Frank Zappa - Wikipedia

Frank Zappa - Wikipedia
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American musician (1940–1993)
"Zappa" redirects here. For other uses, see
Zappa (disambiguation)
Frank Zappa
Zappa performing at
Ekeberghallen
in
Oslo
, Norway, in 1977
Born
Frank Vincent Zappa
1940-12-21
December 21, 1940
Baltimore
, Maryland, U.S.
Died
December 4, 1993
(1993-12-04)
(aged 52)
Los Angeles
, California, U.S.
Resting place
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary
Occupations
Composer
songwriter
conductor
actor
filmmaker
Years active
1955–1993
Works
Discography
Spouses
Kay Sherman
m.
1960;
div.
1963)
Gail Sloatman
m.
1967
Children
Moon
Dweezil
Ahmet
Diva
Musical career
Origin
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Rock
progressive rock
blues
experimental
jazz
fusion
classical
pop
avant-garde
doo-wop
comedy
electronic
musique concrète
Instruments
Guitar
vocals
Synclavier
drums
percussion
Works
Frank Zappa discography
Labels
Verve
Bizarre
Straight
DiscReet
Zappa
Barking Pumpkin
Rykodisc
Formerly of
The Mothers of Invention
Musical artist
Website
zappa
.com
Frank Vincent Zappa
nb 1
(December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, songwriter, guitarist, conductor, actor, satirist, filmmaker, and activist. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed
rock
pop
jazz
jazz fusion
orchestral
and
musique concrète
works; he additionally produced nearly all the 60-plus albums he released with his band
the Mothers of Invention
and as a solo artist.
His
discography
is characterized by
nonconformity
improvisation
sonic experimentation,
musical virtuosity
and
satire
of American culture.
Zappa also directed feature-length films and
music videos
, and designed album covers. He is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse musicians of his generation.
As a mostly self-taught composer and performer, Zappa had diverse musical influences that led him to create music that was sometimes difficult to categorize. While in his teens, he acquired a taste for 20th-century classical
modernism
, African-American
rhythm and blues
, and
doo-wop
music.
He began writing classical music in high school, while simultaneously playing drums in rhythm-and-blues bands, later switching to electric guitar. His debut studio album with the Mothers of Invention,
Freak Out!
(1966), combined satirical but seemingly conventional
rock-and-roll
songs with extended sound collages. He continued this eclectic and experimental approach throughout his career.
Zappa's output is unified by a conceptual continuity he termed "Project/Object", with numerous musical phrases, ideas and characters reappearing throughout his albums.
His lyrics reflected his iconoclastic views of established social and political processes, structures and movements, often humorously so, and he has been described as the "godfather" of
comedy rock
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. Unlike many other rock musicians of his generation, he disapproved of recreational drug use, but supported decriminalization and regulation.
Zappa was a highly productive and prolific musician with a controversial critical standing; supporters of his music admired its compositional complexity, while detractors found it lacking emotional depth.
He had greater commercial success outside the U.S., particularly in Europe. Though he worked as an
independent artist
, Zappa mostly relied on distribution agreements he had negotiated with the major
record labels
. He remains a major influence on musicians. His many honors include his posthumous 1995 induction into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
and the 1997
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
1940–1965: Early life and career
edit
Childhood
edit
Zappa was born on December 21, 1940, in
Baltimore
, Maryland, to Rose Marie (
née
Colimore) and Francis Vincent Zappa. He was predominantly of Sicilian descent but also had Greek, Arab and French ancestors.
nb 2
The eldest of four children, he was raised in an Italian-American household where Italian was often spoken by his grandparents.
: 6
10
The family moved often because his father, a
chemist
and mathematician, worked in the defense industry. After a time in
Florida
in the 1940s, the family returned to
Maryland
, where Zappa's father worked at the
Edgewood Arsenal
chemical warfare
facility of the
Aberdeen Proving Ground
run by the
U.S. Army
. Due to their home's proximity to the arsenal, which stored
mustard gas
, gas masks were kept in the home in case of an accident.
