FZ album(s) in which song has appeared

• BTB II: Electric Aunt Jemima (1992), as Little House I Used To Live In, performed in Denver, CO, May 3, 1968
• Whisky A Go Go, 1968 (2024), as The Duke—Take 1, performed in Los Angeles, CA, July 23, 1968
  • same version on Zappa—Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2020), as The Duke
    • same version on The Zappa Movie Official Soundtrack Album!—Exclusive Backer Reward Edition (2020)
• Whisky A Go Go, 1968 (2024), as The Duke—Take 2, performed in Los Angeles, CA, July 23, 1968
• Burnt Weeny Sandwich (1970), as parts of the "Return Of The Hunch-Back Duke" section of The Little House I Used To Live In, recorded at Criteria Studios, Miami, FL, c. February 1-7, 1969
• You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 5 (1992), as Return Of The Hunch-Back Duke, performed in The Bronx, New York, NY, February 28, 1969
• Beat The Boots III: Disc Five (2009), as The Return Of The Hunchback Duke, performed in Appleton, WI, May 23, 1969
• Burnt Weeny Sandwich (1970), as parts of the "Return Of The Hunch-Back Duke," chamber music (with overdubs), and dialog sections of The Little House I Used To Live In, recorded in London, UK, June 6, 1969
• The Hot Rats Sessions (2019), piano introduction as Piano Music (Section 1), recorded at T.T.G., Los Angeles, CA, July 18, 1969
• Burnt Weeny Sandwich (1970), as piano introduction of The Little House I Used To Live In, prob. recorded at T.T.G., Los Angeles, CA, July 18, 1969
• The Hot Rats Sessions (2019), violin, guitar and piano solos as Another Waltz (Unedited Master), recorded at T.T.G., Los Angeles, CA, July 30, 1969
  • same performance, shorter edit, on Burnt Weeny Sandwich (1970), as violin and piano solos section of The Little House I Used To Live In
• Burnt Weeny Sandwich (1970), as organ solo section of The Little House I Used To Live In, recorded at Whitney Studios, Glendale, CA, c. August 28-30, 1969
• Road Tapes, Venue #3 (2016), as part of The Return Of The Hunchback Duke, performed in Minneapolis, MN, July 5, 1970
• BTB I: Freaks & Motherfu*#@%! (1991), as Little House I Used To Live In and parts of Mudshark Variations, performed in New York, NY, November 1970
  • same version on BTB II: Tengo Na Minchia Tanta (1992), as Little House I Used To Live In
• The Mothers 1971 (2022), as Little House I Used To Live In, performed in New York, NY, June 5, 1971, late show
  • same version on Fillmore East—June 1971 (1971), as Little House I Used To Live In, with overdubs from Whitney Studios, Glendale, CA, c. June 1971
    • same version on Fillmore East—June 1971—50th Anniversary Expanded Edition (2022)
• The Mothers 1971 (2022), quoted in The Mud Shark, performed in New York, NY, June 5, 1971, late show
• The Mothers 1971 (2022), as Little House I Used To Live In, performed in New York, NY, June 6, 1971, late show
• The Mothers 1971 (2022), quoted in The Mud Shark, performed in New York, NY, June 6, 1971, late show
  • same version on Fillmore East—June 1971 (1971), as The Mud Shark, with overdubs from Whitney Studios, Glendale, CA, c. June 1971
    • same version on Fillmore East—June 1971—50th Anniversary Expanded Edition (2022)
• Carnegie Hall (2011), quoted in The Mud Shark, performed in New York, NY, October 11, 1971
• Hammersmith Odeon (2010), as The Little House I Used To Live In, performed in London, UK, January 25, 1978
• Sheik Yerbouti (1979), guitar solo as The Sheik Yerbouti Tango, performed in Berlin, Germany, February 15, 1978
• Chicago '78 (2016), as Little House I Used To Live In, performed in Chicago, IL, September 29, 1978
• You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 6 (1992), bass solo as Lobster Girl, performed in New York, NY, October 29, 1978

 

Tour(s) on which song is known to have been performed (main source: FZShows, v. 7.1)

Part 1 (Little House Piano Solo)

• May 1970 (MOI Reunion)—known performances: 1
• January-February 1978 (Europe)—known performances: 16
• August-October 1978 (Europe & North America)—known performances: 17

Part 2 (The Return Of The Son Of The Hunchback Duke)

• October 1967-August 1968 (MOI)—known performances: 3
• November 1968-May 1969 (MOI)—known performances: 4
• May-August 1969 (MOI)—known performances: 1
• March 1970 (Hot Rats Band)—as part of Twinkle Tits
• May 1970 (MOI Reunion)—known performances: 1
• June-December 1970 (MOI)—known performances: 9
• May-July 1971 (MOI)—known performances: 4
• August-October 1971 (MOI)—known performances: 1

Part 3 (Little Chamber Music I Used To Play)

• May-August 1969 (MOI)—known performances: 2

 

Comments

Indispensable:

• Biffy the Elephant Shrew looks at Little House

Foggy G, "The Songs That Were Played," We're Only In It For The Touring

1968: Essentially performed as on "Burnt Weeny Sandwich", with the standard deviation coming in the myriad of solos and in the random conducting thrown at the band by Frank. While "King Kong" is the springboard for a parade of more straightforward jazz solos, this tune is the springboard for a variety of random and typically chaotic improvisation. After the main theme is performed, as on "Burnt Weeny Sandwich", the music quiets down and sets the stage for the madness that ensues. While the music jumps from calm to riotous, with a variety of soloists adding their say throughout, these instrumental excursions are marked by a continual presence of Frank's guitar. Compared to the typical "King Kong" solos- where each soloist flew alone- these outings are more jumbled affairs, with soloists fighting each other, invading each other's space, and trying to overcome the typically manic rhythm section. Thus, as part of this madness, Frank's guitar is consistently involved in the happenings, by either adding chorded textures or rolling along with the flow.

