Bobby Brown (song)
1979 single by Frank Zappa
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"Bobby Brown (Goes Down)" is a song by American musician Frank Zappa released on his double album Sheik Yerbouti (1979). The song was successful in Europe, where it was a number-one-hit in Norway and Sweden, number 4 in Germany, and was featured on the vinyl and European CD version of Zappa's best of compilation, Strictly Commercial (1995).[2]
| "Bobby Brown" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Single by Frank Zappa | ||||
| from the album Sheik Yerbouti | ||||
| Released | March 3, 1979 | |||
| Recorded | 1978 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:49 | |||
| Label | CBS | |||
| Songwriter | Frank Zappa | |||
| Producer | Frank Zappa | |||
| Frank Zappa singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
Plot
The song centers on Bobby Brown, a college age student whose life is the archetypical American Dream until a traumatic encounter with Freddie, a dyke from the women's liberation movement, transforms him into a leisure suit-wearing, closeted homosexual who works in radio promotions and engages in S&M.[3]
Zappa was astounded by the song's surprise success in Europe given its pervasive vulgarity, and in an interview with Swedish radio, he remarked that he once suggested to his record label that they should hire an anthropologist to find out how and why it became so popular there.[3]
Track listing
Chart positions
Weekly charts
| Chart (1979–1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] | 2 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[7] | 1 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[8] | 1 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[9] | 5 |
| West Germany (GfK)[10] | 4 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1980) | Position |
|---|---|
| West Germany (Official German Charts)[11] | 6 |
| Chart (1991) | Position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[12] | 7 |
Decade-end charts
| Chart (1990–1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[13] | 34 |