: 20–23
This living arrangement had a profound effect on Zappa, and references to germs, germ warfare, ailments and the defense industry occur frequently throughout his work.
11
: 8–9
Zappa's father often brought
mercury
-filled lab equipment home from his workplace and gave it to Zappa to play with.
: 19
Zappa said that as a child he "used to play with it all the time", often by putting liquid mercury on the floor and using a hammer to spray out mercury droplets in a circular pattern, eventually covering the entire floor of his bedroom with them.
12
Zappa was often sick as a child, suffering from
asthma
earaches
and
sinus
problems. A doctor treated his sinusitis by inserting a pellet of
radium
into each of Zappa's nostrils. At the time, little was known about the potential dangers of even small amounts of therapeutic radiation and mercury exposure.
11
: 10
Nasal imagery and references appear in his music and lyrics, as well as in the collage album covers created by his long-time collaborator
Cal Schenkel
. Zappa believed his childhood diseases might have been due to exposure to mustard gas released by the nearby chemical warfare facility, and his health worsened when he lived in Baltimore.
: 20–23
11
: 10
In 1952, his family relocated for health reasons to
Monterey, California
, where his father taught
metallurgy
at the
Naval Postgraduate School
: 22
They soon moved to the
San Diego
neighborhood of
Clairemont
13
: 46
and then to the nearby city of
El Cajon
, before finally returning to San Diego.
14
First musical interests
edit
Since I didn't have any kind of formal training, it didn't make any difference to me if I was listening to
Lightnin' Slim
, or a vocal group called the Jewels ..., or
Webern
, or
Varèse
, or
Stravinsky
. To me it was all good music.
— Frank Zappa, 1989
: 34
At the age of 12, Zappa started learning
drum rudiments
at a summer school group course in Monterey, California with a teacher named Keith McKillop. Frank said "Instead of drums, he had us practicing on wooden planks."
: 13
Zappa joined his first band at
Mission Bay High School
in San Diego as a drummer.
: 29
At about the same time, his parents bought a
phonograph
, which allowed him to develop his interest in music, and to begin building his record collection.
11
: 22
According to
The Rough Guide to Rock
(2003), "as a teenager Zappa was simultaneously enthralled by black R&B (
Johnny 'Guitar' Watson
Guitar Slim
), doo-wop (
The Channels
The Velvets
), and modern composers, such as
Igor Stravinsky
Anton Webern
and
Edgard Varèse
."
R&B singles were early purchases for Zappa, starting a large collection he kept for the rest of his life.
11
: 36
He was interested in sounds for their own sake, particularly the sounds of drums and other percussion instruments. By age twelve, he had obtained a snare drum and began learning the basics of orchestral percussion.
: 29
Zappa's deep interest in modern classical music began
15
when he read a
LOOK
magazine article about the
Sam Goody
record store chain that lauded its ability to sell an LP as obscure as
The Complete Works of Edgard Varèse, Volume One
: 30–33
The article described Varèse's percussion composition
Ionisation
, produced by
EMS Recordings
, as "a weird jumble of drums and other unpleasant sounds". Zappa decided to seek out Varèse's music. After searching for over a year, Zappa found a copy (he noticed the LP because of the "mad scientist" looking photo of Varèse on the cover). Not having enough money with him, he persuaded the salesman to sell him the record at a discount.
: 30–33
Thus began his lifelong passion for Varèse's music and that of other modern classical composers. He also liked the Italian classical music listened to by his grandparents, especially
Puccini
's opera arias.
Zappa's senior yearbook photo, 1958
By 1956, the Zappa family had moved to
Lancaster
, a small
aerospace
and farming town in the
Antelope Valley
of the
Mojave Desert
close to
Edwards Air Force Base
; he would later refer to Sun Village (a town close to Lancaster) in the 1973 track "Village of the Sun".
