Billy the Mountain
Encyclopedia
"Billy the Mountain" is a Frank Zappa
song first made available on the album Just Another Band from L.A.
in 1972
. The original recording of this song, which took more than a half-hour to perform, was from a live tour performance on August 7, 1971 in Los Angeles, performed by Zappa with his band The Mothers and prominently featuring musical duo Flo & Eddie
. The album recording had to be reduced to 24 minutes and 47 seconds in order to fit on one side. An alternate recording of the song was featured on the 1992
album Playground Psychotics
.
The song is an intricate and absurd story in a parody of the rock opera
style about a talking mountain named Billy and his wife Ethell, a tree "growing off of his shoulder." The lyrics are a satirical myriad of imagery of popular culture, the city of Los Angeles
, the demise of urban America, and overall absurd juxtapositions of situations. While many of the details were improvised as the song was performed from town to town, the same general structure of the song remained the same.
In 2009 Dweezil Zappa
and his Zappa Plays Zappa
ensemble performed "Billy the Mountain" as part of its "You Can't Fit on Stage Anymore" tour of small venues in the US.
and Gorman, California
with his wife Ethell, a tree. The main features on his mountain edifice are two large caves, resembling eyes, and a cliff for a jaw, which lifts up and down when he talks puffing up dust and boulders.
The story begins when a man in a checkered double-knit suit drives up in a car leased from the Bob Spreen car dealership in Downey
, to deliver Billy's royalty checks from posing for postcards. Billy the Mountain becomes very excited and accidentally drops a boulder on the man's car, crushing it. The man in the suit then goes looking for a ride back to the San Fernando Valley
. When Billy breaks the news to Ethell, she also becomes excited, and they immediately plan on taking a well-deserved vacation to New York City
, first stopping in Las Vegas
.
They set off, moving across the Mojave Desert
looking for a Howard Johnson's
, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. As they cross the desert they soon destroy Edwards Air Force Base
, Glendale, California
, and cause an "Oh mein Papa
" in the earth's crust, unleashing gas and obsolete germ bombs from an underground dump which are soon dispersed over Watts
in a freak tornado.
The media quickly alerts the public of these phenomena and starts generating false tabloid stories about Billy the Mountain and Ethell's past lives, claiming them to be involved in a San Joaquin Valley
smut ring, a reference to a police entrapment which resulted in Zappa's conviction on charges of producing pornography. When Billy is drafted
by the military, he does not report for his induction physical, leading the media to go wild, reporting that Ethell is a communist
and that she practices witchcraft
.
Finally, a "fantastic new superhero" named Studebacher Hoch, named after the Studebaker Silver Hawk
automobile, is contacted via telephone by an unnamed caller and is asked to defeat Billy the Mountain. Hoch is at first somewhat in disbelief and uninterested in the reports and briefly goes into casual discussion about family matters, asking if the unnamed caller has received the album he sent him with "the pencil on the front," referring to the Zappa album Fillmore East, June 1971. He soon starts taking notes about Billy's path of destruction, and when he finds out that he's being offered an expense account
and per diem
to pursue the case he becomes much more enthusiastic.
It is noted that little is known about Studebacher Hoch, although his personality is said to be "mysterious", and his powers are said to be dancing, flying, swimming, being able to write the Lord's Prayer on the head of a pin, and singing like Neil Sedaka
. The widely accepted origins of Studebacher are apparently that he was born next to the frozen beef pies
in a supermarket, underneath Joni Mitchell
's autographed picture, next to Elliot Roberts
' bank book, next to a boat in which David Crosby
was arrested while throwing away his "stash." The beef pies are said to have been the main influence on Studebacher Hoch.
Now with a plan, Studebacher Hoch gathers cardboard boxes, Aunt Jemima
syrup, Kaiser
broiler foil, and a pair of scissors, with which he constructs a pair of makeshift wings. He walks to a telephone booth, where he spreads the syrup onto his legs, attracting a swarm of flies. The flies lift him and the telephone booth out of the parking lot, into the sky, and to New York in grand musical fanfare.
Studebacher Hoch arrives on the cliff which is Billy the Mountain's jaw and attempts to reason with him. At first he is friendly, but after Ethell protests, he aggressively threatens Billy and Ethell. Billy just laughs, and as jaw moves, Hoch loses his balance and falls perilously to his own injury and defeat. The moral of the story is stated in song: "a mountain is something you don't want to fuck with, don't fuck around."
or oratorio
. Nonetheless, there are a few recurring themes, including the repeated melody set to the lyrics "Billy was a mountain, Ethell was a tree growing off of his shoulder." This theme later introduces Billy and Ethell in The Adventures of Greggery Peccary
, a similar composition in which the characters make a cameo appearance.
