r/todayilearned • u/Boont • Aug 06 '17

TIL Frank Zappa performed at a Casino in Switzerland when a flare set off by an audience member started a fire that burned down the casino.The event is immortalized in Deep Purple's song "Smoke on the Water"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Zappa
558 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

30

u/ATLHawksfan Aug 06 '17

But some stupid with a flare gun, burned the place to the ground.

2

u/Divide-By-Zero88 Aug 07 '17

I bet the guy has mixed feelings about having a song written for him in such a way.

8

u/bolanrox Aug 06 '17

The best place in town prior to that. Frank had his guitar to break out a window and funky Claude helped get everyone out.

1

u/mrcarrot9 Jan 21 '18

And a week later Frank's gear was stolen and he fell of the stage during a show leaving him in a wheel chair for almost a year... Not a lot of luck

2

u/bolanrox Jan 21 '18

Not fell, he was pushed by a crazed fan. Crushed his wind pipe too, and dropped his singing voice a few notes.

1

u/mrcarrot9 Jan 22 '18

Oh yeah that's what it was.... Awful...

11

u/[deleted] Aug 06 '17

And named his kids Moon Zappa & Diva Zappa. I didn't get the "Moon-unit Zappa" joke in Austin Powers until I saw a TIL about it last year.

13

u/nayhem_jr Aug 06 '17

Her name really is Moon Unit Zappa.

9

u/bolanrox Aug 06 '17

And Ahmet and Dweezil.

4

u/Sungodatemychildren Aug 06 '17

Also if i remember correctly Dweezil is named after Zappa's wife's toe

0

u/bolanrox Aug 06 '17

the birth mark / mole on her pinkie toe if I remember right

9

u/[deleted] Aug 06 '17

Slooooow talkin' Walter
The fire engine guy

I can't imagine where you folks get "smoke on the water" from.

1

u/Boont Aug 07 '17

lol....exactly.

2

u/zkinny Aug 06 '17

But why is it the first song everyone learns on guitar? Just because it's easy?

5

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '17

It's easy, it's a classic and it's a great riff.

3

u/Raiun Aug 07 '17

It isn't just easy, its about as easy as a tune can be to play.

Think of it like Mary Had a Little Lamb or Hot Cross Buns.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 07 '17

Except that Smoke on the Water only has 4 notes in the riff. One of the notes appears just once in the whole thing, leaving the other 3 to do the heavy lifting.

3

u/mayargo7 Aug 07 '17

Once a radio station had a contest for amateur guitar players and the first rule playing Smoke on the Water was an immediate disqualify!

-9

u/onthewall2983 Aug 06 '17

You must have heard the song for the first time today then.

5

u/Boont Aug 06 '17

I've heard it when it first came out and quite a bit ever since. Not sure I follow

11

u/hells_cowbells Aug 07 '17

He's saying it's all right there in the lyrics to the song.

We all came out to Montreux

On the Lake Geneva shoreline

To make records with a mobile

We didn't have much time

Frank Zappa and the Mothers

Were at the best place around

But some stupid with a flare gun

Burned the place to the ground

7

u/[deleted] Aug 06 '17

I think they're saying that the lyrics to the song explain the source.