# Play Freebird! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 7, 2003, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/play-freebird/180305 "2003-06-07T17:22:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TexGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9d8465/32.png) [@TexGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TexGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/play-freebird/180305/21 "2003-06-09T05:29:05Z")
I was in a small bar in DC once where an older guy was playing guitar and singing songs. He finished a song and said, “Does anyone have a request?” The whole group of college-age folks crowded around him shot their hands into the air, and he sighed and said, “Besides Freebird.” All the hands went down. ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/play-freebird/180305/22 "2003-06-09T06:12:07Z")
IIRC, on an early Frank Zappa album, there’ s cut where the band invites requests, and someone shouts “Caravan, with the drum solo,” which goes back much father…originally a big band song, I think. Also, the Ventures did it on thier live in Japan album. What a treasure of half-remembered trivia in my head! ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/play-freebird/180305/23 "2003-06-09T10:10:27Z")
And before “Free Bird” came along, the thing to shout was, “Whipping Post!” ---
**Author:** ![35340](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/8baadc/32.png) [@35340](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/35340)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/play-freebird/180305/24 "2003-06-09T12:43:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TelcontarStorm \* > \*\*FWIW,Not long ago NPR did a piece about a guy who yells this at every concert he goes to irregardless of the artist. He was at a jazz show when he yelled out “Play Freebird!”. It took him quite a while to realise that the trumpet player was indeed playing a free verse version of the song. \*\* Close … but not quite. It was MarketPlace, which is carried by PRI (which, in turn, is played on a lot of mostly NPR stations). My husband and I heard that and laughed ourselves silly as it was otherwise a thourougly miserable day. I’m sure I can search my diary entries and get the precise date and link to the article if you like. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/play-freebird/180305/25 "2003-06-09T13:09:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TelcontarStorm \* > **FWIW,Not long ago NPR did a piece about a guy who yells this at every concert he goes to irregardless of the artist.** [Here’s the story](http://search1.npr.org/search97cgi/s97_cgi?CleanQuery=freebird&ResultTemplate=allow_re_sort.hts&SortSpec=Date+Desc+Score+Desc&ViewTemplate=docview.hts&collection=ALL02&Action=FilterSearch&filter=topic_filter.NEW.hts&QueryText=&x=15&y=7). ---
**Author:** ![35340](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/8baadc/32.png) [@35340](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/35340)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2003, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/play-freebird/180305/26 "2003-06-09T13:21:43Z")
huh, I thought it was MarketPlace. Strange. Must be my David Brancaccio fixation blurring my memory. Thanks, Squink. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/play-freebird/180305.md?page=1)