Me?, Keep It Greasey, Village Of The Sun, The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing, City Of Tiny Lights, A Pound For A Brown, Bobby Brown, Conehead, Flakes, Magic Fingers, Yellow Snow Suite, Strictly Genteel, Dinah-Moe Humm
Persona Non Grata, Dancin' Fool, Easy Meat, Bamboozled By Love, Sy Borg, Suicide Chump, Little House I Used To Live In, Zeets (Drum Solo), Yo' Mama, Magic Fingers, Black Napkins, Camarillo Brillo, Muffin Man, Strictly Genteel
Suicide Chump (from the late show) has been released as a bonus video track on Halloween.
historicfilms.com lists black and white footage of both shows:
ME-108 * ROCK MUSIC * 1978 * B&W * 2 HOURS PART 1 OF 2
FRANK ZAPPA PERFORMS LIVE AT THE CAPITOL THEATRE IN PASSAIC, NEW JERSEY. 10/13/78. FIRST SHOW.
ME-109 * ROCK MUSIC * 1978 * B&W * PART 2 OF 2
FRANK ZAPPA PERFORMS LIVE AT THE CAPITOL THEATRE IN PASSAIC, NEW JERSEY. 10/13/78. SECOND SHOW.
YouTube: Frank Zappa (VIDEO) at The Capitol Theatre, Passaic 1978 (Early Show, 110:30 min.) ยท Frank Zappa—Full Concert—10/13/78—Capitol Theatre (OFFICIAL) (Late Show, 102:06 min.)
October 21, 1978
Saturday Night Live, NBC TV
December 2, 1978
10 min.
FZ, William Burroughs, John Giorno, Anne Waldman, Janet The Planet, Donna U Wanna, John Smothers, backstage at the Nova Convention. FZ reads "The Talking Asshole."
Informant: Javier Marcote.
c. 1978
Austrian TV?
16 min.
Austrian TV? German Language documentary
Peter Wolf, Andre Heller, Patrick O'Hearn, Terry Bozzio, Harry Stoika, Thomas Nordegg
Peter Wolf
Vienna - 1978
mit: Pat O Hearn, Terry Bozzio, Harri Stojka...
YouTube: Peter Wolf - 1979 / 80 (17:54 min.)
c. 1979
Brief interview with FZ ("38"), and images of him editing Baby Snakes. Appears in Videowest (June 12, 1980)
Informant: Javier Marcote
1979
110 min.
Directed by Bill L. Norton
In the beginning of "More American Graffiti" where they play a bit of "Lumpy Gravy". The part that says "There it goes again... a little pig with wings."
March 2, 1979
Ekeberghallen, Oslo, Norway
7 min.
FZ—lead guitar/vocals
Ike Willis—guitar/vocals
Denny Walley—slide guitar/vocals
Warren Cuccurullo—guitar
Tommy Mars—keyboards/vocals
Peter Wolf—keyboards
Ed Mann—percussion/vocals
Arthur Barrow—bass/vocals
Vinnie Colaiuta—drums
7 minutes, black and white, lots of edits.
Audience shot. My copy is in color and both picture and sound are far better than you'd expect. Unfortunately, it's cut to smithereens, and there are only snippets of each song.
Band Intros, Dead Girls Of London, Brown Shows Don't Make It, City Of Tiny Lights, Easy Meat, Jumbo Go Away, Andy, Inca Roads, Florentine Pogen, Honey Don't You Want A Man Like Me
Nice to see my old Super 8 film being listed on this fantastic web site. Since I was the one who actually shot the film with my film camera I thought I'd tell you how it came about.
When I went to the concert with my friends here in Norway, I smuggeled a Super 8 movie camera into the concert hall. As you know the guards in those days didn't like anything resembling a tape recorder so a movie camera with possibilities to record sound would not be very popular among them.
This was in march so it's usually quite cold and snowy in Norway. I had a big jacket on and a big scarf. My movie camera was a Canon 814XLS (I think it was called) and it folded neatly into a small bag that I hung around my neck underneath the scarft. It was impossible to see. I just looked a tiny bit fatter, that's all.
When we got through the checkup, the guards always checked for bottles etc, they only ranscaked you on the sides though, never on the front. So I got in, no problem.
In those days I didn't have much money so I could only aford two cassettes of film. The Super 8 Sound film came on cassettes that lasted about 3 minutes if you filmed at 18 frames per second. Even though I usually filmed at 24 frames per second it made sense to film at 18 because then each frame would get more light. It is kinda dark in concert halls even with lots of lights on the stage, at least when you're using cinefilm.