1970 Jun-Dec: Essentially performed as on "Freaks and Motherfu*#@%!" from Beat the Boots Volume I. This song serves as a musical link to several other numbers in the repertoire, containing either vocal and/or musical references to "Penis Dimension", "Bwana Dik", and "Mudshark".

1977-78: The great shame of Zappa's officially released catalog- where is this version of this song? For this tour, Ian Underwood's greatly understated piano intro from the original tune is arranged- quite majestically- for an entire band. Sounds like "The Black Page" on lots of 'ludes. But like "Pound for a Brown", the majestic opening is nothing more than the obligatory setup for a monster solo section. First, keyboards galore- soloing away to their hearts content- with Terry and Patrick providing some inspiring support. Frank would then step up, conduct the band through some random musical madness, and then, the crown in this jewel, he would give us the Sheik Yerbouti Tango. The band would start playing the tango groove, and Frank would take his solo. Always in top form, FZ was for this one. Truly, this song is one of the feathers in Frank's touring cap, and it is quite a shame that we have no complete version of this in the officially released canon. Note: the "SY Tango" from the "Sheik Yerbouti" is taken from the LHIUTLI performance from the 2/15 show.

1978: This version of this tune is a full band arrangement of Ian Underwood's song opening piano solo. After this main theme is performed, the band was off into solo territory, with the keyboards typically going first, a little drum and bass madness, and depending on the show, possibly some FZ action. The 10/31 performance included Shankar.

LOBSTER GIRL- During Patrick O'Hearn's bass solos on 10/15 and during the Halloween run (in whatever song these solos may be in), he would spin strange little tales of drugs, sex, and general weirdness. This officially released "song" from YCDTOSA Volume VI is from O'Hearn's "Little House I Used To Live In" bass solo from the 10/29 show.

The Different Versions:

An attempt to compare "The Little House I Used To Live In" (Burnt Weeny Sandwich), "Return Of The Hunch-Back Duke" (You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 5), "Electric Bassoon Concerto (New York, NY, June 14, 1969), "Little House I Used To Live In" and "Mudshark Variations" (Beat The Boots I: Freaks & Motherfu*#@%!, Castle European version) "Little House I Used To Live In" (Fillmore East—June 1971) and "The Little House I Used To Live In" (Hammersmith Odeon), trying to follow Biffy's Nomenclature. Thanks also to Charles Ulrich and Tan Mitsugu. Corrections and additions welcome.

	"The Duke—Take 1" Whisky A Go Go, 1968 (2024) (July 23, 1968)	BWS (Studio/Live, 1969)	YCDTOSA 5 (Live, 1969)	June 6, 1969 (London)	June 14, 1969 (NYC)	"Twinkle Tits" (March 7, 1970, LA)	"200 Motels" (May 15, 1970, LA)	RTV3 (Live, July 5, 1970)	FEJ1971 (Live, 1971)	HO (Live, 1978)	Chicago '78 (Live, 1978)
Piano Theme A		00:00-00:20					06:44-07:17			00:00-00:22	0:00-0:52
Piano Theme B		00:20-00:50					07:17-07:47			00:22-01:31	0:52-2:00
							07:47-10:24
Piano Theme C		00:50-01:34					10:24-11:27
Piano Theme A		01:34-01:43					11:27-11:56			01:31-01:50	2:00-2:36
Piano Theme A										06:36-07:08
Duke Intro 1a								00:00-00:07
Duke Intro 1b (Chamber Theme A)								00:07-00:20	00:00-00:46
Duke Intro 2a (Chamber Theme A)									00:46-01:06
Duke Intro 2b								00:20-00:49	01:06-01:38
Duke Theme A		01:43-02:09						00:49-01:12	01:38-02:03
Drum Break & 11/8 Riff		02:09-02:18						01:12-01:26	02:03-02:18
Duke Theme B		02:18-02:50						01:26-01:52	02:18-02:34
Duke Theme C	0:00-0:12	02:50-03:05	00:00-00:14					01:52-02:02	02:34-02:49
Bridge 1	0:12-0:20	03:05-03:27	00:14-00:35					02:02-02:24	02:49-03:13
Duke Theme C	0:20-0:28	03:27-03:32	00:35-00:40			01:40-01:45		02:24-02:29	03:13-03:18
Bridge 2/guitar solo	0:28-0:46	03:32-03:39	00:40-00:47			01:45-01:55		02:29-02:38	03:18-03:30
Duke Theme B		03:39-03:53	00:47-01:00
Duke Theme C		03:53-03:59	01:00-01:05			01:55-02:00		02:38-02:42	03:30-03:43
Bridge 2/guitar solo		03:59-04:18	01:05-01:19			02:00-07:16		02:42-02:53	03:43-03:58
Duke Theme B								02:53-03:15	03:58-04:28
Duke Theme C								03:15-03:26	04:28-04:41
Drum/Guitar solo		04:18-05:13	01:19-01:44
Violin/Piano solos		05:13-13:35
Chamber Intro		13:35-13:45		00:25-00:31
Chamber Theme A (Duke Intro 1b & 2a)		13:45-13:53		00:31-00:38
Chamber Theme B1		13:53-14:19		00:38-01:08
Chamber Theme B2		14:19-14:36		01:08-01:21	00:17-00:31
Chamber Theme A		14:36-14:54		01:21-01:40	00:31-00:47
Organ solo/Aybe Sea		14:54-17:12
FZ/London Audience		17:12-18:41