Frank Zappa, King Kong, 1968

[senorvolasco]

Ladies and gentleman, Mr. Ethan Hawke on sax

[Ketoendra]

The full 22 minute version of this song is available as well. Just search for

The Mothers Of Invention - Live In London 1968

[Liam70130]

The best line-up Frank ever had.

[Ariel62073]

Big man in little pants.

Big man in little pants.

[zzerovisibility]

Think the sax player has some bad gas...or maybe the reed got stuck in the back of his throat.. I actually like the whole performance.

[TheNeumotorax]

me encanta frank no paro de escuchar esta melodia simplemente me hechiza!!!!

[dougr5831]

17 people wouldn't know good music if it came up and bit them in the ass

[Jarupe1993]

@dougr5831 This may be the best thing I ever heard

[carmine6786]

worst baritone sax solo of ever

[Jarupe1993]

@carmine6786 Well we can tell your not experienced

[Mikemaniax]

@carmine6786 I think that was the point.

[carmine6786]

@Mikemaniax hobbits

[limeyperson]

RIP Motorhead

[dennizenx]

I can't stop rocking out now !! thank you Saint Zappa.

[Etnier]

RIP

[MultiMifune1]

Is my hair getting good in the back?

[MultiMifune1]

Motorhead died?

He's up there with Frank wailing on "Hungry Freaks Daddy" or eating a burnt weeny sandwich.

Frank was gonna name his first child after him.

[efleck999]

RIP Motorhead Sherwood. (Just found out from Cal Schenkel directly)

[nedhoey]

From the left, more or less:

Art Tripp: Drums,Percussion

Roy Estrada: Bass Guitar

Jimmy Carl Black: Drums

James (Motorhead)Sherwood: Baritone Sax, Tambourine

Don Preston: Keyboards

Ian Underwood: Alto Sax

Bunk Gardner: Tenor Sax

Frank Zappa: Guitar

[ZeppelinRules]

I want Frank's socks

[Django5198]

Happy Birthday Frank!!!

[SonOfCheepThrill]

the monster & the toilet brush.... n pls don't say 'hamburger'...

[thebluesrockers]

I love Zappa's guitar work. he was very underrated in my opinion.

[thebluesrockers]

I love this video. was this video off of the video that was an entire concert? like Zappa at the BBC? or was this just a video off a consolation video?

thanks for posting. Peace...

[youtubbs67]

In my opinion better than the album version.

[Josipovicmarko]

the best there was F.Z. and master like yellow shark with modern assemble!!!

Just love music is flowing and touching you in a different way!

[festerphyle]

I was 11 in 1968 and loved Uncle Meat and always have held it dear as a work of art.I didn't know much at 11 but, I knew I was listening to something special. I went to more Zappa shows than I can countand, I'm glad I did.

[Hyardacil]

Is it possible to get a recording of this anywhere? Was this concert released anyhow?

[WeirdFields]

@Hyardacil This was a recording they did for the BBC when they were over doing the Royal Albert Hall gig. The Royal Albert Hall gig is available on album as "Ahead of Their Time" and a version of King Kong very similar to this one is on the CD.

[KingRundzap]

@WeirdFields I'd say the Royal Albert Hall gig was done just right. It wasn't overdone.

[WeirdFields]

@KingRundzap lol good point :)

[Heautontimouronmenos]

3:24 FRANK ZAPPA FREAK GENIOUS!!!!!!

[Heautontimouronmenos]

2:55 LOL Não sabia que o JÔ SOARES tocava sax no The Mothers rs

[Heautontimouronmenos]

1:47 QUEM É ESSE LOCO? KKKK... WHO IS THIS CRAZY? LOL

[funforums123]

Jimmy was a pure musician and nowhere near just the indian of the group RIP JCB

[Obonnesannonces]

° SITE SYMPA ET GRATUIT SUR OBONNESANNONCES.FR

[Ozricosis]

ahhh 240p, we meet again.

[wildnites558]

The bespecled man in the king's outfit is actually a little outtake from Ogden's Nut Gone Flake a b-side long piece called "Happiness Stan". The narrator, dressed as a regal king, just utters gobbledygook words all through the piece and makes it sound as though he's speaking in some strange language. But it's a funny piece that was created by Steve Marriot and the Small Faces to kind of poke fun at what was then the relatively new, but overly serious progressive rock genre.