The film I used was Kodak Ektachrome 160. That was most light sensitive film you could get in those casettes that were commonly used in sound Super 8 Sound cameras. The film had a megnetic tape attatched to the film opposite the perforation side. So you just recorded the sound like a tape recorder and the soundtrack went with the film in the development process and the film came back ready to watch with sound!
When filming I had to be careful when I pulled up the camera. If a guard or a rodie saw me they would probably take the film away from me. That's why it's filmed in just snippests and not a whole songs. Plus I kinda wanted to have a bit of music from several different songs anyway.
When you use a camera like this you need to attach a boom microphone on top of the camera. In usual conditions you need to pull this out quite a bit. There's a telescopic function on it. This is so you won't hear the mechanical sound of the camera on the sound recording. However in a concert hall the music is so loud so I didn't have to pull it out at all. I probably would have been seen if I needed to have the microphone extended all the way.
So that's how the footage came about. Still got the film. Fun to have as this was way before people had video cameras. A small testament of what happened that day in march in Ekeberghallen, Oslo, Norway!
All the best, Super 8 Dude!
March 3, 1979
Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden
3 min., color, silent
Filmed by Ledstedt
Silent Super 8mm
It may not be possible to identify the tracks for a possible audio sync because there are over 20 cuts or jumps.
c. 1979
5 min.
"City Of Tiny Lites" from Sheik Yerbouti (1979) set to clay animation by Bruce Bickford, featuring Greggery Peccary and slowly-aging very hip young people. Shorter and different edits of this animation appear on Baby Snakes (1979) at 1:08:27-1:08:41 and maybe other places.
March 27, 1979
BBC TV
7 min.
"City Of Tiny Lites" from Sheik, set to the animation that was used in the Baby Snakes movie for "I'm So Cute".
April-May 1979
Village Recorders, LA
FZ records vocal takes for 'Keep It Greasey' at Village Recorders [...] during the 'Joe's Garage' album sessions. Circa May 12th, 1979.
[...] At Village Recorders in May of 1979, FZ also recorded 'Canarsie,' and here we have Warren Cuccurullo's sitar session, in which FZ makes him say the infamous opening statement.
YouTube: Keepin' It Greasy In The Studio. Vocal Outtake From The Recording Of Joe's Garage, 1979. (0:58 min.)
May 18, 1979
CBS TV
13 min.
FZ talks about his lyrics, the 60s, the American public, politics, the inalianable right to not have a good time, disco, music industry
Hosted by Dinah Shore
FZ is guest in the show, along with Jan & Dean and Peaches & Herb.
ALSO the dinah shore show with co gusts peaches and herb I don't think peaches and frank hit it off so well.
During the second-to-last season of Dinah!, Frank released an album called Sheik Yerbouti (I still get a kick out of that title) and was booked on the show to promote it. In the eight-plus years of the show there had been an occasional guest who made things difficult for Dinah and/or the rest of us but somehow Dinah managed it all with her characteristic equanimity. Nothing ever seemed to bother her until Zappa appeared on the show. I'm still not sure what upset her and she certainly seemed to have no trouble holding her own in bantering with Frank, but during a commercial break she walked across the stage to the band and with a peculiar look on her face said, "why do they book him on this show?"
You were on the TV talk show, Dinah!, recently. What was that like?
It was really amusing. There was no communication whatsoever. I was on the same show with Peaches & Herb, the Bee Gees' mother and father, this girl named Ren something-or-other who sings in the movie, Hair [Ren Woods], and Jan & Dean. They called me up and said they'd read about this "Jewish Princess" bullshit and they wanted to get me down there and talk about it. I said, "Okay." So I went down there, and apparently Dinah [Shore] got ahold of the lyrics to "Jewish Princess" just before we went on the air, and it offended her so much that they never discussed it once all the time I was on the show. And then after the show was over, she came up to me and said, "Why did you write that? It's so totally dehumanizing." And I thought, "There's no way to talk to this woman. She's got a concrete block for a mind." What's so dehumanizing about "Jewish Princess"? It's just a nice song to rollerskate to.
YouTube: Dinah! (10:11 min.)
September 30, 1979
TV, US
35 min.
1979-09-30 Robert Kline TV Show (cassette)
11. unique format for Joe's Garage / Joe's Garage story
12. Catholic Girls story / Joe and Sy Borg story
13. the accordian / music is outlawed
14. Montana
15. offending people / religion real estate / being realistic
16. Genya Raven (guest)
Additional informant: Charles Ulrich
1979
7 min.
Hosted by Bobby Van
FZ was on a Make Me Laugh & Dance Fever in Dec, 1979. Did they have a celebrity guest thing on MML? I had assumed FZ was trying to get a contestant to laugh.
