Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance
Encyclopedia
"Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance" is a song written by Frank Zappa
and first recorded and released by Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention on their 1968 album We're Only In It For The Money
. The song was originally recorded as an instrumental by Frank Zappa in 1961 at Pal Recording Recording Studio.
, also contains a bridge section that is not included in any other version of the song, save for the instrumental version that appears at the end of the "Lumpy Gravy
" LP. At one point, the tune (without lyrics) was referred to by a working title of "Never On Sunday" (coincidentally the title of another very popular and oft-recorded song by Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis
, written around the same time that Zappa wrote his song).
Three years later, in 1968, Zappa wrote entirely new lyrics to the tune and it was finally re-recorded by The Mothers Of Invention (in a more abbreviated arrangement, with the bridge section excised) as "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance" for the album We're Only In It for The Money
. The song would be known by this title from that point on. The lyrics to this version are a satirical look at social classes and the hippie subculture of the sixties.
The song was once again re-recorded by Frank Zappa for his album Lumpy Gravy
under the shortened title "Take Your Clothes Off," this time in its more common instrumental form and, as previously mentioned, with the original bridge section that was excluded from the "We're Only In It For The Money" version of the track fully reincorporated. Most live performances of the song by Frank Zappa are instrumental jams.
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...
and first recorded and released by Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention on their 1968 album We're Only In It For The Money
We're Only in It for the Money
We're Only in It For the Money is the third studio album by The Mothers of Invention, released in March 1968. The album peaked at number thirty on the Billboard 200...
. The song was originally recorded as an instrumental by Frank Zappa in 1961 at Pal Recording Recording Studio.
History
The first instance of lyrics being written for the melody is on a 1965 demo tape by The Mothers Of Invention on which the song is recorded as "I'm So Happy I Could Cry." The lyrics describe the sincere love of a man to a "...girl he left behind him when he went out to see this great, big world..." This version, released on the posthumous Frank Zappa album Joe's CorsageJoe's Corsage
Joe's Corsage is a CD of material recorded by Frank Zappa with The Mothers of Invention in the mid-1960s, before the recording of their debut album Freak Out!...
, also contains a bridge section that is not included in any other version of the song, save for the instrumental version that appears at the end of the "Lumpy Gravy
Lumpy Gravy
Lumpy Gravy is the first solo album by Frank Zappa, originally released in 1967, but not generally available until May 1968. Zappa was credited as conductor on the album cover and he described the contents as "a curiously inconsistent piece, which started out to be a BALLET, but probably didn't...
" LP. At one point, the tune (without lyrics) was referred to by a working title of "Never On Sunday" (coincidentally the title of another very popular and oft-recorded song by Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis
Manos Hadjidakis
Manos Hatzidakis was a Greek composer and theorist of the Greek music. He was also one of the main prime movers of the "Éntekhno" song ....
, written around the same time that Zappa wrote his song).
Three years later, in 1968, Zappa wrote entirely new lyrics to the tune and it was finally re-recorded by The Mothers Of Invention (in a more abbreviated arrangement, with the bridge section excised) as "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance" for the album We're Only In It for The Money
We're Only in It for the Money
We're Only in It For the Money is the third studio album by The Mothers of Invention, released in March 1968. The album peaked at number thirty on the Billboard 200...
. The song would be known by this title from that point on. The lyrics to this version are a satirical look at social classes and the hippie subculture of the sixties.
The song was once again re-recorded by Frank Zappa for his album Lumpy Gravy
Lumpy Gravy
Lumpy Gravy is the first solo album by Frank Zappa, originally released in 1967, but not generally available until May 1968. Zappa was credited as conductor on the album cover and he described the contents as "a curiously inconsistent piece, which started out to be a BALLET, but probably didn't...
under the shortened title "Take Your Clothes Off," this time in its more common instrumental form and, as previously mentioned, with the original bridge section that was excluded from the "We're Only In It For The Money" version of the track fully reincorporated. Most live performances of the song by Frank Zappa are instrumental jams.
Song Form
The music itself is somewhat lighthearted, but conforming to the style of most of Zappa's other material from the same period. It is musically sophisticated and somewhat complex, but based upon a very simple chord progression.Versions Recorded By Frank Zappa
The song appears on the following Frank Zappa albums:- We're Only In It For The MoneyWe're Only in It for the MoneyWe're Only in It For the Money is the third studio album by The Mothers of Invention, released in March 1968. The album peaked at number thirty on the Billboard 200...
(Original version. First version released. Length of 1:34) - Lumpy GravyLumpy GravyLumpy Gravy is the first solo album by Frank Zappa, originally released in 1967, but not generally available until May 1968. Zappa was credited as conductor on the album cover and he described the contents as "a curiously inconsistent piece, which started out to be a BALLET, but probably didn't...
(Instrumental. Length of 1:52) - The Lost EpisodesThe Lost EpisodesThe Lost Episodes is a 1996 posthumous album by Frank Zappa which compiles previously unreleased material. Much of the material covered dates from early in his career, and as early as 1958, into the mid-1970s...
(Instrumental. Length of 3:51) - FZ:OZFZ:OZFZ:OZ is a live album by Frank Zappa, released in 2002 as a two-CD set and is the first release on the Vaulternative Records label from the Zappa Family Trust...
(Live version with vocals. Length of 2:02) - You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 is the last of six double disc collection volumes of live performances by Frank Zappa recorded between 1970 and 1988. All of the material on Disc one has a sexual theme. It was released on October 23, 1992 under the label Rykodisc.-Disc one:#"The M.O.I...
(Instrumental jam. Length of 3:46) - Joe's CorsageJoe's CorsageJoe's Corsage is a CD of material recorded by Frank Zappa with The Mothers of Invention in the mid-1960s, before the recording of their debut album Freak Out!...
(As "I'm So Happy I Could Cry". Length of 2:43) - Joe's MenageJoe's MenageJoe's Menage is a live album by Frank Zappa, posthumously released on October 1, 2008. It contains previously unreleased material from 1975. It is the fourth album in the "Joe's Corsaga" series, which is devoted to various rarities compiled by Joe Travers for the Zappa Family Trust. This album...
(Live version with vocals. Length of 2:10)