Frank Zappa – “Do you want Grace Slick to sing LOUIE LOUIE?”

“Do you want Grace Slick to sing LOUIE LOUIE? Would that be the ultimate get-off for a Fillmore East audience or what?”

Damn, I loved hearing that phrase spoken by Frank Zappa at a Mothers of Invention show at a Fillmore East concert recorded on on November 14, 1970! I don’t think the Jefferson Airplane were even billed to play on that show, so it was just an odd fluke that Ms. Slick happened to be at the Fillmore East that night. She didn’t actually sing the song, but what a fun little tease it must have been for the audience!

I wasn’t at this show, and it wasn’t released in any legitimate format, but thanks to some dedicated archivists, folks are able to hear this concert again and again…

Ever since I posted my article on Frank Zappa and LOUIE LOUIE , I’ve been contacted by a lot of folks with a mutual appreciation for this very talented musical composer-performer. Like a certain “field of dreams,” I created something, and it found an appreciative audience out in international cyberspace.

Some dedicated archivists of Frank Zappa have created a database of Every Known Public Performance of Frank Zappa, and A Collection of Every Known Setlist for Frank Zappa Performances. Within those pages are set lists that feature Frank’s live performances of LOUIE LOUIE, and inspired LL tributes such as “Plastic People,” “Ruthie Ruthie” as well as other songs that have borrowed from Richard Berry’s creation. I haven’t attempted to analyze these lists to determine exactly how many variations of LOUIE LOUIEs Frank Zappa might have performed in his lifetime, but perhaps someone with a lot of time on their hands (definitely not me) might be able to do so?

Have you seen the other article on Frank Zappa and LOUIE LOUIE, courtesy of Román García Albertos? It’s definitely worth checking out!

Zappateers.com is a great resource for collectors of Frank Zappa materials, authorized and otherwise.

Zappa-Analysis.com is a place where serious folks gather to discuss the musical language utilized by Mr. Zappa.

ZappaFreaks.ath.cx is yet another collective of other dedicated Zappa appreciators.

Yup, there are a lot of folks that still love the late, great Mr. Frank Zappa…..