[ThatDizKid]

@wildnites558 For some reason he's also at the beginning of the video for Urban Spaceman. Explain?

[jeremy1000100]

@wildnites558 Stanley Unwin

[buckyew2]

Too bad Zappa can't die twice!

[Thejohnjackjoe]

keep on playing man....... the beast in prison tries to get away..........

[ZeppelinRules]

That must have been the most fun to play Bari solo ever.

[swinedog712]

Long live Frank. And shoot the camera men. haha

[dinovolare]

@swinedog712: and the cutter, too....

[youarewhatyouis1]

The most amazing soundtrack to the goofiest camerawork you'll ever possibly see. Friggin' love it.

[dgargett95]

Whaaaaattt!

Awesome version of King Kong, but what about Frank's solo??? The whole time the camera is either on the group, or on a couple of rare occasions on the back of the neck!

Also, check out Jean-Luc Ponty's version of this song, it's great!

[Heygoodonya]

Amazing stuff ... such wonderful weirdness.

[ituggle]

yes. the bass player is Roy Estrada and he's the freak with the blow up doll and a can of watery spinach in the movie.

[beppi222]

is the bass player here the same guy on the "baby snakes" ieo with the afro and the blow-up doll?

[asesino1401]

i like that line up

[in2dionysus]

The mothers transend!

[chalmers3000]

Watching this video makes today's telelvision look so fake. You can't even be on TV today wo plastic surgery and makeup.

[SpamH8]

Saw that Zappa Plays Zappa with RTF show in Clearwater, FL. Walked in on this tune with Chick dueling on the Moog, too.

I believe that was Jim "Motorhead" Sherwood on the baritone sax solo; Bunk Gardner was the gray-haired gent playing the tenor.

[Jakeypoo806]

Zappa plays Zappa played this with Chick Corea in Austin Texas.....so so good. 

[notrepppp]

drum n bass 1968

[1borat5]

usa is stupiest wilage in the world

[MultiMifune]

Jimmy Carl Black WAS the "Indian of the Group"!

Bunk Gardner's sax solo sounds like a cat going down a garbage disposal.

I liked it!

Kudos artrock3d.

[jfleminator]

@MultiMifune Bunk Gardner is the guy with white hair. The saxophone solo at 1:37 is Motorhead Sherwood.

[whitedwarf13]

@jfleminator Weird... I always thought that the guy wearing the glasses was Bunk Gardner. I've learnt something new...

[Villageiddyit]

@MultiMifune Best comment I've seen in awhile.

[Mikemaniax]

@MultiMifune Don't forget about Lonesome Cowboy Bert.

[thebeardo]

@MultiMifune That was Motorhead....

[ThomasFMPayne]

@thebeardo RIP Motorhead. Great solo and great tambourine. "I hope she sees me twirling."

[funghighlsd25records]

ttis was the same time as marshall allen with sunra ..these 2 sound the same or at least were contemporaries

[jrakarl]

Thanks to the free minds at the BBC at the time, for generating this great footage. And thank you to the poster "artrock3d" of this too...

[domirwin]

This is great. Is the version on Uncle Meat as good? I remember buying it in high school and not liking it at all, but what did I know then?

[UPaDRIVWAY]

@domirwin

The version on Uncle Meat is also great.

[CJandthebreakfast]

13 people hate great apes.

[dann3th3manni3]

Last night I watched Zappa Plays Zappa in KC. Chick Corea joined the band onstage (evidently for the first time ever). He traded solos with Dweezil. Mean duel! Awesome moment and evening.

[Tengent]

@dann3th3manni3 Aw, I saw them in Indianapolis a few weeks ago, I was hoping that would happen but it didn't. ZPZ blew my mind!

[dayzdankunphewzd]

Holy Moley!

[pelcad]

@raedrik Yea there is the audio about the story on youtube somewhere, I laughed my ass off... Jamrag...

[danlovesnan]

has Zappa ever met Hendrix in person?

