I met Jimmy Carl Black back in 97. He and a banjo player were traveling around doing Zapa tunes. There were about 15 people there. I got him to sign a piece of paper that said Opal you hot little bitch
I saw 200 Motels at a midnight showing back in the 70s and this was my favorite scene and song. In fact, it's the only part I remembered. I saw it stoned and years later watched it sober of VHS. Both times it was a weird trip. :)
"I just wanna know two things. Where's my waitress and if she comes in this place, will she sit on my face and loan me a couple of bucks until the end of the week?"
One nite me an my friends were takin acid an this movie came on outta nowhere never herd of it or nothing an it blew our minds ill never forget that nite man it was a trip..for realz
Erik van Doorn It was also the first role I thought about when I'd heard 'bout his death. That and "Oliver Crangle" in The Twilight Zone ("Four O'Clock").
From Freak Out! My Life with Frank Zappa by Pauline Butcher Jimmy Carl Black played Lonesome Cowboy Burt and Don Preston resumed his Uncle Meat role as the mad scientist, Motorhead became a newt rancher and Dick Barber a vacuum cleaner. Mark and Howard played themselves. Frank had scripted the lines to coincide with the music but with little time to learn their parts, the cast ad-libbed. Theodore Bikel, the only professional actor, refused to say the word ‘fuck’, another minor problem.
Well I never did! I'd completely forgotten. But it is true that he was very reluctant to say it and my guess is that he only agreed to it in reference to someone else's statement, and not as an expression of his own feelings. Anyway, thanks for pointing out my error. :-)
I think the soldier that was talking to Jimmy Carl was the russian commander on the submarine from the movie " The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming" I could be wrong though.
@punchyouintheneck Like MaryesHeights1862 said, yes, he's done a lot of "serious" stuff, be it rock or symphonic. Check out The Yellow Shark (symphonic), which is some of Frank's pieces performed by the Ensemble Modern (1992), recorded live not long before Zappa passed away.
@arklat I dunno about the acid or the beer, but my understanding(from his autobiography, anyways) is that Frank did like, 10 joints or so his whole life, concentrated between 1964-1971. They basically made him feel nauseous and sick, and he really didn't see the appeal of the stuff. In his own words, if they made him feel good, he probably would've smoked those instead, since he liked smoking cigarettes.
@Mykki1003 Same here...... Smoked some good pot and the movie made me feel like I had done some killer acid :) It only played for a night or 2, I don't think Shreveport was ready for Zappa!
@deadmorrow There's a Region 2 DVD version, which is apparently *awful* quality. It claims to be digitally remastered, but the picture is garbage, and lines were senselessly chopped out. On the other hand, there's a fan-made DVD floating around the 'net, made from a TV broadcast, and it looks fantastic.
JCB made a super-fun movie even more fun. If there is a heaven, your's must be the most fucking enteratining one since Shakespeare died. That make sense? Bye Jimmy. Great work.
Ok, I wanna know, does anyone think that 200 Motels, if it were adapted for the stage, would work as a rock opera? I am not saying it absolutely would translate well, but you never know. Let me know if you think it would or would not work and why.
@DemonWarp65 rock is still, and always will be an art form.. unfortunately these days more than ever before you're unlikely to see or hear any of the more artistic stuff on television or radio... ( even if the makers of it do somehow manage to get themselves signed ).
Always wondered about this myself as Pamela Des Barres' book also mentioned Bikel getting stroppy (refusing to say "fuck", or appear in any scene during which it was said). Howard Kaylan has an interesting variation on it, suggesting they worked out a compromise: he would say it as long as the cameras weren't actually pointing at him at the time (the implication being that Zappa pretended it had been a rehearsal and then went and included it in the film anyway).
@ClarkeMarek As it was, his general attitude was that if runny nose+watering eyes+overall sickness=high=kickass feeling, he wanted no part of it. But I could be mistaken, and anybody who knew Frank personally could either confirm or refute my statement. Again, no disrespect to Frank, and I probably am misremembering the autobiography, but yeah, my understanding was, he didn't do drugs in general.
Once again, thank you for that tidbit of information. It's good that he remembered that, but of course Howard was much more into the acting than I was. Do you recommend Howard's book?
Ummm.....first off you've got Flo and Eddie reversed. The fat girl in the glasses is Mark Volman (That's Volman with a "V", not "BOLAN") not Howard "AKA EDDIE" Kaylan. And Volman's nickname (FLO) is an abbreviation of his full name with the MOTHERS, which was THE PHLORECENT LEECH. Kaylan was just called "EDDIE".
This is really wierd. And Zappa didn't allow drugs? Can you imagine what this would be like with the influence of a bag of weed and some acid? Probably not much different!! A couple of quarts of beer may explain this!??
