Released October 10, 1969 Label Bizarre/Rykodisc Producer(s) Frank Zappa | Length 9:25 Writer(s) Frank Zappa | |
Genre Blues rock, hard rock, jazz rock | ||
"Willie the Pimp" is a blues rock song from Frank Zappa's 1969 album Hot Rats. It features an idiosyncratic Captain Beefheart vocal and one of Zappa's classic guitar solos. It is 9 minutes and 16 seconds long on Hot Rats. It is the only track that is not instrumental on the album, though the track features a long guitar solo.
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The song has also appeared on Zappa's Fillmore East – June 1971 and You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4 albums.
The album title Hot Rats comes from a lyric of Willie the Pimp. The origin of the song was explained in a conversation Zappa recorded in 1969. This interview recording was later released as "The Story of Willie the Pimp" on the Zappa album Mystery Disc.
The song was ranked number 75 on the list of "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time" of Rolling Stone.