My Mother Is A Space Cadet

Album: released as a single (1982)
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Songfacts®:

  • Running to a mere 2 minutes 37 seconds and backed by "Crunchy Water," this overtly commercial novelty song was released on the Barking Pumpkin label in 1982. It was the young Zappa's debut single; his sister also sang on it, and the recording was made at Van Halen's 5150 Studios. The Van Halen influence is obvious; and although nepotism is not an issue here, one has to wonder if the young lad's mother was the space cadet of the family; it wasn't her who named her son Dweezil and her daughter Moon Unit! >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England
  • Dweezil Zappa was 12 years old at the time of the recording. His sister Moon Zappa was 14.
  • A very young Greg Kurstin played on this song. He later found fame co-penning and producing hit tunes for the likes of Kelly Clarkson ("What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)"), Adele ("Hello") and Sia ("Cheap Thrills"). Kurstin recalled to Billboard magazine:

    "I was in school with Dweezil Zappa, Frank Zappa's son, and we had a band. Only in LA could stuff like that happen. We would hang out in Frank Zappa's studio, and we released a single in 1982 on his label. I was 12, and that was the first recording experience I had. To top it off, Eddie Van Halen produced it. My life was not always insane like that. Once it was over, nothing like that happened again for a long, long, long time. I went back to high school bands and playing in garages."

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