Frank Zappa
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
111
Gender
Male
Birthday
1940-12-21
Day of death
1993-12-04 (52 years old)
Place of Birth
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Frank Zappa
Biography
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, electronic, 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. He wrote the lyrics to all his songs, which—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. Many of his albums are considered essential in rock and jazz history. He is regarded as one of the most original guitarists and composers of his time. He also remains a major influence on musicians and composers. He had some commercial success, particularly in Europe, and for most of his career was able to work as an independent artist. 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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Frank Zappa, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Miami Vice
The Ren & Stimpy Show
Omnibus
Classic Albums
Faerie Tale Theatre
The Monkees
Deep Purple: Made In Japan
Take Your Pills
Frank Zappa: A Token of His Extreme
Zapped: Frank Zappa par Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa: Phase II - The Big Note
The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers
Zappa
Super Duper Alice Cooper
Steve Vai - His First 30 Years: The Documentary
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention: In the 1960's
Hart & Soul - The Hart Family Anthology
Frank Zappa: Roxy, 1973
An American Dissident: un tributo a Frank Zappa
Cheepnis
Frank Zappa: The Present-Day Composer Refuses To Die
Beat-Club
Frank Zappa: The Torture Never Stops
Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words
Pražákům, těm je hej
The Velvet Underground
Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention: Live at Whisky a Go Go 1968
Laurel Canyon
Echo in the Canyon
Made in Japan: The Rise of Deep Purple Mk II
Frank Zappa: A Pioneer of the Future of Music
Stupor Mundi: Book 3, The Most Dangerous Encounter
Derailroaded
Head
Led Zeppelin Played Here
Video from Hell
The Art of Dissent
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Frank Zappa
Mondo Hollywood
Frank Zappa: New York and Elsewhere
All My Loving
The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels
Frank Zappa: The Broadcast Archives
Frank Zappa - Live in Paris 1980
Frank Zappa: Opopoppa Stockholm, Sweden
Frank Zappa: Baby Snakes
200 Motels
From Straight to Bizarre
Stupor Mundi: Livre 1, Rituel de décapitation du pape
Cocaine Blues
Kalvøyafestivalen - 50 år siden første riff
Manson: Music from an Unsound Mind
Marian Briozzo
You Are What You Eat
Rock this Town
Hey, Hey, We're The Monkees
Frank Zappa filmt 200 Motels
The Male Swagger
The Yellow Shark
The Wrecking Crew
EAV Rarities
Pink Floyd: Amougies Pop Festival
Frank Zappa: Live in Barcelona
Frank Zappa: Peefeeyatko
Girls and Boys - Sex and British Pop
Your vote
A Life of Extravaganza - The Genius Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa: Music In Review
The Big T.N.T. Show
Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s
Frank Zappa – Summer '82: When Zappa Came to Sicily
Frank Zappa & The Mothers: Roxy: The Movie
The Amazing Mr. Bickford
Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution
Frank Zappa: We Don't Mess Around
Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention - The Lost Broadcast: The Beat Club '68
Decade
Frank Zappa: The Dub Room Special!
Stupor Mundi: Livre 2, Les Hommes qui mangèrent la montagne
Fuck
Frank Zappa, John Lennon & Yoko Ono: At Fillmore East
Yoko Ono: This Is Not Here
Feats First: The Life and Music of Lowell George
Tom Arnold: The Naked Truth
Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution
The Revenge of the Dead Indians
Late Night Line-Up
Funny
Frank Zappa: Cheaper Than Cheep
The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart
Uncle Meat
Frank Zappa - John, Dan And Me
Cover Your Ears
Good Evening — I'm Jonathan King
Classic Albums: Frank Zappa - Apostrophe (') Over-Nite Sensation
Služební cesta podporučíka Svěráka
Classic Albums: Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - Freak Out!
Porridge and kerosene
The Rolling Stones - The First 20 Years
Frank Zappa: Does Humor Belong in Music?
Frank Zappa: The Freak Out List
Frank Zappa: A Token Of His Extreme
Night Flight with Frank Zappa, Porn Wars
Amougies (Music Power - European Music Revolution)
Frank Zappa - Over-Nite Sensation
Sex in Today's World
Larry Flynt for President
