Willie the Pimp
"Willie the Pimp" is a blues rock song from Frank Zappa's 1969 album Hot Rats. It features an idiosyncratic Captain Beefheart vocal and one of Zappa's classic guitar solos. It is the only track that is not instrumental on the album, though the track features a long guitar solo.
| "Willie the Pimp" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Frank Zappa | |
| from the album Hot Rats | |
| Released | October 10, 1969 |
| Genre | Blues rock, hard rock, jazz rock |
| Length | 9:25 |
| Label | Bizarre/Rykodisc |
| Songwriter(s) | Frank Zappa |
| Producer(s) | Frank Zappa |
The song appeared as an instrumental on Zappa's Fillmore East – June 1971, originally split as the last track on side one (2'50") and continued on the first track on side two (1:54) of the LP. Another short instrumental version appeared on You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4 as a 2'06" segue between "My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama" and "Montana".
The album title Hot Rats comes from a lyric of Willie the Pimp. The origin of the song was explained in a conversation Zappa recorded in 1969. This interview recording was later released as "The Story of Willie the Pimp" on the Zappa album Mystery Disc.
The song was ranked number 75 on the list of "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time" of Rolling Stone.[1]
Musicians
Hot Rats version
- Frank Zappa - guitar, percussion
- Ian Underwood - keyboards
- Captain Beefheart - vocal
- Sugarcane Harris - violin
- John Guerin - drums
- Max Bennett - bass
Fillmore East
- Frank Zappa - guitar & dialogue
- Mark Volman - lead vocals & dialogue
- Howard Kaylan - lead vocals & dialogue
- Ian Underwood - winds & keyboard & vocals
- Aynsley Dunbar - drums
- Jim Pons - bass & vocals & dialogue
- Bob Harris - 2nd keyboard & vocals
- Don Preston - Minimoog
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4
- Frank Zappa - lead guitar/vocal
- Ike Willis - guitar/vocal
- Ray White - guitar/vocal
- Bobby Martin - keyboards/sax/vocal
- Allan Zavod - keyboards
- Scott Thunes - bass
- Chad Wackerman - drums
Cover versions
- Juicy Lucy covered "Willie the Pimp" on their 1970 release Lie Back and Enjoy It, their version was included in Andy Votel's compilation Vertigo Mixed, released in 2005.
- Aynsley Dunbar recorded a 14'55" version with his band Blue Whale in 1971. Dunbar was the drummer for Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention at the time the album was released.
- Stack Waddy on their 1972 album Bugger Off!.
References
- "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time" at the Wayback Machine (archived May 31, 2008). Rolling Stone. 2008. Retrieved 2011-01-25. "Zappa's guitar improv never sounded more bluesy —or more jubilant— than it does on this song. His greasy skids and howling-dog tone —and the way he breaks into note-cluster fisticuffs with the rhythm section— are playfully impulsive. And that deep vocal? Zappa's teenage chum Captain Beefheart."