[DecemberRegn]

@danlovesnan Yes, I think they actually met once; Zappa talks about it in the "Lost interview", how Hendrix and Buddy Miles came over to his house once. Buddy passed out on the sofa, and Jimi ripped his green silk trousers, so Gail had to fix them for him. Not really an encounter that created any waves in musical history. You would imagine that when two such musical geniuses meet something wonderful would come out of it, but that was about it.

[leftyzappa]

@danlovesnan I recommend you pick up a copy of "The Real Frank Zappa Book" my friend. Cheers!

[Arckitekt]

There some St Sanders in there...

[analyzingfunny]

LOL at 2:02 just funny at fuck.... You have to think, that poor guy playing that did not write that, but just had to "play it as written". Now THAT is funny. Fuck..I get it now.

[vid9188]

zappa is relative, either you were there to appreciate and understand it, or you're and old soul and can hear it now for what it is. born 1988 i know, and love that is is differentiated and that this difference is something i love and cherish. i feel bad for those who cant get it , and i feel even worse for those who can't get it and think they could.

[MANU8118]

the guy of saxophone ant tamborine is the captain beefheart... great solo

[andaloudog]

@MANU8118 That's Motorhead Sherwood.

[product79]

fantastic. one of my faves.. must say though, the tambo is too loud

[TheBelfast70]

must look for my copy of uncle meat!!

[SuperFirewire1]

john lennon said in 1969 he saw this on tv after coming home from the studio i guess "the white album" and he liked zappa alot .

[raedrik]

@SuperFirewire1 In fact, Lennon stole credit for this song! Named it Jamrag on his album, Some Time in New York City.

[defenator1]

THAT is greatness....Never seen this one before

[G7flat5]

Great vintage video, too bad the camera-man did not focus on Frank enough

[geoffhummerstone]

wanna by some mandies?!!

[shadowmalik009]

is ian underwood the one who gets the first sax solo, the guy with the glasses? iv never seen a video from back when they still had him. i love his song on uncle meat

[944BigAl]

@shadowmalik009 The guy with the glasses is Motorhead

[pito1957]

Thank you so much! Merci infiniment :)

[BitterBosh]

Amazing! I actually like this version better than the album's. It grooves so much better, imho...

[paulpellicci]

super super super, one of my favorite early Zappa!

[535LISA]

söker låten what the uglyas part of your body?

[535LISA]

söker en låt som heter what the uglyasiyour

[1962drob]

Man!!! This is one wicked video!!! Frank Zappa was pretty cool!!!

RIP FRANK ZAPPA :(

[MarcBeckK]

This is great!

[kb8urr]

After years of listening to (and loving) Babe Ruth's cover of King Kong, this is the first time I have heard Zappa play it.  Quite interesting.

[subjulio]

1:25 Motorhead blazes into infinity!!!!!!

[itarethetroll]

@unlikeanyotherhuman Yes, because blaming some team of sound engineers at BBC for mixing the tambourine a little too loud is just like HATING ALL BRITISH PEOPLE. What the fuck is wrong with you?

[Frankybroadcast]

I read the comments,... And I've been listenin. Dude did exactly what Frank wanted of him. Otherwise you wouldnt even be watchin it right now!  Dont forget people, who's running the show! FZ Forever! FrankyBroadcast!

[novadrian]

@unlikeanyotherhuman Keep your knickers on....I think very highly of the BBC ... and Zappa. Where have I said otherwise? I'm British by the way and was lucky enough to be in my teens and twenties during the golden age of BritishTV and and American and British rock music.

[wolfganggangwolfe]

was this the only song they played?

[huskydliner609]

I hate 60's television camera work. if frank zappa is soloing, i really don't care about the guy playing the tambourine. and i really hate the zooming in and out. I guess at the time it was invented, they were like "we can zoom in and out! Use it all the time!" but today it's just annoying.

But the song is AMAZING, and it's what keeps this video great.

[cojaysea]

wow! thanks for posting . the ORIGINAL mothers of invention... how great.

[56thedoctor]

Brown shoes and yellow socks.

[wolfganggangwolfe]

@56thedoctor don't make it

[wolfganggangwolfe]

@wolfganggangwolfe huh?

[novadrian]

At the time I was under the impression Frank Zappa was some sort of counter culture spaced out hippie. How wrong can you be? Maybe even the musicians who played with him thought that. But he doesn't conform to any fixed time. His legacy is timeless.....great music. Hate that tambourine though...far too high in the mix...blame the BBC engineers.