16
Zappa's mother encouraged him in his musical interests. Although she disliked Varèse's music, she was indulgent enough to give her son a long-distance call to the New York composer as a fifteenth birthday present.
: 30–33
Unfortunately, Varèse was in Europe at the time, so Zappa spoke to the
composer's wife
and she suggested he call back later. In a letter, Varèse thanked him for his interest, and told him about a composition he was working on called "
Déserts
". Living in the desert town of Lancaster, Zappa found this very exciting. Varèse invited him to visit if he ever came to New York. The meeting never took place (Varèse died in 1965), but Zappa framed the letter and kept it on display for the rest of his life.
15
nb 3
At
Antelope Valley High School
, Zappa met Don Glen Vliet (who later changed his name to Don Van Vliet and adopted the stage name
Captain Beefheart
). Zappa and Vliet became close friends, sharing an interest in R&B records and influencing each other musically throughout their careers.
13
: 29–30
Around the same time, Zappa started playing drums in a local band, the Blackouts.
18
: 13
The band was racially diverse and included
Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood
who later became a member of the Mothers of Invention. Zappa's interest in the guitar grew, and in 1957 he was given his first instrument. Among his early influences were
Johnny "Guitar" Watson
Howlin' Wolf
and
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
. In the 1970s and '80s, Zappa invited Watson to perform on several albums. Zappa considered guitar solos the equivalent of forming "air sculptures",
19
and developed an eclectic, innovative and highly personal style.
20
He was also influenced by Egyptian composer
Halim El-Dabh
, an early proponent of
tape music
21
Zappa's interest in composing and arranging flourished in his last high school years. By his final year, he was writing,
arranging
and conducting avant-garde performance pieces for the school orchestra.
11
: 40
He graduated from Antelope Valley High School in 1958, and later acknowledged two of his music teachers on the sleeve of the 1966 album
Freak Out!
22
: 23
Due to his family's frequent moves, Zappa attended at least six different high schools, and as a student he was often bored and given to distracting the rest of the class with juvenile antics.
11
: 48
In 1959, he attended
Chaffey College
but left after one semester, and maintained thereafter a disdain for formal education, taking his children out of school at age 15 and refusing to pay for their college.
11
: 345
While in college, Zappa met
Terry Kirkman
and played gigs at local
coffee houses
with him.
23
Zappa left home in 1959, and moved into a small apartment in
Echo Park, Los Angeles
. After he met Kathryn J. "Kay" Sherman during his short period of private composition study with Prof.
Karl Kohn
of
Pomona College
, they moved in together in
Ontario
24
25
and were married December 28, 1960.
11
: 58
Zappa worked for a short period in advertising as a copywriter. His sojourn in the commercial world was brief, but gave him valuable insights into its workings.
: 40
26
Throughout his career, he took a keen interest in the visual presentation of his work, designing some of his album covers and directing his own films and videos.
Studio Z
edit
Zappa attempted to earn a living as a musician and composer, and played different nightclub gigs, some with a new version of the Blackouts.
11
: 59
Zappa's earliest professional recordings, two soundtracks for the low-budget films
The World's Greatest Sinner
(1962) and
Run Home, Slow
(1965) were more financially rewarding. The former score was commissioned by actor-producer
Timothy Carey
and recorded in 1961. It contains many themes that appeared on later Zappa records.
11
: 63
The latter soundtrack was recorded in 1963 after the film was completed, but it was commissioned by one of Zappa's former high school teachers in 1959 and Zappa may have worked on it before the film was shot.
11
: 55
Excerpts from the soundtrack can be heard on the posthumous album
The Lost Episodes
(1996).
During the early 1960s, Zappa wrote and produced songs for other local artists, often working with singer-songwriter
Ray Collins
and producer Paul Buff. Their "
Memories of El Monte
" was recorded by
the Penguins
, although only Cleve Duncan of the original group was featured.
27
Buff owned the small
Pal Recording Studio
in
Cucamonga
, which included a unique five-track tape recorder he had built. At that time, only a handful of the most sophisticated commercial studios had
multi-track
facilities; the industry standard for smaller studios was still mono or two-track.
