Frank Zappa
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1940-12-21
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.
Also Known For
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Jan 11, 1967
Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution
Apr 25, 1967
Frank Zappa - Summer '82: When Zappa Came to Sicily
Oct 05, 2014
Video From Hell
Feb 28, 1987
Frank Zappa filmt 200 Motels
Dec 23, 1971
Cheepnis
Aug 17, 2014
200 Motels
Nov 10, 1971
Frank Zappa: The Torture Never Stops
May 01, 2008
Frank Zappa: New York and Elsewhere
Jun 01, 1980
Frank Zappa: The Present-Day Composer Refuses To Die
Jul 02, 2000
Frank Zappa: Phase II - The Big Note
Jun 20, 2002
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Apr 30, 1969
Zapped: Frank Zappa par Frank Zappa
Jan 01, 2016
Hey, Hey, We're The Monkees
Jan 22, 1997
Funny
Apr 01, 1988
Deep Purple: Made In Japan
Apr 30, 1972
Fuck
Nov 10, 2006
Super Duper Alice Cooper
Apr 17, 2014
Made in Japan: The Rise of Deep Purple Mk II
Sep 12, 2014
EAV Rarities
Feb 10, 2006
Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s
Aug 30, 2002
Led Zeppelin Played Here
Oct 11, 2014
Feats First: The Life and Music of Lowell George
Mar 23, 2015
Stupor Mundi: Livre 1, Rituel de décapitation du pape
Mar 13, 2016
Head
Nov 06, 1968
Frank Zappa: Music In Review
Feb 05, 2008
A Life of Extravaganza - The Genius Frank Zappa
Jan 01, 1993
Tom Arnold: The Naked Truth
Apr 01, 1991
Yoko Ono: This Is Not Here
May 11, 1972
The Rolling Stones - The First 20 Years
Jan 01, 1982
Amougies (Music Power - European Music Revolution)
May 01, 1970
Take Your Pills
Mar 09, 2018
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
Sep 06, 2019
Echo in the Canyon
May 24, 2019
Larry Flynt for President
Jun 12, 2021
The Amazing Mr. Bickford
Jan 01, 1987
Classic Albums: Frank Zappa - Apostrophe (') Over-Nite Sensation
May 01, 2007
Frank Zappa: Does Humor Belong in Music?
Aug 26, 1985
Night Flight with Frank Zappa, Porn Wars
Sep 19, 1985
Frank Zappa: Baby Snakes
Dec 21, 1979
Frank Zappa: We Don't Mess Around
Aug 08, 1978
Uncle Meat
Jan 01, 1987
Frank Zappa: The Broadcast Archives
Apr 01, 2008
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention: In the 1960's
Jan 20, 2009
Frank Zappa - Live in Paris 1980
Jun 12, 2008
The Big T.N.T. Show
Dec 22, 1965
The Velvet Underground
Oct 15, 2021
Stupor Mundi: Livre 2, Les Hommes qui mangèrent la montagne
Mar 13, 2016
Kalvøyafestivalen - 50 år siden første riff
Dec 13, 2021
The Art of Dissent
Oct 05, 2021
Manson: Music From an Unsound Mind
Aug 13, 2019
Hart & Soul - The Hart Family Anthology
Apr 06, 2010
Stupor Mundi: Book 3, The Most Dangerous Encounter
Sep 19, 2019
An American Dissident: un tributo a Frank Zappa
Jan 07, 1994
Frank Zappa: The Dub Room Special!
Jun 01, 1982
The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels
Jan 01, 1988
Frank Zappa: A Token of His Extreme
Aug 02, 2005
Frank Zappa - John, Dan And Me
Jan 01, 2004
Rock this Town
Mar 24, 2022
Frank Zappa: A Token Of His Extreme
Jun 03, 2013
Classic Albums: Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - Freak Out!
Oct 08, 2021
Frank Zappa: Live in Barcelona
Jan 01, 1988
Frank Zappa: Peefeeyatko
Jan 01, 1991
All My Loving
Nov 03, 1968
Cocaine Blues
Jan 02, 1983
The Male Swagger
Porridge and kerosene
Mar 18, 1997
The Revenge of the Dead Indians
Jan 01, 1993
Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention - The Lost Broadcast: The Beat Club '68
Jan 01, 2016
Steve Vai - His First 30 Years: The Documentary
Sep 07, 2022
Your vote
Jan 01, 1991
From Straight to Bizarre
Feb 21, 2012
The Wrecking Crew
Mar 11, 2008
Frank Zappa & The Mothers: Roxy: The Movie
Sep 10, 2015
Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words
May 03, 2016
Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention: Live at Whisky a Go Go 1968
Jun 21, 2024
Frank Zappa
Feb 11, 1971
Frank Zappa: A Pioneer of the Future of Music
Apr 22, 2007
The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers
Sep 17, 1984
The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart
Aug 19, 1997
You Are What You Eat
Sep 24, 1968
Marian Briozzo
Apr 19, 2018
Mondo Hollywood
Jun 30, 1967
Služební cesta podporučíka Svěráka
Jan 01, 1989
The Yellow Shark
Sep 17, 1992
Decade
Dec 09, 1989
Derailroaded
Mar 01, 2005
Uncle Howard
Mar 10, 2017
Frank Zappa: The Freak Out List
Apr 19, 2010
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Nov 27, 2020
Frank Zappa - Over-Nite Sensation
Sep 01, 1973
Cover Your Ears
May 08, 2023
Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
Jan 27, 2025
Pražákům, těm je hej
Apr 01, 1991
Pink Floyd: Amougies Pop Festival
May 01, 1970
Frank Zappa, John Lennon & Yoko Ono: At Fillmore East
Jun 06, 1971
Frank Zappa: Opopoppa Stockholm, Sweden
Sep 10, 1973
Frank Zappa: Roxy, 1973
Apr 01, 2007
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Miami Vice
Sep 16, 1984
The Monkees
Sep 12, 1966
Saturday Night Live
Oct 11, 1975
Girls and Boys - Sex and British Pop
Oct 23, 2005
Laurel Canyon
May 31, 2020
The Ren & Stimpy Show
Aug 11, 1991
Good Evening — I'm Jonathan King
Sep 30, 1967
Late Night Line-Up
Omnibus
Oct 13, 1967
Beat-Club
Sep 25, 1965
Faerie Tale Theatre
Sep 11, 1982
Saturday Night Live
Oct 11, 1975
Classic Albums
Apr 14, 1997
