King Kong

The Mothers of Invention's Uncle Meat, cover art by Cal Schenkel, 1968

### Label

Ralph Records, UWEB, Robot Selling Device, MVD Audio, Cherry Red Records, New Ralph Too

### Producer

Residents, Uninc.

"**King Kong**" is an instrumental composition by Frank Zappa, originally released in 1968 on the album *Uncle Meat* by Zappa's band The Mothers of Invention.

In 1971, it was covered by the group who would later be known as The Residents with Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman on guitar for their notorious demo tape *B.S..*

## Residents, Uninc. version

The 1971 recording of "King Kong" has long been one of the more widely available recordings from The Residents prior to their official incorporation in 1974, as the group included the track on a number of compilations, beginning with *The Residents Radio Special* in 1977.

Where it is first heard on the group's 1971 demo tape *B.S.*, the track features in a three-minute edit; in the *Radio Special* it features in a shortened, two-minute edit. The full, four-minute recording was first officially released in 1991 on the UWEB compilation album *Daydream B-Liver*, but later featured on other compilations such as *Documentation - Tunes In Danger Of Becoming Lost* in 2009.

King Kong, is also the name of the intro piece The Residents used for stage shows between 1997 and 2003

The original *B.S.* edit was officially released with the rest of the demo tape for the first time on Record Store Day in 2019, and was included on the pREServed compilation *A Nickle If Your Dick's This Big*.

## Personnel

* The Residents
* Snakefinger

## Releases

* *B.S.* (recorded 1971, released 2019)
* *The Residents Radio Special* (1977)
* *Daydream B-Liver* (1991)
* *Land Of Mystery* (1999)
* *Documentation - Tunes In Danger Of Becoming Lost* (2009)
* *ERA B474* (2012)
* *The Delta Nudes' Greatest Hiss* (2013)
* *The Residents Present The Delta Nudes* (2016)
* *A Nickle If Your Dick's This Big* (2019)

#### Versions

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 edited version of San Mateo home recording, 1971
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 San Mateo home recording, 1971

## See also

* Frank Zappa
* The Delta Nudes
* Snakefinger

## External links and references

* "King Kong" at Zappa Wiki Jawaka

**Side A**
"We Stole This Riff" · "Holelottadick" · "B.S." · "Deepsea Diver Song" · "**King Kong**" · "Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen"
**Side B**
"Somethin' Devilish" · "The Fourth Crucifixion" · "Hallowed Be Thy Wean" ("Pink Lemonade" · "Sandman" · "Eat Me Mother" · "Bumble Bee" · "Eloise" · "Somethin' Devilish" · "Kamakazi Lady" · "D For Doorknob" · "The Three Most Important Things In The Whole Wide World")
**Personnel**
Residents, Uninc. · Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman · N. Senada · Peggy Honeydew (Margaret Smyk)
**Related works**
The Boarding House performance ("Intro Tape '71") · "A Live Radio Broadcast" · Philip's Wedding · Chris' Party · *ERA B474* · *The Delta Nudes' Greatest Hiss* · *A Nickle If Your Dick's This Big*
**Related articles**
*The W\*\*\*\*\* B\*\*\* Album* · San Mateo apartment · Hal Halverstadt · Porno Graphics · Tim Buckley · Led Zeppelin · Frank Zappa · Randy Newman · *Vileness Fats*‏‏‎

**Major works**
*Rusty Coathangers for the Doctor* (1970) · *The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger* (1970) · *The W\*\*\*\*\* B\*\*\* Album* (1971) · *B.S.* (1971) · *Santa Dog* (1972)
**Other recordings**
"I Hear Ya Got Religion" / "Moonman" (1969) · *1-10 (With A Touch of 11)* (1972)
**Compilation albums**
*ERA B474* (2012) · *The Delta Nudes' Greatest Hiss* (2013) · *The Residents Present The Delta Nudes* (2016) · *A Nickle If Your Dick's This Big* (2019) · *Warning: Uninc.* (2022)
**Live shows**
The Boarding House, October 18th 1971 · Philip's Wedding, October 31st 1971 · Chris' Party, February 12th 1972
**Collaborators**
Randy Rose · Charles Bobuck · Hardy Fox · Homer Flynn · Palmer Eiland · Roger "Bunny" Hartley · Jay Clem · John Kennedy · Roland Sheehan · Bob Tangney · Jim Whitaker · N. Senada · Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman · Peggy Honeydew (Margaret Swaton) · The Singing Lawn Chairs (Pamela Zeibak)
**Related articles**
San Mateo apartment · Hal Halverstadt · Porno Graphics · Sycamore St. studio · Ralph Records · The Residents · *Vileness Fats* · *Meet The Residents* · *The Third Reich 'n Roll* · "Satisfaction" · "Aphids In The Hall" · The Cryptic Corporation · *WB:RMX*‎‎‏‏‎