Frank was actually a contestant! FZ won—no one made him laugh.
He seemed to have more trouble staying awake than keeping from laughing.
I did have the amazing luck to be watching Make Me Laugh in 1979. My roommate and I nearly lost it when they said "Guest contestant: Frank Zappa!" He only said three words. The host held up Sheik Yerbouti and asked if this was his latest album. Frank, deadpan: "One of 'em."
A master was recorded in EP mode, 1984 USA rebroadcast.
FZ: I was on Make Me Laugh one time.
Bill Forman: I don't remember that.
FZ: You ever see that show before? Where comedians come up to you and they try to make you laugh. And if you don't laugh, a person in the audience wins money.
Bill Forman: You must have earned a lot of money that day for people.
FZ: Yeah, I did, I cleaned up. Or they cleaned up.
YouTube: Make Me Laugh (06:05 min.)
KCST-TV, San Diego, CA
1979
Straight from the Vault, here's an EXCERPT of a rare San Diego KCST-TV Newscenter interview with Frank Zappa from 1979.
YouTube: TEASER: Rare Zappa interview clip, 1984 | whoisfrankzappa.com (0:40 min.)
1979
Jay Dittamo ask some questions to FZ, who talks about Elwood Junior Madeo trying out for Captain Beefheart's band and the premiere of Baby Snakes to take place on December 21.
Informant: Javier Marcote
YouTube: Frank Zappa On Bill Boggs Show 1979 (01:09 min.)
Premiered December 21, 1979
165 min.
December 25, 1979
WNEW-TV, NYC, NY
3 min.
1979-12-25 WNEW-TV interview NYC NY (cassette)
9. FZ interview about Baby Snakes
Additional informant: Charles Ulrich
January 8, 1980
BBC2 TV
40 min. B&W (Interview: 8 min.)
From (25.57): Anne Nightingale interviews Frank Zappa in the BBC studio, who talks about how he fires musicians who are caught in the possession of dope; how he finds musicians to join his group with many sending résumés to him; how he did not like early British punk music as it was all about, as he puts it, "standard English boutique promotional hype", before later turning into something more "viable"; what punk he likes and what is "rubbish"; the state of music in the US and how it varies from state to state; and the production of his new film BABY SNAKES, and how he funded it himself (32.30). Clip from BABY SNAKES, this being largely animation, with the title track performed on the soundtrack only (34.12).
Informant: Brian Lagerman
Early 1980
Dutch TV
4 min.
FZ talks about his new movie, Baby Snakes (1979), and the possibility of an European tour that Summer.
Reelin' In The Years Productions, one of America's largest footage archives, and Double 2 BV, a Netherlands production company, have acquired the rights to the Dutch music program Countdown. Often referred to as "Europe's #1 Rock Show," Countdown was on-the-air for 16 years (1977-1993), and was broadcast in 18 countries, making it one of the most successful music shows in the history of television.
Additional informant: Javier Marcote
YouTube: Frank Zappa—Interview (Baby Snakes film) on Countdown 1980 (03:43 min.)
March 16, 1980
KNBC LA
10 min.
Interview by Kelly Lange "At Le Lycée Français De Los Angeles."
Kelly Lange (spelled Kelly Lang) appears as a character in Them Or Us (The Book), pp. 68, 168, 171-172, 177-178.
Informants: Brian Lagerman, Jon Naurin
YouTube: Frank Zappa "Sunday Show KNBC" March 16, 1980 with Kelly Lange (09:56 min.)
April 1, 1980
San Francisco Airport, CA
Some members of the US Navy Band welcome FZ at the San Francisco Airport playing "Joe's Garage." In a short interview FZ talks about taxing the churches and legalizing drugs and prostitution.
Appears in Videowest (June 12, 1980)
I've been looking at a lot of previously unknown or little-seen archival of Frank, and this one was particularly powerful to me for two reasons[...]. The first is that Frank was so rarely himself in public. He was a master showman, performer, orator, wit, political pundit, etc. In this clip, Frank is genuinely and profoundly moved by the band's performance of his music, and so we get to see him unprepared and just being himself.
The other reason I love this piece is to watch it from the other side: the joy, concern, nervousness and reverence of these musicians, doing a fantastic job of playing a difficult piece for the notoriously discerning composer [...]. At the end of the day, it's all about the power of music. And Frank's wonderful music in particular.
Additional informant: Javier Marcote
YouTube: A rarity from Frank Zappa's Vault | whoisfrankzappa.com (3:14 min.)
