Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21,
1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric
guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30
years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also
directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers.
Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band
The Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. While in his teens, he acquired
a taste for percussion-based avant-garde composers such as Edgard Varèse and
1950s rhythm and blues music. He began writing classical music in high school,
while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands; he later
switched to electric guitar.
He was a self-taught composer and
performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was
often impossible to categorize. His 1966 debut album with The Mothers of
Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with
collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. His later albums
shared this eclectic and experimental approach, irrespective of whether the
fundamental format was one of rock, jazz or classical. His lyrics—often
humorously—reflected his iconoclastic view of established social and political
processes, structures and movements. He was a strident critic of mainstream
education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate for
freedom of speech, self-education, political participation and the abolition of
censorship.
Zappa was a highly productive and
prolific artist and gained widespread critical acclaim. He had some commercial
success, particularly in Europe, and for most of his career was able to work as
an independent artist. He also remains a major influence on musicians and
composers. Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. Zappa was
married to Kathryn J. "Kay" Sherman from 1960 to 1964. In 1967, he
married Adelaide Gail Sloatman, with whom he remained until his death from
prostate cancer in 1993. They had four children: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet
Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen. Gail Zappa manages the businesses of
her late husband under the name the Zappa Family Trust.
Birth name: Frank Vincent Zappa
Born: December 21, 1940.
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Died: December 4, 1993 (aged
52),Los Angeles, California, U.S. due to prostate cancer
Genres: Rock, experimental, jazz,
classical, blues
Occupations: Composer, musician,
conductor, producer
Instruments: Vocals, guitar,
bass, keyboards, synclavier, bicycle, drums
Years active: 1955–1993
Labels: Verve, Bizarre, Straight,
DiscReet, Zappa, Barking Pumpkin
Associated acts: The Mothers of
Invention, Captain Beefheart, Steve Vai
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