Brown Shoes Don't Make It Explained

Brown Shoes Don't Make It
Artist:The Mothers of Invention
Album:Absolutely Free
Released:May 26, 1967
Recorded:November 18, 1966[1]
Studio:TTG Studios, Los Angeles
Genre:
Length:7:30
Label:Verve
Producer:Frank Zappa, Tom Wilson

"Brown Shoes Don't Make It" is a song by The Mothers of Invention, written by band leader Frank Zappa. It is the penultimate song on the second album Absolutely Free. The song is one of his most widely renowned works, declared by the AllMusic as "Zappa's first real masterpiece".[2]

History

The title was inspired by an event covered by Time magazine reporter Hugh Sidey in 1966.[3] The reporter correctly guessed that something was amiss when the fastidiously dressed President Lyndon B. Johnson made the sartorial faux pas of wearing brown shoes with a gray suit. Johnson flew to Vietnam for a surprise public relations visit later that day.

Live versions of this song are featured on the albums Tinsel Town Rebellion and Road Tapes, Venue 2.

Music and lyrics

The song was written in April 1966 during a trip to Honolulu where The Mothers played for a week at a club called "Da Swamp".[4] The lyrics are derived from Zappa's belief that people who make laws are sexually maladjusted. It starts as a general attack on suburban American society: TV, greed and conformity are all mocked openly. The story then moves to a city hall official fantasizing about having sex with a thirteen-year-old girl.

The music makes several stylistic shifts, covering blues rock, classical, psychedelic rock, vaudeville and jazz. It is cited by AllMusic as being a "condensed two-hour musical". Zappa said the opening music section was inspired by Lightnin' Slim's "Have Your Way".

Reception

In a positive review of the album, Dominique Chevalier said "there are snatches of dodecaphonic scales, ballads, rock, R&B, Beach Boys, soap opera and more ... and ensures that this is no piece of easy listening".[5] As well as giving its parent album 4.5 stars, AllMusic gave a very positive review of the song.[6] It is also included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.[7]

Personnel

with:

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Ulrich, Charles . May 13, 2018 . The Big Note: A Guide to the Recordings of Frank Zappa . New Star Books . 978-1-554201-46-4.
  2. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=song|id=t998763|pure_url=yes}} Brown Shoes Don't Make It ]. song review . 2008-03-03.
  3. Sidey . Hugh . Hugh Sidey. The Meaning of the Cordovans . web reprint . 2021-02-12 . Time . 1980-06-30.
  4. Book: Miles, Barry. 116. Zappa. 2004. Grove Press. 9780802142153.
  5. Chevalier, Dominique "Viva Zappa!" 1985 Page 62
  6. Web site: AllMusic review. 2011-07-31. Web.archive.org.
  7. Web site: 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll A-C . 2008-03-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080120174104/http://www.rockhall.com/exhibithighlights/500-songs-by-name-ac/ . 2008-01-20 . dead .