There is also a recurring "chorus" to the song, which appears three times. It is first sung as a lament of the man in the double-knit checkered suit when his car is destroyed. Moments later it is sung by Billy to announce his intentions of taking Ethell to Los Vegas. The chorus makes its final appearance at the end of the song as a third-person statement of the moral whereupon it is developed further and concludes with a reprise of the song's introduction.
While there are several sections of Billy the Mountain that are sung, much of the lyrical content is spoken-word based and many sections are ad-libbed with jokes and references pertaining to the specific locale in which the piece was performed. Because of this, a few portions of the piece are almost entirely atonal and are more reminiscent of a radio play than a musical piece in their performance.
The theme from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
is quoted several times throughout the song, initially as a cue when Billy announces his interest in visiting New York City
. At the time that the piece was first performed in 1971, The Tonight Show was still filmed at the GE Building
in Rockefeller Center
in New York only to move to Burbank
the following year in 1972.
During the tornado sequence, the song alludes to The Wizard of Oz
and the musical number, "Over the Rainbow
", which is sung by the Howard Kaylan character, while Mark Volman calls out for "Toto."
Towards the middle of the song, the band breaks out into a parody of the coda of the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
", substituting the original Spanish lyrics with a series of rumors about the life of Studebacher Hoch. The famous "doot doot" backing vocals remain intact.
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
song first made available on the album Just Another Band from L.A.
Just Another Band from L.A.
Just Another Band from L.A. is a live album by The Mothers, released in 1972 . It was recorded live on August 7, 1971 in Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles. A notable inclusion on this album is Billy the Mountain, Zappa's long, narrative parody of rock operas, which were gaining...
in 1972
1972 in music
-Events:*January 17 – Highway 51 South in Memphis, Tennessee is renamed "Elvis Presley Boulevard"*January 20 – The début of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon at The Dome, Brighton, is halted by technical difficulties,...
. The original recording of this song, which took more than a half-hour to perform, was from a live tour performance on August 7, 1971 in Los Angeles, performed by Zappa with his band The Mothers and prominently featuring musical duo Flo & Eddie
Flo & Eddie
Flo & Eddie are a comedic musical duo.The two were the original founding members of the Top 40 rock group the Turtles. After the Turtles dissolved, Volman and Kaylan first joined the Mothers of Invention as "Phlorescent Leech & Eddie"...
. The album recording had to be reduced to 24 minutes and 47 seconds in order to fit on one side. An alternate recording of the song was featured on the 1992
1992 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1992.-January–February:*January 11**Nirvana's Nevermind album goes to #1 in the US Billboard 200 chart, establishing the widespread popularity of the Grunge movement of the 1990s....
album Playground Psychotics
Playground Psychotics
Playground Psychotics is a two-CD live album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. It was originally released in 1992 through his mail order label, Barking Pumpkin, and was re-released in 1995 through Rykodisc. The album features recordings of Zappa and his band, the Mothers of Invention...
.
The song is an intricate and absurd story in a parody of the rock opera
Rock opera
A rock opera is a work of rock music that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections in the manner of opera. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include...
style about a talking mountain named Billy and his wife Ethell, a tree "growing off of his shoulder." The lyrics are a satirical myriad of imagery of popular culture, the city of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, the demise of urban America, and overall absurd juxtapositions of situations. While many of the details were improvised as the song was performed from town to town, the same general structure of the song remained the same.
In 2009 Dweezil Zappa
Dweezil Zappa
Dweezil Zappa is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor.-Early life:Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of musician Frank Zappa and Adelaide Gail Sloatman, who worked in business. He is the second of four siblings: his older sister, Moon, younger sister Diva and younger...
and his Zappa Plays Zappa
Zappa Plays Zappa
Zappa Plays Zappa is an American tribute act led by Dweezil Zappa, the eldest son of the late American composer and musician Frank Zappa, devoted to performing the music of Frank Zappa.- History :...
ensemble performed "Billy the Mountain" as part of its "You Can't Fit on Stage Anymore" tour of small venues in the US.
