- Born
- Died
- Birth nameFrancis Vincent Zappa Jr
- Height6′ (1.83 m)
- Of all the qualities that typified Frank Zappa, perhaps the most striking is that he was a paradox. A workaholic perfectionist rock star who eschewed the hippie culture of the 1960s, deploring its conformism, spurious ideals and drug use, Zappa was not only a brilliant rock guitarist but an orchestral composer, innovative filmmaker, music producer, businessman, iconoclast and perceptive political and social commentator. His oeuvre continually amazes: over 60 albums of music from rock to orchestral, in addition to innumerable films, concerts and other accomplishments.
Frank Vincent Zappa (b. 21 Dec 1940, Baltimore, MD) began to play drums at the age of 12, and was playing in R&B groups by high school, switching to guitar at 18. After barely graduating from high school, and then dropping out of junior college (where he met his first wife, Kay Sherman), Zappa worked at such jobs as window dresser, copywriter and door-to-door sales,an. With the money he earned from scoring Run Home, Slow (1965) (written by his high school English teacher, Don Cerveris), Zappa purchased a recording studio and, after concocting an allegedly obscene recording for an undercover policeman, spent ten days in jail. Zappa's diverse range of albums (both with the seminal and protean groups The Mothers of Invention and Zappa; as well as solo releases) are renowned not only for their bravura musicianship and satire, but for offending various groups (usually conservatives, both religious and political). The 200 Motels (1971) soundtrack was deemed too offensive by the Royal Albert Hall, which canceled scheduled concerts in 1975; and the song "Jewish Princess" (1979) led to Jewish calls for Zappa to apologize. These, and such events as Zappa testifying before Congress in 1985 against rock music censorship, being appointed by Czech president Václav Havel as his Cultural Liaison Officer or considering running for US president, have unfortunately been Zappa's only real source of mainstream publicity.
Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1991, Zappa nonetheless continued working at his Hollywood Hills home, until his death on 4 December 1993. His widow, Gail, and children Dweezil Zappa, Moon Unit Zappa, Ahmet Zappa and Diva Zappa, soon released a statement to the press that simply stated: "Composer Frank Zappa left for his final tour just before 6pm Saturday."- IMDb Mini Biography By: Matt Randall <mattrandall2008@gmail.com> (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous) - Frank Zappa is an American multi-instrumentalist musician, composer, and bandleader.
His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments and musical virtuosity. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and musique concrète works, and produced almost all of the 60-plus albums that he released with his band The Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. Zappa also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. He is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse rock musicians of his era.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tango Papa
- SpousesGail Zappa(September 21, 1967 - December 4, 1993) (his death, 4 children)Kathryn J. (Kay) Sherman(December 28, 1960 - 1964) (divorced)
- Children
- RelativesLala Sloatman(Niece or Nephew)Mathilda Doucette Zappa(Grandchild)
- Moustache, cigarette smoking
- Dark and sarcastic sense of humour
- Long guitar solos
- Gave up his driver's license voluntarily, because he hated standing in line at the DMV.
- "Cured" his kids of sibling rivalry by making a tape of them squabbling, then forcing them to listen to said tape while handcuffed together in the bathroom; this was to show them how dumb they sounded when bickering.
- In an interview prior to his death, Zappa revealed he had had urination problems for years but that the prostate cancer wasn't caught until it was inoperable. He hinted this made him extremely bitter and advised others with urination problems to get multiple opinions.
- Zappa is the first, and so far only, artist to be inducted into both the Jazz and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame.
- During his last days, he wanted to make a movie called "Dwell". "Dwell" would have been a musical about a giant spider, but from the spider's point of view. He was going to make it with the people from Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988), and had several conversations with Kevin Murphy.
- Rock journalism is people who can't write, preparing stories based on interviews with people who can't talk, in order to amuse people who can't read.
- I never set out to be weird. It was always other people who called me weird.
- I've smoked ten marijuana cigarettes in my life. And they've given me a sore throat, a headache, and made me sleepy. I can't understand why anyone would wanna use the stuff. It seems such an impractical pastime as you can get sent to jail for it.
- Bad facts make bad law, and people who write bad laws are in my opinion more dangerous than songwriters who celebrate sexuality.
- Some rock musicians make a bunch of money and stick it up their noses--I stick mine in my ear.
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