4 ms·
> Howard Johnson's had fried clams, did not know that. Funnily, I suppose there's many people who know about Howard Johnson's serving clams, even though we kno
by nsajko 4y ago
> Howard Johnson's had fried clams, did not know that.
Funnily, I suppose there's many people who know about Howard Johnson's serving clams, even though we know almost nothing else about the chain.
This is thanks to Zappa's song/musical story Billy the Mountain, prominently featuring Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (the force behind The Turtles) on most memorable performances.
Excerpt:
They left that night, crunchin' across the mojave desert
Their voices echoing through the canyons of your minds
"Ethel, want to get a cuppa cawfee?"
"there's a Howard Johnsons! want to eat some clams?"
The first noteworthy piece of real estate they destroyed was Edwards Air Force Base
And to this very day, 'wing nuts' and data reduction clerks alike
Speak in reverent whispers about that fateful night when
Test stand number one and the rocket sled itself got LUNCHED!
By a famous mountain-in and his small, wooden wife
- listenallyall 4y agoLol, no. It's because they sold HJ fried clams in the frozen food section of supermarkets for decades, and it was a featured item on the actual restaurant's menus (like IHOP = pancakes). Frank Zappa is cool but even his most ardent fans have to concede that his songs and lyrics are pretty obscure.
- JasonFruit 4y agoI can't disagree with any of that, but I only know about it from that song, so, anecdote two, I guess.
- nsajko 4y agoYour comment is implicitly backed by a false dichotomy. Some people (based in USA and old enough, for example) will know about it from direct experience. Other people know about it only from Billy the Mountain.
- listenallyall 4y agoThanks Mr. Literal. Obviously not true that nobody knows it from the song, since the OP posted it himself. But the ratio is likely 9-to-1 or better.