Story
Billy the Mountain, a typical mountain which poses for postcards, lives between the cities of Rosamond, CaliforniaRosamond, California
Rosamond is a census-designated place in Kern County, California, USA, north of Palmdale, in the Antelope Valley, the westernmost desert valley of the Mojave Desert. Rosamond is also south of Mojave, , and north of Lancaster at an elevation of 2342 feet...
and Gorman, California
Gorman, California
Gorman, California, is an unincorporated community in northwestern Los Angeles County. As of 2005 it had just 15 homes and a few registered voters, but tens of thousands of motorists traveled through it daily on the Interstate 5 freeway....
with his wife Ethell, a tree. The main features on his mountain edifice are two large caves, resembling eyes, and a cliff for a jaw, which lifts up and down when he talks puffing up dust and boulders.
The story begins when a man in a checkered double-knit suit drives up in a car leased from the Bob Spreen car dealership in Downey
Downey, California
Downey is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city is best known as the birthplace of the Apollo space program, and is the city where folk singer Karen Carpenter lived and died...
, to deliver Billy's royalty checks from posing for postcards. Billy the Mountain becomes very excited and accidentally drops a boulder on the man's car, crushing it. The man in the suit then goes looking for a ride back to the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
. When Billy breaks the news to Ethell, she also becomes excited, and they immediately plan on taking a well-deserved vacation to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, first stopping in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
.
They set off, moving across the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
looking for a Howard Johnson's
Howard Johnson's
Howard Johnson's is a chain of hotels and restaurants, located primarily throughout the United States and Canada. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Howard Johnson's was the largest restaurant chain in the United States, with over 1,000 restaurants...
, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. As they cross the desert they soon destroy Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
, Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
, and cause an "Oh mein Papa
Oh My Pa-Pa (O Mein Papa)
"O mein Papa" is a German song, as related by a young woman remembering her beloved, once-famous clown father. It was written by Swiss composer Paul Burkhard in 1939 for the musical Der Schwarze Hecht , reproduced in 1950 as Feuerwerk to a libretto by Erik Charell, Jürg Amstein, and Robert Gilbert...
" in the earth's crust, unleashing gas and obsolete germ bombs from an underground dump which are soon dispersed over Watts
Watts, Los Angeles, California
Watts is a mostly residential neighborhood in South Los Angeles, California.-History:The area now known as Watts is located on the Rancho La Tajauta Mexican land grant...
in a freak tornado.
The media quickly alerts the public of these phenomena and starts generating false tabloid stories about Billy the Mountain and Ethell's past lives, claiming them to be involved in a San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
smut ring, a reference to a police entrapment which resulted in Zappa's conviction on charges of producing pornography. When Billy is drafted
Conscription in the United States
Conscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...
by the military, he does not report for his induction physical, leading the media to go wild, reporting that Ethell is a communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and that she practices witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
.
Finally, a "fantastic new superhero" named Studebacher Hoch, named after the Studebaker Silver Hawk
Studebaker Silver Hawk
The Studebaker Silver Hawk was an automobile produced between 1957 and 1959 by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana. The Hawk was also produced in 1956. There were four versions, pillared Flight Hawk and Power Hawk, and hardtop Sky Hawk and Golden Hawk. The Silver Hawk model was not...
automobile, is contacted via telephone by an unnamed caller and is asked to defeat Billy the Mountain. Hoch is at first somewhat in disbelief and uninterested in the reports and briefly goes into casual discussion about family matters, asking if the unnamed caller has received the album he sent him with "the pencil on the front," referring to the Zappa album Fillmore East, June 1971. He soon starts taking notes about Billy's path of destruction, and when he finds out that he's being offered an expense account
Expense Account
An expense account is the right to reimbursement of money spent by employees for work-related purposes.-US tax treatment of expense accounts:...
and per diem
Per diem
Per diem refers to a specific amount of money that an organization allows an individual to spend per day, to cover living and traveling expenses in connection with work...
to pursue the case he becomes much more enthusiastic.
It is noted that little is known about Studebacher Hoch, although his personality is said to be "mysterious", and his powers are said to be dancing, flying, swimming, being able to write the Lord's Prayer on the head of a pin, and singing like Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka
Neil Sedaka is an American pop/rock singer, pianist, and composer. His career has spanned nearly 55 years, during which time he has sold millions of records as an artist and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collaborating mostly with lyricists Howard...
. The widely accepted origins of Studebacher are apparently that he was born next to the frozen beef pies
Pot pie
A pot pie is a type of baked savory pie with a bottom and top completely encased by flaky crusts and baked inside a pie tin to support its shape....
in a supermarket, underneath Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
's autographed picture, next to Elliot Roberts
Elliot Roberts
Elliot Roberts is an American music manager, record executive, and philanthropist, best known for helping start the careers of Neil Young and Joni Mitchell....
