Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 - December 4, 1993) was an American musician and composer. He was known for his strange style of music, which was often weird and funny. He made various types of music and many albums. Zappa worked with many other musicans, most notably his 1960s group The Mothers of Invention[1] and his friend and blues singer Captain Beefheart. Some people think he is the best composer in popular music or even any non-classical music.
Frank Zappa | |
|---|---|
 Zappa in 1977 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Frank Vincent Zappa |
| Born | December 21, 1940 Baltimore, Maryland, US |
| Died | December 4, 1993 (aged 52) Los Angeles, California, US |
| Genres | Progressive rock, jazz, experimental rock, alternative rock, classical |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, producer |
| Instruments | Guitar, voice, bass, keyboards |
| Years active | 1950s–1993 |
| Website | Zappa.com |
Zappa was born in Baltimore, Maryland, but spent most of his life in Southern California. He grew up in Baltimore, in Florida, and in Monterey, Claremont and El Cajon, California. His mother was of French and Italian descent; his father was an immigrant from Sicily. Zappa had four children with his wife Gail. They gave them all very unusual names: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet, and Diva.
Zappa was openly against drugs, Televangelism, and censoring music. He often tried to see what he could get away with.
Zappa died from prostate cancer in Los Angeles, California.
Frank Zappa Media
Zappa's senior yearbook photo, 1958
Zappa with the Mothers of Invention, Theatre de Clichy, Paris, 1971
Frank Zappa, 1970
Frank Zappa in Paris, early 1970s
Zappa with the Mothers, 1971
Zappa with Captain Beefheart, seated left, during a 1975 concert
Records on wheels, Toronto, sept. 24 1977
Zappa performing at the Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York, 1980. The concert was released in 2007 as Buffalo.
Photo of Frank Zappa performing.
Left to right: Simon Prentis (Zappa's "Semantic Scrutinizer"), Zappa, Zappa's production assistant Gerry Fialka, and Zappa's second wife Gail outside Zappa's home recording studio Utility Muffin Research Kitchen in 1986. Prentis holds a preview cassette of the album Jazz From Hell that Fialka had just delivered for Zappa's approval.
Other websites
Notes
- ↑ Hear Frank Zappa (music and interviews) on the Pop Chronicles (1969).