@DemonWarp65 There was The Monkees, Archies, and lots of other bubblegum groups when The Mothers of Invention were around. It wasn't exactly like Frank Zappa was on Top of The Pops or Ed Sullivan. Poor old Ed had enough problems witrh those pesky kids from the Doors saying couldnt get much higher after he asked them not to nicely. Muisc is worse than it was back then though as sad as it is the rock culture is dormant.
damn i wish i still had this vinyl record (200 motels-- i loved it)..... this town is a sealed tuna sandwich....
I met Jimmy Carl Black back in 97. He and a banjo player were traveling around doing Zapa tunes. There were about 15 people there. I got him to sign a piece of paper that said Opal you hot little bitch
I saw 200 Motels at a midnight showing back in the 70s and this was my favorite scene and song. In fact, it's the only part I remembered. I saw it stoned and years later watched it sober of VHS. Both times it was a weird trip. :)
Hi 🙋 Burt 🎸🎵. George Duke, trombone,Ringo drums !
"I just wanna know two things. Where's my waitress and if she comes in this place, will she sit on my face and loan me a couple of bucks until the end of the week?"
One nite me an my friends were takin acid an this movie came on outta nowhere never herd of it or nothing an it blew our minds ill never forget that nite man it was a trip..for realz
he sang real good for us boys !
goodnight Jim !
Big Love
Nik
Morecambe Bay
I've never heard a country /Western song go through so many changes before.
R.I.P. Theodore Bikel. You'll always be Rance Muhammitz to me.
Erik van Doorn It was also the first role I thought about when I'd heard 'bout his death. That and "Oliver Crangle" in The Twilight Zone ("Four O'Clock").
A true musical Genius RIP Mr Zappa
Jimmy Carl Black, he's the Indian of the group.
1:48 frank is playing drums
Yes Jimmy Carl Black, Injun of the group, what can I do for you??
And Mark's facial expressions while crooning the second chorus are best of all.
what a loss.he was great, indeed.
RIP Jimmy Carl Black - Indian of The Group
God Dammit !!!! ah loves Ameerica!!
yeeeehaw!!!!!
This song rules
and this man stayed in my place..what a great guy
Nice to see a performance of George Duke on Trombone.
Can't argue with you on that.
Honest to my god's. Great find brilliant. Thank you Paul H.
"Hi, Burt!"
Halfway through it at the moment and enjoying it tremendously. Between your book and his, we've been rather spoiled of late...!
R.I.P. Jimmy Carl Black. You were awesome!
Excellent music and lyrics, hilariously fowl and whimsical.
SPEEKIN' At 'CHA!!!
From Freak Out! My Life with Frank Zappa by Pauline Butcher
Jimmy Carl Black played Lonesome Cowboy Burt and Don Preston resumed his Uncle Meat role as the mad scientist, Motorhead became a newt rancher and Dick Barber a vacuum cleaner. Mark and Howard played themselves.
Frank had scripted the lines to coincide with the music but with little time to learn their parts, the cast ad-libbed. Theodore Bikel, the only professional actor, refused to say the word ‘fuck’, another minor problem.
I just wanna know two things: Where's the beer and when do we get paid?
The structure of this song is gr8. The "unionized rooin' ol' sun-uv-a-gun" falsetto ll back vocal and then the toy-piano-type fill are hilarious.
my name is burt and this song is awsome
RIP JCB!!
Pure GENIUS!!!
You ain't the devil!!
:39 - :42... FZ on drums!! woo!
Die Bauarbeiter mit den Masken sind unheimlich^^
Happy birthday Jimmy!
It's true. I saw him on a video on RUclips last week.
Well I never did! I'd completely forgotten. But it is true that he was very reluctant to say it and my guess is that he only agreed to it in reference to someone else's statement, and not as an expression of his own feelings. Anyway, thanks for pointing out my error. :-)
I think the soldier that was talking to Jimmy Carl was the russian commander on the submarine from the movie " The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming" I could be wrong though.
Frank did everything.
"Hey Frank, we really like that song about the penis! We were all laughing a lot while we were learning it"
@punchyouintheneck Like MaryesHeights1862 said, yes, he's done a lot of "serious" stuff, be it rock or symphonic. Check out The Yellow Shark (symphonic), which is some of Frank's pieces performed by the Ensemble Modern (1992), recorded live not long before Zappa passed away.
I love Jimmy's intenseness on this
@arklat I dunno about the acid or the beer, but my understanding(from his autobiography, anyways) is that Frank did like, 10 joints or so his whole life, concentrated between 1964-1971. They basically made him feel nauseous and sick, and he really didn't see the appeal of the stuff. In his own words, if they made him feel good, he probably would've smoked those instead, since he liked smoking cigarettes.
@phillyphil690 Misheard lyric - Drool on my shirt/see if he's hurt/kick him again....
note frank on drums!!! His first instrument.
@Mykki1003 Same here......
Smoked some good pot and the movie made me feel like I had done some killer acid :)
It only played for a night or 2, I don't think Shreveport was ready for Zappa!
R.I.P. Indian of the group.
