Zappa Characters Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lucille

All from "Joe's Garage": Lucille messed up Joe's mind and furthermore passed on a disease to Joe that, well, made his visits to the bathroom somewhat uncomfortable for him. Sy was the robotic love interest of Joe. Father Riley was the Catholic priest. Mary was Joe's more conventional love-interest at the start of the album.

Answer: That she could prove men were scum

"She made a bet with her sister, who's a little bit dumb, she could prove it any time all men was scum." Dinah-Moe made a bet with the NARRATOR (not her sister) that he could not satisfy her... and she bet a forty-dollar bill no less! At no time did she speak of satisfying any man.

Answer: Lonesome Cowboy Burt

Zappa does a hilarious and irreverent improvised version of this song on "The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life" substituting Jimmy Swaggert (whose scandel had just broken in the media) for the main character.

Answer: Harry

Not to be confused with the Harry of "Thing-Fish", this comes from the song "Harry, You're a Beast" from the album "We're Only In It For The Money". This song contains a "secret" backwards lyric.

Answer: Bobby Brown

After his encounter with the feminist Freddie, he didn't know whether he was "a boy or a lady". As the Thing-Fish might say, "You figguh it out!" This is one of Zappa's classics.

Answer: Willie the Pimp

The only track on "Hot Rats" that contains lyrics, this is certainly a memorable one. It's sung by Captain Beefheart, so don't expect to understand all the words!

Answer: A blow-up doll

Ms. Pinky is most definitely a blow-up doll. The song idea allegedly came to Zappa after an airport worker gave him an adult magazine with just such a device advertised in the back pages. In "Thing-Fish", this song is changed around a bit to reflect Rhonda when she meets Harry.

Thanks to LesW for pointing out that Ms. Pinky was not a full blow-up doll, but simply a head with no body.

Answer: Disco Boy

"Disco Boy" and "Dancin' Fool" are both send-ups of the disco "culture". Potato-Headed Bobby comes from "San Berdino", although he's mentioned in other songs as well. Joe of course comes from "Joe's Garage".

Answer: Bwana Dik

This is one of Zappa's songs that got him in trouble with the law.

Answer: Ondrya Wolfson

Sorry if this one was tough on you (I always thought it was Andrea Wilson until I checked up on it for this quiz!). Ondrya Wolfson is the name of the Valley Girl in Zappa's highest-selling single. One story goes that her name was really Andrea, but that the spelling on the liner notes was changed to avoid a royalty lawsuit.