[angelgenesis127]

La genialidad de Frank Zappa traspasa fronteras y mentes,

[SupernalOne]

@angelgenesis127

blows your mind, does he? Mine too!

[djfishbone]

@buckyew2 May your shit come to life and kiss you on the face. - Zappa

[spider18241]

why is there the start of small faces 'nutgone odgen' at the beginning?

[skeptyky]

ZAPPA le rebel , l'extraordinaire fou chantant , le grand seigneur ZAPPA ,tout comme ian anderson de jethro tull , the best song , original song ,mystique song !

[hampulator]

@skeptyky EXACTAMUNGOOO?!

[67psych]

Those Mothers is crazy man!!

[dharmaseed]

@67psych Suzy Creamcheese, what's got into you?

[yake222]

and i jizzed my pants

[uberkelvin]

9 people are stupids with flare guns

[yourjesus]

Great performance, but what tacky editing. Why are Motorhead banging out a tambourine and the ceiling of the studio shown during all of Frank's solo?

[nickrambus]

I am sorry, but the first sax sounds like total shit !!

[buckyew2]

3) A troll invades your gay ass Frank Zappa video comment board. He occasionally signs in to his alter ego account so he can get out his hate for Frank Zappa and all people of color. He promises to leave this and boards like it alone if you answer his riddles three, but his third riddle is the trickiest. What does the troll hate most of all?

[sebcori]

@buckyew2 Frank Zappa?

Now gtfo

[buckyew2]

@sebcori nope

[buckyew2]

@sebcori you got the first two right

[buckyew2]

2)There was a troll who lived under a bridge. The only way to get across to the other side was to take the bridge. It takes you one minute to cross the bridge even if you run. The troll sleeps for 30 seconds under the bridge. When you walk half way across the bridge, (which would take you 30 seconds), the troll wakes up and pushes you back to where you started. How do you get across the bridge?

[sebcori]

@buckyew2 When you get halfway, you turn around before the troll comes up and he pushes you to the other end because he thinks you came from that side.

[buckyew2]

1) There are 2 doors life and death. There are 2 trolls a lying one and a truth telling one. You have to get through the right door by asking both trolls the same question and only 1 question. What will u ask?

[troutmasked]

@buckyew2 - the answer to the first one. i'd use the kaspar hauser approach; "i would ask the troll whether he was a tree frog"

[sebcori]

@buckyew2 What would the other troll say?

[sebcori]

@buckyew2 What would the other troll say?

[buckyew2]

Guess who is back? That is right it is your not so friendly Frank Zappa troll back to remind you that Frank Zappa sucks and thank God he is still dead. This shit is garbage and so are you people.

If someone can answer these riddles three, I will never bother your board again?

[marcfedak]

Excellent post artrock3d. Reminds me of some of Soft Machine's stuff from around 1971 when they briefly had a horn section.

[schutze2006]

I like Zappa's solo.

[strangeluvmd]

whos that on bari sax?



[giopagoda]

the BEST King Kong recording

[MOVIEmusicFIEND90]

is that kid rock on the sax lol 

[TheBelva85]

Sax player is bullshit though.

[XxXxXJonathanXxXxX]

?is it just me or is there a bed in the middle of the band

[DonInFremont]

This is just infuckingcredible!! Best overall FZ vid since Florentine Pogen. And jellytroid, the ENTIRE PURPOSE of that solo was dissonance. Being clearly too young to understand, FZ was as much about CHALLENGING our musical perceptions as he was rewarding them. That's a huge part of his greatness, and why he was irreplaceable.

[nobodady1]

@DonInFremont Just watched Baby Snakes. There are many brilliant creators in this world, but Frank is one of a kind. He had guts, even more important IMO than musical or intellectual genius. He brought all of his interests together in one life. An inspiration.

[fredhandl]

There's actually people out there that disliked this video? About one percent, even. Well ... if that's an average for the world .. there's still hope. And lot's of it!

[Attentionseekingnoob]

"haha i am a mediocre person who has never achieved anything in his/her life, to make myself feel better about my miserable existence I will criticise the sax solo" *flex*

[rollingstopp]

never played with the same musician twice--lol just kidden folks--hes got a long history--seen him in the late 70s

[walmartabortions]

Who is the person of the statue at 3:50 ?