@deadmorrow There's a Region 2 DVD version, which is apparently *awful* quality. It claims to be digitally remastered, but the picture is garbage, and lines were senselessly chopped out. On the other hand, there's a fan-made DVD floating around the 'net, made from a TV broadcast, and it looks fantastic.
Don't feel bad. I found out last night. So long Jim.
It's in the first 5 mins of the film
Brilliant. Just brilliant. Drool on my shirt, pee in dessert, kick 'im agin in th head.
I don't think Zappa intended it to be like a Rock Opera, at all, but it could function as one.
Well, thanks. I guess I must get his book, too - see if I can find any mistakes!
RIP Frank Zappa & Jim Black
JCB made a super-fun movie even more fun. If there is a heaven, your's must be the most fucking enteratining one since Shakespeare died. That make sense? Bye Jimmy. Great work.
Jeeez, you guys in the ol' u s of a must be totally dry of good music...
Ok, I wanna know, does anyone think that 200 Motels, if it were adapted for the stage, would work as a rock opera? I am not saying it absolutely would translate well, but you never know. Let me know if you think it would or would not work and why.
I would love to see 200 motels in the original videotape format, before it was transfered to film. Do the original videotape masters exist?
well jim jones.... if you know of f.z. and mothers of invention..... you should know "i'm the indian of the group" is jimmy carl black (drummer)
Ah HAAA!!!..
@Zappa551 oh i knew that but you rarely see him play drums besides in 74' for a couple of tracks
@DemonWarp65 rock is still, and always will be an art form.. unfortunately these days more than ever before you're unlikely to see or hear any of the more artistic stuff on television or radio... ( even if the makers of it do somehow manage to get themselves signed ).
Always wondered about this myself as Pamela Des Barres' book also mentioned Bikel getting stroppy (refusing to say "fuck", or appear in any scene during which it was said). Howard Kaylan has an interesting variation on it, suggesting they worked out a compromise: he would say it as long as the cameras weren't actually pointing at him at the time (the implication being that Zappa pretended it had been a rehearsal and then went and included it in the film anyway).
That's George Duke playing trombone
Try watching this tripping.
@ClarkeMarek As it was, his general attitude was that if runny nose+watering eyes+overall sickness=high=kickass feeling, he wanted no part of it. But I could be mistaken, and anybody who knew Frank personally could either confirm or refute my statement. Again, no disrespect to Frank, and I probably am misremembering the autobiography, but yeah, my understanding was, he didn't do drugs in general.
well he did end up saying it
@ClarkeMarek You just called, me didn't you?
@punchyouintheneck You're right. He should've never formed the Mothers. Why, he could be a star now!
@TheBoneRanger1968 I think is a guy looking similar to Duke
haha fuckin epic
Mo-hanitz, what are you doin here?
I wonder if he knows Lonesome Cowboy Bill.
reekin atcha
you can download it for free
Did you just randomly inject those two comments, or was it a reply to something?
Why I oughta.. You unionized roofin' old Son-of-a-gun!
Didn't know Frank did country, did ya?
Fuckin' twisted.
@ClarkeMarek I am known by many names.
i do now
Once again, thank you for that tidbit of information. It's good that he remembered that, but of course Howard was much more into the acting than I was. Do you recommend Howard's book?
8 people didn't get their beer.
Alongside Ansley Dunbar!
Is this supposed to be a parody of the Velvet Underground song "Lonesome Cowboy Bill"?
@chasBeauregarde - my bad, though I kind like my version better. :-) Awesome song either way.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! maybe he's join frank in the control booth...........!
Theodore Bikel says 'fuck' in the film?
@dharmaseed All I said was, "Opal, you hot little bitch!"
@lecagot2 Did he die too?
Ummm.....first off you've got Flo and Eddie reversed. The fat girl in the glasses is Mark Volman (That's Volman with a "V", not "BOLAN") not Howard "AKA EDDIE" Kaylan. And Volman's nickname (FLO) is an abbreviation of his full name with the MOTHERS, which was THE PHLORECENT LEECH. Kaylan was just called "EDDIE".
This song is very politically incorrect but Jimmy Carl Black saves it.
This is really wierd. And Zappa didn't allow drugs? Can you imagine what this would be like with the influence of a bag of weed and some acid? Probably not much different!! A couple of quarts of beer may explain this!??
@DemonWarp65 There was The Monkees, Archies, and lots of other bubblegum groups when The Mothers of Invention were around. It wasn't exactly like Frank Zappa was on Top of The Pops or Ed Sullivan. Poor old Ed had enough problems witrh those pesky kids from the Doors saying couldnt get much higher after he asked them not to nicely. Muisc is worse than it was back then though as sad as it is the rock culture is dormant.
My dad likes Zappa but fucking HATES this song. Doesn't know what he's missing.
AR U a BOY OR A GERLL???
@MDYMMCProductions99 And it's not even three chords!!
@ClarkeMarek I am deeply offended by your lack of artistic sense.
They wouldnt get it.