April 6, 1980
Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA
Appears in NewsCenter 4
FZ—lead guitar, vocals
Ike Willis—guitar, vocals
Ray White—guitar, vocals
Tommy Mars—keyboards
Arthur Barrow—bass, keyboards
David Logeman—drums
c. April 6, 1980
KNBC, Los Angeles, CA
7 min.
Interview by Kelly Lange. FZ talks about politics, bombs, draft, churches, drugs, America and entertainment. There was an unused section available on YouTube.
Kelly Lange (spelled Kelly Lang) appears as a character in Them Or Us (The Book), pp. 68, 168, 171-172, 177-178.
YouTube: Frank Zappa—NewsCenter 4, 1980 (06:25 min.) · Unused section: Zappa For President (00:54 min.)
c. 1980
Kelly Lange talks about FZ.
May 2, 1980
WCVB-TV Studios, Needham, MA
27 min.
i recently found an old vhs and am wondering if this program may already be in common circulation among zappa collectors or not. it's a boston tv interview on "five all night live all night" hosted by boston tv and radio personality matt siegel, runs about 27 minutes (may not be complete), features an interview, several phone in questions, and several minutes of clips from "baby snakes". it's not dated, but i'm guessing it's probably from the first half of 1979...FZ says that "baby snakes" is coming out in june...he recently played in providence and is playing at the music hall (in boston) tomorrow night...quality is very good...
FZ didn't play any gigs in the US in 1979.
Providence: May 2, 1980
Boston Music Hall: May 3, 1980FZ said in March 1980 that Baby Snakes was coming out in June.
Additional informant: Javier Marcote
YouTube: Frank Zappa—Five All Night Live All Night, 1980 (Part 1 of 2) (14:45 min.) · (Part 2 of 2) (04:35 min.)
1980
Filmed by Rudolf Dolezal & Hannes Rossacher
May 8, 1980
Mudd Club, NYC, NY
Filmed by Rudolf Dolezal & Hannes Rossacher
FZ—lead guitar, vocals
Ike Willis—guitar, vocals
Ray White—guitar, vocals
Tommy Mars—keyboards
Arthur Barrow—bass
David Logeman—drums
Can anyone tell me how Frank ended up playing at the Mudd Club? A small night club gig at that point in his career just doesn't seem to fit.
I think this was the point. FZ had written the song "Mudd Club," so playing there was a logical next step. There were impromptu club stops on a couple of the other tours—apparently, the '88 band hit one after their concert in Hamburg. A few other bands have adopted this tactic—I know some people who know the band who got bumped at the Double Door here in Chicago in fall '97 in favor of the Rolling Stones.
YouTube: Frank Zappa—1980 Tour Archive Footage (Mudd Club NYC) (01:11 min.) · Frank Zappa—Mudd Club (Live At Mudd Club, NYC, May 8, 1980) (03:23 min.)
May 10, 1980
Tower Theater, Upper Darby, PA
Filmed by Rudolf Dolezal & Hannes Rossacher
FZ—lead guitar, vocals
Ike Willis—guitar, vocals
Ray White—guitar, vocals
Tommy Mars—keyboards
Arthur Barrow—bass
David Logeman—drums
c. 1980
45 min.
Directed by Rudolf Dolezal & Hannes Rossacher
Tower Theater, May 10, 1980 (except *Mudd Club, May 8, 1980)
An interview with FZ is interspersed with the concert footage. There's also an interview of sorts with half a dozen hardcore fans (including Al Malkin) backstage. Unfortunately, it's hard to hear what anyone is saying because of the German translator.
A German television crew was here two days ago—they came to do an interview—and they asked me what I was doing on Thanksgiving. I told them I was going out to Canarsie to have dinner with the parents of my guitarist, Warren Cuccurullo. Since I was there once before and it turned into this neighborhood extravaganza you wouldn't believe, I said chances are it's going to be another one of those, and you should film it. They did, and boy, it was incredible. You've never seen a Thanksgiving like this; the behavior was so new wave.
Informants: Robbert Heederik, Brian Lagerman, Jon Naurin, Chris Rigas, Peter de B. Harrington, Charles Ulrich
YouTube: Mudd Club (German TV 1980)—Part 1 (09:59 min.) · Part 2 (09:58 min.)
May 24, 1980
5 min.
Hosted by Deney Terrio
Celebrity Judges: Doris Roberts, Jon Wamsley & Frank Zappa
Musical Guest: Destination
As someone has previously wrote, Frank did an episode of dance fever as a talent judge. He came out on stage doing a goofy shuffle so to speak. I took it as he was sort of mocking the disco thing. All the other judges seemed to take it to serious.