[MrWildcountry]

Mine kommentarer gjelder Liberty LSB 83375 ,I love this misic,, 

[jellytroid]

this is great, but the sax improv was terrible. it could have been more melodic and soulful instead of being dissonant and killing the song.

[tumultus101]

@jellytroid

lol don't even let us know what you think of John coltrane solos if you find the saxophone in this song dissonant :D there is no dissonance here. you just don't speak the language that it speaks.

[jellytroid]

@tumultus101 you kidding me? the guy put absolutely no thought into the solo. he just blew into it like a person picking up a sax for the first time would

[daPlumber702]

@jellytroid in this song, the solo you're talking about is king kong. it is more or less the "vocals" of the piece. It was played rather well.

[jellytroid]

@daPlumber702 not the melody of the song. I mean the piece at 1:30 - 2:17 where the guy got completely lost from the music and musically did a terrible job. actual melody was great. This solo is not king kong.

[daPlumber702]

@jellytroid That section of the piece IS King Kong. It's an artistic expression. It sounds muddy because he's trying to mimic a great ape with a little sax. Think of it as a face in a Picasso painting.

[LuneyTune72]

@daPlumber702 I love this description. Very great job, made me smile.

[analyzingfunny]

@daPlumber702 ty..i'll try to do that

[analyzingfunny]

@daPlumber702 So what does 2:44-3:10 mean?

[tumultus101]

@jellytroid

that's why music is so subjective. the specific part you call terible, I enjoyed immensly. and again, I'm telling you listen to some coltrane, and this sax solo will seem like POP to you. Just because its not aesthetically pleasing to you, doesn't rob it off its essence.

[SenLinFu]

@jellytroid I think that piece is musictechnically better than any sax solo I've heard.

That aren't many sax solos though xD

But I have a tiny bit of knowledge about music ^^

[FZmustacheFZ]

@jellytroid if you think motorhead's solo was terrible, you obviously aren't a zappa fan. frank's music is filled to the brim with solos of this assortment. This was the sort of music that he enjoyed. Each note is just as important as any other note. And by the way, there's no dissonance here...

[mandostyle59]

Wow, people have a lot of energy for useless, vicious insanity. It's to be expected that noises this drastically brilliant would make the dogs howl. It's part of their job to alert us of the presence of something still so strange and new. Would one of the Zappa scholars please tell me who is in the jai-brilliant sax section on this clip? I gather that the bluddy brilliant bari solo is Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood. Who are the other guys?

[unknownkingdom]

@mandostyle59

I think the line up for this video is:

Bass -- Roy Estrada

Drums -- Arthur Dyer Tripp

Drums -- Jimmy Carl Black

Keyboard - - Don Preston

Saxophone, Tamborine -- Motorhead Sherwood

Saxophone -- Ian Underwood

Saxophone -- Bunk Gardner (the guy with grey hair)

Guitar -- Frank Zappa

[mandostyle59]

@unknownkingdom: Looking up the people you list, unkking, you appear to be right on. Thank you. In addition, we seem to have completed a constructive exchange on a Frank Zappa YouTube video, which appears to be some kind of record....

[electriccat]

@unknownkingdom and Don Preston on electric piano.

[BamSeard59]

@unknownkingdom - Drums: Roger Daltrey

[heylittlehouse]

@unknownkingdom Jimmy Carl Black...is that the Indian of the group?

[thrashmetalkills]

@heylittlehouse He sure is, boys and girls

[darkoanton5]

Frank Zappa is one of the most important figures in rock 'n' roll and pop culture. He always pushed the limits. I mean this is 1968!!!

[MrWildcountry]

Jean Luc Ponty

[unknownkingdom]

@MrWildcountry ...is nowhere to be found in this video.

[mrbillmacneill]

it is generally conceded that on all of franks various works if something is played by a group member ,frank wanted it there..just like it was played.

personally I think frank included things to make certain people uncomfortable.so much so that they would leave and let the rest of us who enjoyed it, listen in peace.

[kurtizzyflush]

@ around 4:12 that bed plays a mean solo. At least the cameraman thought so.