Montana (song)

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Montana is a song first released by Frank Zappa in 1973 on the album Over-Nite Sensation . The backing vocals were sung by Tina Turner and the Ikettes .

Song structure

Montana consists of the parts introduction - narration - refrain - solo - middle section - narration - finish . The lyrics sung by Frank Zappa tell in an absurd, humorous way about a person who dreams of moving to the US state of Montana to “ floss ” on a farm and harvest it with huge tweezers . This person's dream is to become a “floss tycoon ” and ride across the prairie on a pony called “Mighty Little” . The entire lyrics are formulated in US slang and enriched with parodic cowboy clichés.

After 1:55 minutes, right after the chorus, Zappa plays a long guitar solo. This is followed by a more complex middle section in which Tina Turner & The Ikettes also sing. Then Zappa sings the last verses, and at the end Tina Turner & The Ikettes sing the first line of the chorus several times, each of which is answered by a “Yippy-ty-o-ty-ay” sung by Kin Vassy .

Live recordings

Montana became a favorite song for Zappa fans and was often played live by Zappa and his bands - for example during the tours from 1973 to 1975, 1982, 1984 and 1988. The text and structure of the song were sometimes spontaneously varied by Zappa during live performances . The version on the live album You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 , with the expanded title Montana (Whipping Floss) is an example of this: During the Zappa concert in Helsinki on September 22, 1974, someone challenged shouted to the audience to play Whipping Post , a song by The Allman Brothers Band . Zappa then joked with the audience that the band didn't have the song in their repertoire and instead played Montana , but with the lyrics spontaneously adapted to the situation. Another live version of Montana , which was subsequently edited by Zappa from two concert recordings from 1973 and 1984, can be found on the live album You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 4, first published in 1988 .

Others

The song was released as the b-side of the single I'm The Slime (1973) and in 1995 on the best-of compilation Strictly Commercial .

According to Zappa biographer Barry Miles , Tina Turner was so impressed with the song that she offered to sing the line “raising my lonely dental floss” with her backup singers . She then played the song to her then-husband Ike Turner , who was not very enthusiastic about the recording.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "I might be moving to Montana soon, just to raise me up a crop of dental floss." Quoted from Frank Zappa: Plastic People - Songbook , p. 350. German first edition, Zweiausendeins, Frankfurt 1977. ISBN 3-86150-053-1
  2. ↑ Barry Miles: Zappa , p. 272. Rogner & Bernhard bei Zweiausendeins, Berlin 2005. ISBN 3-8077-1010-8
  3. ^ Frank Zappa: Plastic People - Songbook , p. 354.
  4. ^ Frank Zappa: You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 - The Helsinki Concert . Rykodisc RCD 10563/64, 1988
  5. ^ Transcript of the stage dialogue and text by Montana (Whipping Floss) from the Zappa concert in Helsinki, September 22, 1974
  6. ↑ Frank Zappa: You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 4 . Rykodisc RCD 10567/68, 1988
  7. ↑ "He [Ike Turner] listened to the tape, just said," What is this crap? "And went out again." - Frank Zappa, quoted from Barry Miles: Zappa , p. 271. Rogner & Bernhard bei Zweiausendeins, Berlin 2005. ISBN 3-8077-1010-8

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