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
Faerie Tale Theatre
A Life of Extravaganza - The Genius Frank Zappa
Omnibus
The Monkees
Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention: Live at Whisky a Go Go 1968
Echo in the Canyon
Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words
Made in Japan: The Rise of Deep Purple Mk II
Classic Albums
Cheepnis
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
Zappa
The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers
Frank Zappa: A Day With Frank
Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention - The Lost Broadcast: The Beat Club '68
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention: In the 1960's
200 Motels
Classic Albums: Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - Freak Out!
Feats First: The Life and Music of Lowell George
Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution
Derailroaded
Cocaine Blues
Marian Briozzo
Head
Your vote
Frank Zappa: Phase II - The Big Note
Beat-Club
Frank Zappa: Music In Review
Frank Zappa: Roxy, 1973
Frank Zappa & The Mothers: Roxy: The Movie
Take Your Pills
Amougies (Music Power - European Music Revolution)
EAV Rarities
Uncle Meat
An American Dissident: un tributo a Frank Zappa
From Straight to Bizarre
Frank Zappa: Opopoppa Stockholm, Sweden
Video from Hell
The Velvet Underground
Zapped: Frank Zappa par Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa: The Broadcast Archives
Super Duper Alice Cooper
Frank Zappa: We Don't Mess Around
Frank Zappa: New York and Elsewhere
Frank Zappa filmt 200 Motels
The Revenge of the Dead Indians
Deep Purple: Made In Japan
Frank Zappa: The Dub Room Special!
Decade
Led Zeppelin Played Here
Hart & Soul - The Hart Family Anthology
Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s
Frank Zappa: The Torture Never Stops
Frank Zappa, John Lennon & Yoko Ono: At Fillmore East
Hey, Hey, We're The Monkees
Frank Zappa: Peefeeyatko
The Wrecking Crew
You Are What You Eat
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
The Yellow Shark
Fuck
Stupor Mundi: Book 3, The Most Dangerous Encounter
Laurel Canyon
Rock this Town
Stupor Mundi: Livre 1, Rituel de décapitation du pape
The Art of Dissent
Kalvøyafestivalen - 50 år siden første riff
All My Loving
Manson: Music from an Unsound Mind
Mondo Hollywood
Funny
Tom Arnold: The Naked Truth
The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart
Pink Floyd: Amougies Pop Festival
The Amazing Mr. Bickford
The Big T.N.T. Show
Frank Zappa: Cheaper Than Cheep
Classic Albums: Frank Zappa - Apostrophe (') Over-Nite Sensation
Frank Zappa: A Pioneer of the Future of Music
Yoko Ono: This Is Not Here
The Male Swagger
Stupor Mundi: Livre 2, Les Hommes qui mangèrent la montagne
Late Night Line-Up
Frank Zappa: Does Humor Belong in Music?
Porridge and kerosene
Služební cesta podporučíka Svěráka
Frank Zappa: The Freak Out List
The Rolling Stones - The First 20 Years
Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution
Cover Your Ears
Girls and Boys - Sex and British Pop
Steve Vai - His First 30 Years: The Documentary
Sex in Today's World
Good Evening — I'm Jonathan King
Frank Zappa: The Present-Day Composer Refuses To Die
Pražákům, těm je hej
Frank Zappa: Baby Snakes
Larry Flynt for President
Frank Zappa: Live in Barcelona
The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels
Frank Zappa - Live in Paris 1980
Night Flight with Frank Zappa, Porn Wars
Frank Zappa: A Token Of His Extreme
Frank Zappa: A Token of His Extreme
Frank Zappa – Summer '82: When Zappa Came to Sicily
Frank Zappa - John, Dan And Me
Frank Zappa - Over-Nite Sensation
