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
Self
Sex in Today's World
Self
Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution
Himself (archive Footage)
Frank Zappa - Summer '82 : When Zappa Came to Sicily
Self
Video From Hell
Self
Frank Zappa filmt 200 Motels
Himself
Cheepnis
Member of Mothers of Invention (uncredited)
200 Motels
Self
Frank Zappa: The Torture Never Stops
Self
Frank Zappa: New York and Elsewhere
Self (archive footage)
Frank Zappa: The Present-Day Composer Refuses To Die
Self (archive footage)
Frank Zappa: Phase II - The Big Note
Self
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Self - Subject (archive footage)
Zapped: Frank Zappa par Frank Zappa
Mike Nesmith (archive footage)
Hey, Hey, We're The Monkees
Self
Funny
Self (archive footage)
Deep Purple: Made In Japan
Self (archive footage)
Fuck
Self (archive footage)
Super Duper Alice Cooper
Himself (archive footage)
Made in Japan: The Rise of Deep Purple Mk II
Self (archive footage)
EAV Rarities
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s
Self (archive footage)
Led Zeppelin Played Here
Self (archive footage)
Feats First: The Life and Music of Lowell George
Self (archive footage)
Stupor Mundi: Livre 1, Rituel de décapitation du pape
The Critic
Head
Self (archive footage)
Frank Zappa: Music In Review
Self
Ein Leben als Extravaganza - Das Genie Frank Zappa
Self
Tom Arnold: The Naked Truth
Self
Yoko Ono: This Is Not Here
Self
The Rolling Stones - Die ersten 20 Jahre
Self
Amougies (Music Power - European Music Revolution)
Self (archive footage)
Take Your Pills
Self (archive footage)
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Echo in the Canyon
Self (archive footage)
Larry Flynt for President
Self
The Amazing Mr. Bickford
Self (archive footage)
Classic Albums: Frank Zappa - Apostrophe (') Over-Nite Sensation
Self
Frank Zappa: Does Humor Belong in Music?
Self
Night Flight with Frank Zappa, Porn Wars
Self
Baby Snakes
Self
Frank Zappa: We Don't Mess Around
Self / The Imaginary Director
Uncle Meat
Self
Frank Zappa: The Broadcast Archives
Himself
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention: In the 1960's
Self
Frank Zappa - Live in Paris 1980
Self (uncredited)
The Big T.N.T. Show
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Velvet Underground
Self (archive footage)
Stupor Mundi: Livre 2, Les Hommes qui mangèrent la montagne
Self (archive footage)
Kalvøyafestivalen - 50 år siden første riff
Self - Subject (archive footage)
The Art of Dissent
Self (archive footage)
Manson: Music From an Unsound Mind
Self (archive footage)
Hart & Soul - The Hart Family Anthology
Self (archive footage)
Stupor Mundi: Livre 3, La plus dangereuse rencontre
Self (archive footage)
An American Dissident: un tributo a Frank Zappa
Self
Frank Zappa: The Dub Room Special!
Self
The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels
Himself
Frank Zappa: A Token of His Extreme
Himself
Frank Zappa - John, Dan And Me
Self (archive footage)
Rock this Town
Himself
Frank Zappa: A Token Of His Extreme
Self
Classic Albums: Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - Freak Out!
Frank Zappa: Live in Barcelona
Self
Frank Zappa: Peefeeyatko
Self
All My Loving
Himself
Cocaine Blues
Guitarist (archive footage)
The Male Swagger
Self (archive footage)
Välling och fotogen
Himself
The Revenge of the Dead Indians
Self
Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention - The Lost Broadcast: The Beat Club '68
Self (archive footage)
Steve Vai - His First 30 Years: The Documentary
Self
Your vote
Self
From Straight to Bizarre
Self (archive footage)
The Wrecking Crew
Himself
Frank Zappa & The Mothers: Roxy: The Movie
Self (archive footage)
Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words
Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention: Live at Whisky a Go Go 1968
Self
Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa: A Pioneer of the Future of Music
Attila
The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers
Himself (archive footage)
The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart
You Are What You Eat
Himself (archive footage)
Cosmic Debris
Mondo Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
Služební cesta podporučíka Svěráka
Self
The Yellow Shark
Self
Decade
Self (archive footage)
Derailroaded
Self (archive footage)
Uncle Howard
Himself
Frank Zappa: The Freak Out List
Self (archive footage)
Zappa
Frank Zappa - Over-Nite Sensation
Self - Musician (archive footage)
Cover Your Ears
Self (archive footage)
Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
Frank Zappa
Pražákům, těm je hej
Pink Floyd: Amougies Pop Festival
Frank Zappa, John Lennon & Yoko Ono: At Fillmore East
Frank Zappa: Opopoppa Stockholm, Sweden
Frank Zappa: Roxy, 1973
Self (guitar, vocals)
Frank Zappa: Cheaper Than Cheep
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
99
Gender
Male
Birthday
1940-12-21
Place of Birth
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Also Known As
Zappa