BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982
“Valley Girl” is a song by the musician Frank Zappa and his then 14-year-old daughter, Moon Unit Zappa. It was released on Zappa’s 1982 album Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch. Moon supplied Frank with much of the content, speaking typical “Valley girl” or “Valspeak” phrases she heard at “parties, bar mitzvahs, and the Galleria”. Zappa intended to lampoon the image, but the single popularized the Valley Girl stereotype nationwide. There was a significant increase in “Valspeak” slang usage, whether ironically spoken or not (not the least of which was the film, Valley Girl).
The song was Zappa’s only top 40 single in the United States, peaking at #32 in the Billboard Hot 100, although he had charted hits in other parts of the world.
The single had varying B-sides. Two of them were from the same album as “Valley Girl:” “No Not Now” and “Teen-Age Prostitute.” Another B-side was “You Are What You Is.” One of the versions of the single had “Valley Girl” on both sides: the A-Side had the full version, while the B-Side had a fade-out version.
SIDE A:
Valley Girl (Full Version)
SIDE B:
Valley Girl (Single Version)
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
CHARTS:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Valley Girl | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #32 |
| 1982 | Valley Girl | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | #12 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Barking Pumpkin Records – AS 1485
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Pop, Rock
Style: Pop Rock, Novelty
Credits: Arranged By, Producer, Written-By – Frank Zappa
Written-By – Moon Zappa
NOTES:
Special promotional copy
Find The 12″ On DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
TYVM Paul, would be worth it for the cover alone 🙂
This US 12” promo “full version” has a complete ending, rather than the clumsy segue found on the Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch album. It runs 9 seconds longer.
Thanks, so much, for posting.
Thanks for the informative comment.
Thanks Paul. I didn’t have this one.
Wow I knew the song but I did not know it had a 12 inch version! Can’t wait to listen to it. You know, Frank Zappa is difficult to listen to, a bit of a Stravinsky in pop, with his flipping stuff, but he was brilliant. And the text and context of his songs are always entertaining, like this parody of the valley girl. Thanks!
Those promo release notes were fantastic!! Thanks for posting this 😀
I echo The Doctor and Jermajesty… totally bitchen fer shure!
I remember at the time, McDonald’s was heavily promoting “McLanguage”… so my friends and I ended up doing “McValley.”
Like McGag me with a McSpoon, totally!
Always loved the song & it did take on a life all it’s own back in the day. still holds up to this day & makes me smile every time I hear it. Thanks for sharing!
Glad it made you smile Jon, that’s what I was going for considering all of the negative news lately 🙂
“Gag me with a spoon!”
And NO, I’m NOT referring to you, your blog, or your post here…LOL!
I remember first hearing this on AT40 as it was that week’s highest new entry. It totally baffled me then. I was far away from the US, and totally clueless about the Valley Girl phenomenon. It was much later that I learned more about this “culture”.
I only have one of the versions on a New Wave CD…so thanks for your rip of both, Paul!
Like totally Ric you’re wlcome!
Grody to the max!!
This is just one of those songs. It’s really tubular, you know?
I never expected in on here, thanks Paul! And bag those toenails.
Love,
Mr Bu-Fu
(Lord God King Bu-Fu)
You just never know what I might come up with 🙂
Like, ohmygod! I totally remember when this bitchen song was, like, on the radio, fer sure!
Definitely one of the wackier things to come out of the 80s. 🙂 Now I gotta figure out how to work this into a playlist to torment people with… 😀
Doctor like, totally sneak it in! I’m sure they will totally get a kick out of it fer sure!
Thank you Paul! Another rare single. I even didn’t know about it. And the front cover looks very romantic… 🙂
You’re welcome Spring 🙂
I enjoyed reading that promo release note that was included. Zappa has a good sense of humor. valley Girl is a great movie – fun song too. Thanks for the post!
You’re welcome Woz!