' bank book, next to a boat in which David Crosby
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
was arrested while throwing away his "stash." The beef pies are said to have been the main influence on Studebacher Hoch.
Now with a plan, Studebacher Hoch gathers cardboard boxes, Aunt Jemima
Aunt Jemima
Aunt Jemima is a trademark for pancake flour, syrup, and other breakfast foods currently owned by the Quaker Oats Company of Chicago. The trademark dates to 1893, although Aunt Jemima pancake mix debuted in 1889. The Quaker Oats Company first registered the Aunt Jemima trademark in April 1937...
syrup, Kaiser
Kaiser Aluminum
Kaiser Aluminum is an American aluminum producer. The company was founded in 1946 by American industrialist Henry J. Kaiser. Kaiser entered the aluminum business by leasing, then purchasing three government-owned aluminum facilities in Washington state. These were the primary reduction plants at...
broiler foil, and a pair of scissors, with which he constructs a pair of makeshift wings. He walks to a telephone booth, where he spreads the syrup onto his legs, attracting a swarm of flies. The flies lift him and the telephone booth out of the parking lot, into the sky, and to New York in grand musical fanfare.
Studebacher Hoch arrives on the cliff which is Billy the Mountain's jaw and attempts to reason with him. At first he is friendly, but after Ethell protests, he aggressively threatens Billy and Ethell. Billy just laughs, and as jaw moves, Hoch loses his balance and falls perilously to his own injury and defeat. The moral of the story is stated in song: "a mountain is something you don't want to fuck with, don't fuck around."
Musical structure
Like most of Frank Zappa's longer compositions, Billy the Mountain relies less on predictable song structure with repeated sections and instead continually introduces new musical ideas and material similar to an operaOpera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
or oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
. Nonetheless, there are a few recurring themes, including the repeated melody set to the lyrics "Billy was a mountain, Ethell was a tree growing off of his shoulder." This theme later introduces Billy and Ethell in The Adventures of Greggery Peccary
The Adventures of Greggery Peccary
"The Adventures of Greggery Peccary" is a piece by Frank Zappa, originally released on the album Studio Tan in 1978 and later recompiled into the posthumously released Läther album. An instrumental version now appears on the Wazoo CD featuring the original Wazoo ensemble and debuted at the...
, a similar composition in which the characters make a cameo appearance.
There is also a recurring "chorus" to the song, which appears three times. It is first sung as a lament of the man in the double-knit checkered suit when his car is destroyed. Moments later it is sung by Billy to announce his intentions of taking Ethell to Los Vegas. The chorus makes its final appearance at the end of the song as a third-person statement of the moral whereupon it is developed further and concludes with a reprise of the song's introduction.
While there are several sections of Billy the Mountain that are sung, much of the lyrical content is spoken-word based and many sections are ad-libbed with jokes and references pertaining to the specific locale in which the piece was performed. Because of this, a few portions of the piece are almost entirely atonal and are more reminiscent of a radio play than a musical piece in their performance.
Allusions
Zappa and his band repeatedly quote various other songs throughout the lengthy composition, mostly in the spirit of parody.The theme from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
is quoted several times throughout the song, initially as a cue when Billy announces his interest in visiting New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. At the time that the piece was first performed in 1971, The Tonight Show was still filmed at the GE Building
GE Building
The GE Building is an Art Deco skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the midtown Manhattan section of New York City. Known as the RCA Building until 1988, it is most famous for housing the headquarters of the television network NBC...
in Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
in New York only to move to Burbank
Burbank
Burbank is both a common placename in English-speaking countries and a common surname . The name Burbank is of English origin and means "lives on the castle's hill".- United States :* Burbank, California...
the following year in 1972.
During the tornado sequence, the song alludes to The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
and the musical number, "Over the Rainbow
Over the Rainbow
"Over the Rainbow" is a classic Academy Award-winning ballad song with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. It was written for the movie The Wizard of Oz, and was sung by Judy Garland in the movie...
", which is sung by the Howard Kaylan character, while Mark Volman calls out for "Toto."
Towards the middle of the song, the band breaks out into a parody of the coda of the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
"Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" is a suite of short songs written by Stephen Stills and performed by Crosby, Stills and Nash. It appeared on the group's self-titled debut album in 1969. It was also released as a single , going to #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart...
", substituting the original Spanish lyrics with a series of rumors about the life of Studebacher Hoch. The famous "doot doot" backing vocals remain intact.