The night Frank Zappa introduced John Wayne as a Nazi
Throughout musical history, there has never been anybody else quite like Frank Zappa. The Baltimore-born musician always operated by his own principles, and never took much notice of current trends. In addition to his virtually flawless body of work, spanning decades and exploring a variety of different styles and genres, Zappa was often noted for endless dedication to speaking his mind. Although it might have endeared him towards fans, Zappa’s mouth made him a fair few enemies, including John Wayne.
The rift between Zappa and the famed Western actor should probably come as no surprise. After all, the pair were hardly birds of a feather. Wayne has often been noted for his regressive political leanings and outspoken racist, homophobic and sexist views. By all accounts, John Wayne was a pretty despicable character, who managed to build a career off of a somewhat limited acting ability. As such, Zappa was not a fan.
During the 1960s, Zappa was not exactly famed for his ability to make friends. Even amid the hippie boom of the 1960s, the musician was not convinced by the new music scene, operating his own kind of counterculture to the counterculture. During a 1993 interview with Playboy, Zappa thought back to that period, recalling the many people he managed to antagonise during the decade.
These figures encapsulated musicians, politicians, comedians and actors. “We opened for Lenny Bruce at the Fillmore West in 1966,” he recalled, “I asked him to sign my draft card, but he said no”. Bruce might have taken Zappa’s unique sense of humour in his stride, but not everybody was as diplomatic. John Wayne was not often famed for his ability to take a joke, but Zappa went the extra mile to insult the American actor.
Wayne certainly did not endear himself towards Zappa upon their initial meeting at Hollywood’s Whisky-A-Go-Go in 1965. “He came to one show very drunk,” Zappa remembered, “He saw me and picked me up and said, ‘I saw you in Egypt and you were great…and then you blew me!’” To add insult to injury, Wayne also messed with the songwriter’s hat – the ultimate faux pas, when it came to the weird world of Frank Zappa.
Of course, Zappa was never one to turn the other cheek. In retaliation for Wayne’s strange insults, the musician made a bold joke during his performance in Hollywood. He shared, “Onstage I said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Halloween and we were going to have some important guests here tonight – like George Lincoln Rockwell, head of the American Nazi Party – but unfortunately all we could get was John Wayne.’” Adding, “He got up and made some drunken speech, and his bodyguards told me I’d better cool it”.
Zappa’s comparisons of John Wayne to the Nazi Party might have been tongue-in-cheek, but it proved to be the perfect put-down for the arrogant film star who found himself in a setting firmly outside of his comfort zone. Zappa also was not the last person to equate Wayne to the far-right, most notably the punk band MDC who released the song ‘John Wayne was a Nazi’ – which was not awash with ambiguity – typifying how alternative music often provided a quirky counterpoint to the conservative mainstream.
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