I remember this show very well. He did a "goofy shuffle" at the very end of the show when all of the judges were invited to dance on the stage with Denny Terio and the contestants during the closing credits. I don't recall anything about that being taken badly by anyone. He seemed to take the judging seriously, giving some pretty high scores. One thing I remember wast that every time he spoke he leaned way down toward the microphone so you could barely see his face. I figured this was because as concert performer, he was accustomed to speaking directly into microphones. On TV, you just tend to speak naturally and let the mic pick your voice up from wherever it is. I think one of the other judges was the den mother from the TV show Facts of Life. I found it really amusing seeing him up there next to her.
I would only like to add to the Dance Fever thing is that the cornball host of the show tries to get Frank to join the rest of the gang in a little disco dancing whilst the final credits are rolling. Frank kept waving his arms and saying "No, no, no". He gives in a little by tapping his foot and clicking his fingers while the rest of the gang gyrate around him.
Fz as a guest judge on Dance contest show dance fever with host DennyTerio.
Fz- " I thought they were very sincere" rating of contestants. The whole show had a John Waters 'straight outta baltimore' vibe.
either very late 70's or early 80's
December 1979 or January 1980. IINK lists this appearance before Make Me Laugh, but he still has long hair in MML.
Dance Fever (TV Series)
Episode dated 24 May 1980 (1980)Full Cast & Crew
Cast
Doris Roberts . . . Herself—Judge
Deney Terrio . . . Himself—Host
Jon Walmsley . . . Himself—Judge
Frank Zappa . . . Himself—Judge
YouTube: Dance Fever, January, 1979, or January, 1980 (6:07 min.)
May 24, 1980
The Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Polygoon Journaal
5 min.
Dutch TV report on Ahoy Rotterdam, snippet from concert.
Informants: Brian Lagerman, Jon Naurin
June 12, 1980
28 min.
FZ talks about Baby Snakes, the origin of punk rock, the new wave acts he likes, disco, the "Jewish Princess" controversy, the names of the kids, weirdness, Elvis Presley, his first appearance in the Dick Cavett Show, the death of rock, his lyrics and drugs.
Informants: Brian Lagerman, Jon Naurin
YouTube: Frank Zappa on Dick Cavett 1/3 (09:54 min.) · 2/3 (09:57 min.) · 3/3 (07:57 min.)
June 12, 1980
PBS TV
5 min.
Includes footage from Baby Snakes (1979), the San Francisco Airport US Navy Band welcome (April 1, 1980), an unidentified 1979 interview and a recent interview in which FZ insists on taxing the churches and legalizing prostitution.
FZ welcomed at airport by U.S. Marine Band playing Joe's Garage, and interview.
Additional informant: Javier Marcote
YouTube: Frank Zappa—Interview, USA TV, 1980 (3:07 min.)
October 12, 1980
Johnson Gymnasium, Albuquerque, NM
8 min.
Perhaps some background is in order... Jimmy Carl Black was living in Albuquerque at the time and was a friend of mine, he was going to perform "Harder Than Your Husband" with Frank at the October 12, 1980 show. We asked Frank if Jimmy's performance could be videotaped and he said, "yes." He also authorized an audio feed from the front of house mixer. The video was shot on 3/4" videotape using a professional "portable" three-tube RCA camera. These two songs are the only video that exists of this show. Frank had his own cameras there and the entire show may exist in his archives, but has never been released in any form.
Formerly available at John Cline Productions website.
YouTube: Frank Zappa in Albuquerque—October 12, 1980 (08:23 min.)
October 13, 1980
KGGM-TV
3 min.
News story on Jimmy Carl Black after his performance with Frank Zappa in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This ran on KGGM-TV on October 13, 1980.
Includes interviews with Jimmy Carl Black and FZ, and footage from Albuquerque, October 12, 1980.
YouTube: Jimmy Carl Black with Frank Zappa News Story—Albuquerque 1980 (2:43 min.)
October 28, 1980
Dutch TV
Color/B&W, 4 min.
FZ talks about classical music, from the editing room, with Dutch subtitles.
Netherland Blazer Ensemble ( aka The Netherland Wind Ensemble)
October 28, 1980
3:52
Colour
Dutch TVNetherland Blazer Ensemble performs "Revised Music For Low Budget Orchestra" at studio.
(There are few shots of someone who looks like FZ behind the Ensemble).
FZ interviewed. He relates classical music with top 40 music & "deviation from the classical norms is probably good for the mental health". Dutch subtitles.
Also a few words in Dutch by Hens Otter at the end.
YouTube: UK TV (01:57 min.) (only last minute)
