Frank Zappa(1940-1993)
- Music Artist
- Composer
- Director
Of all the qualities that typified Frank Zappa, perhaps the most
striking is that he was a paradox. A workaholic perfectionist rock star
who eschewed the hippie culture of the 1960s, deploring its conformism,
spurious ideals and drug use, Zappa was not only a brilliant rock
guitarist but an orchestral composer, innovative filmmaker, music
producer, businessman, iconoclast and perceptive political and social
commentator. His oeuvre continually amazes: over 60 albums of music
from rock to orchestral, in addition to innumerable films, concerts and
other accomplishments.
Frank Vincent Zappa (b. 21 Dec 1940, Baltimore, MD) began to play drums
at the age of 12, and was playing in R&B groups by high school,
switching to guitar at 18. After barely graduating from high school,
and then dropping out of junior college (where he met his first wife,
Kay Sherman), Zappa worked at such jobs as window dresser, copywriter
and door-to-door sales,an. With the money he earned from scoring
Run Home, Slow (1965) (written by
his high school English teacher,
Don Cerveris), Zappa purchased a recording
studio and, after concocting an allegedly obscene recording for an
undercover policeman, spent ten days in jail. Zappa's diverse range of
albums (both with the seminal and protean groups
The Mothers of Invention and
Zappa; as well as solo releases) are renowned not only for their
bravura musicianship and satire, but for offending various groups
(usually conservatives, both religious and political). The
200 Motels (1971) soundtrack was
deemed too offensive by the Royal Albert Hall, which canceled scheduled
concerts in 1975; and the song "Jewish Princess" (1979) led to Jewish
calls for Zappa to apologize. These, and such events as Zappa
testifying before Congress in 1985 against rock music censorship, being
appointed by Czech president Václav Havel
as his Cultural Liaison Officer or considering running for US
president, have unfortunately been Zappa's only real source of
mainstream publicity.
Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1991, Zappa nonetheless continued
working at his Hollywood Hills home, until his death on 4 December
1993. His widow, Gail, and children
Dweezil Zappa,
Moon Unit Zappa,
Ahmet Zappa and
Diva Zappa, soon released a statement to the
press that simply stated: "Composer Frank Zappa left for his final tour
just before 6pm Saturday."
striking is that he was a paradox. A workaholic perfectionist rock star
who eschewed the hippie culture of the 1960s, deploring its conformism,
spurious ideals and drug use, Zappa was not only a brilliant rock
guitarist but an orchestral composer, innovative filmmaker, music
producer, businessman, iconoclast and perceptive political and social
commentator. His oeuvre continually amazes: over 60 albums of music
from rock to orchestral, in addition to innumerable films, concerts and
other accomplishments.
Frank Vincent Zappa (b. 21 Dec 1940, Baltimore, MD) began to play drums
at the age of 12, and was playing in R&B groups by high school,
switching to guitar at 18. After barely graduating from high school,
and then dropping out of junior college (where he met his first wife,
Kay Sherman), Zappa worked at such jobs as window dresser, copywriter
and door-to-door sales,an. With the money he earned from scoring
Run Home, Slow (1965) (written by
his high school English teacher,
Don Cerveris), Zappa purchased a recording
studio and, after concocting an allegedly obscene recording for an
undercover policeman, spent ten days in jail. Zappa's diverse range of
albums (both with the seminal and protean groups
The Mothers of Invention and
Zappa; as well as solo releases) are renowned not only for their
bravura musicianship and satire, but for offending various groups
(usually conservatives, both religious and political). The
200 Motels (1971) soundtrack was
deemed too offensive by the Royal Albert Hall, which canceled scheduled
concerts in 1975; and the song "Jewish Princess" (1979) led to Jewish
calls for Zappa to apologize. These, and such events as Zappa
testifying before Congress in 1985 against rock music censorship, being
appointed by Czech president Václav Havel
as his Cultural Liaison Officer or considering running for US
president, have unfortunately been Zappa's only real source of
mainstream publicity.
Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1991, Zappa nonetheless continued
working at his Hollywood Hills home, until his death on 4 December
1993. His widow, Gail, and children
Dweezil Zappa,
Moon Unit Zappa,
Ahmet Zappa and
Diva Zappa, soon released a statement to the
press that simply stated: "Composer Frank Zappa left for his final tour
just before 6pm Saturday."