Valley Girl

Frank Zappa released 62 albums in his lifetime (many more appeared after his death), but "Valley Girl" is his only song to crack the US Top 40. Hearing him on playlists alongside Rick Springfield and Journey was shocking to Zappa fans, who were accustomed to his subversive tunes and caustic attitude toward mainstream music. "Valley Girl" got the attention of radio program directors (Zappa's nemesis) as a quirky novelty song that listeners could easily digest. "'Valley Girl' is innocuous enough that they'll play it," Zappa said in Creem. "They figure everyone will just have a little laugh and that's it. No real information is conveyed. There is definitely an anti-information syndrome as far as radio is concerned. No real content is ever allowed on the airwaves anyplace."

The song makes fun of Valley Girl talk, an early '80s trend that started in California and led to teenage girls around the country saying things like "Gag me with a spoon." It pokes fun at what Zappa believed were spoiled rich girls living in the San Fernando Valley of California. Laraine Newman was doing variations on the Valley Girl character on Saturday Night Live at the time.

This features Zappa's daughter, Moon Unit Zappa, as the Valley Girl. She was 14 when they recorded it. Moon was also an inspiration for the lyrics, as she would come home from bar mitzvahs repeating the Valley Girl talk she heard and covering topics like a grody English teacher and a place to get her toenails done. She got a co-writing credit on the song for coming up with many of the lines. Moon didn't consider herself a Valley Girl, but learned how to talk like one.