Smothers (b. 1930) was more than a bodyguard. Besides being an efficient guard he became a part of the folklore around Zappa much thanks to his strong personality and unique language. Zappa even wrote a song about him, Dong Work For Yuda.
"He's one of the best guys I done worked for. I done worked for the Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sister Soul, Temptations, I done worked for them all in the last 22 years. Frank is about the be- about the best one."
4 comments:
He was a gentle giant.many times he snuck me into sold out shows.eating ice cream and watching TV in his room 1980 journey to the center of the earth.
I am Tyrone Smothers son of bald headed John. He was one of the best bodyguards ever. I used to work with him at the shows. It all started in the 60s. he worked for the beatles, the 4 tops, the temptations, Elvis, frank sinatra,
When the 70s hit it got wild. I remember he was working for the doors and the crowd got out of hand. Dad walked out on the stage took the mic from Jim morrison and told the crowd if they didnt calm down he would cancel the show. From that point you could hear a pin drop. He also worked for the rolling stones,deep purple, santana, alice cooper,michael jackson,james brown,led zepplin,aerosmith and about 20 other groups and of coarse My uncle FRANK ZAPPA
He was my hero my rock star dad. I had back stage passes to every show and partys. when I was 3 years old he took me to a james brown show in a stroller. James brown picked me up and sat me on his lap and I pissed on him. My dad said James jumped up and said Smothers the boy pissed on me. My dad said James its not the first time you been pissed on. Dad said James brown laughed so hard he got cramps.He saved Frank Zappas life 3 times. I miss him very much.Rip Dad. I dont have enough room to continue. I would need 20 more pages to tell it all. he played a trick on elvis. once at a alice cooper show I saw him Kick three guys asses at the same time. He used sticky hands on them. Uncle Frank Zappa let me fly his jet from baltimore to philly. Once he was going to knock out Donald brewer from grand funk railroad. There more there more.
Hi Tyrone, thank you so much for commenting! It must have been something being around those people. Your dad must have had a lot of interesting stories to tell. I suppose most body guards are anonymous but your dad was well known among the hard core fans. Frank used some of his expressions in his lyrics and we could see him in some of the filmed material from 1977/78. All the best! //The Radio Dupree guys
I am John smothers grandson john John aka Kevin pinder.... he was a great man and mentor.. I meant frank zappa at the baltimore civic center when I was 11.. I meant Terry bozzio the drum.. at the time pop pop aka. John smothers... bought me my first snare drum and told me that if I practice he would buy me a drum set.. and he did.. I met Ahmed at the concert in Baltimore when he did a computer graphic concert with his dads figure done by a computer and the band playing it was awesome.. he gave a shout out in tears to my pop pop.. anyway frank zappa and John smothers rest in peace forever
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