: 42
Although none of the recordings from the period achieved major commercial success, Zappa earned enough money to allow him in 1963 to stage a concert of his orchestral music and to broadcast and record it.
11
: 74
In March of that same year Zappa appeared on
Steve Allen
's syndicated late night show playing a bicycle as a musical
instrument
28
29
: 35–36
using drum sticks and a bow borrowed from the band's bass player he proceeded to pluck, bang, and bow the spokes of the bike, producing strange, comical sounds from his newfound instrument. With Captain Beefheart, Zappa recorded some songs under the name of the Soots. They were rejected by
Dot Records
. Later, the Mothers were also rejected by
Columbia Records
for having "no commercial potential", a verdict Zappa subsequently quoted on the sleeve of
Freak Out!
18
: 27
In 1964, after his marriage started to break up, he moved into the Pal studio and began routinely working 12 hours or more per day recording and experimenting with
overdubbing
and
audio tape manipulation
. This established a work pattern that endured for most of his life.
: 43
Aided by his income from film composing, Zappa took over the studio from Paul Buff, who was now working with
Art Laboe
at
Original Sound
. It was renamed Studio Z.
11
: 80–81
Studio Z was rarely booked for recordings by other musicians. Instead, friends moved in, notably James "Motorhead" Sherwood.
11
: 82–83
Zappa started performing in local bars as a guitarist with a
power trio
, the Muthers, to support himself.
18
: 26
An article in the local press describing Zappa as "the Movie King of Cucamonga" prompted the local police to suspect that he was making
pornographic
films.
11
: 85
In March 1965, Zappa was approached by a
vice squad
undercover officer, and accepted an offer of $100 (equivalent to $1,020 in 2025) to produce a suggestive audio tape for an alleged
bachelor party
. Zappa and a female friend recorded a faked erotic episode. When Zappa was about to hand over the tape, he was arrested, and the police stripped the studio of all recorded material.
11
: 85
The press was tipped off beforehand, and next day's
The Daily Report
wrote that "Vice Squad investigators stilled the tape recorders of a free-swinging, a-go-go film and recording studio here Friday and arrested a self-styled movie producer".
30
Zappa was charged with "conspiracy to commit pornography".
: 57
This
felony
charge was reduced and he was sentenced to six months in jail on a
misdemeanor
, with all but ten days suspended.
11
: 86–87
His brief imprisonment left a permanent mark, and was central to the formation of his anti-authoritarian stance.
11
: xv
Zappa lost several recordings made at Studio Z in the process, as the police returned only 30 of 80 hours of tape seized.
11
: 87
Eventually, he could no longer afford to pay the rent on the studio and was evicted.
29
: 40
Zappa managed to recover some of his possessions before the studio was torn down in 1966.
11
: 90–91
1965–1970: The Mothers of Invention
edit
Formation
edit
By April 1965,
Ray Collins
, one of Zappa's friends during the early Studio Z days, was the singer of an R&B band called the Soul Giants, based in
Pomona, California
. That month, he asked Zappa to take over as guitarist in the Soul Giants, following a fight between Collins and the group's original guitarist.
10
Zappa accepted, and soon assumed leadership and the role as co-lead singer (even though he never considered himself a singer, then or later
31
). He convinced the other members that they should play his music to increase the chances of getting a record contract.
: 65–66
The band – comprising Zappa, Collins,
Roy Estrada
, and
Jimmy Carl Black
– debuted at the Broadside Club and was renamed the Mothers since this gig took place on May 10, 1965 –
Mother's Day
13
: 42
They increased their bookings after beginning an association with manager
Herb Cohen
, and gradually gained attention on the burgeoning Los Angeles
underground music
scene.
22
: 58
Under Zappa's leadership, the Mothers' lineup would be ever-changing during their time together, with members including Collins, Estrada, Black,
Elliot Ingber
, brothers
Bunk
and
Buzz Gardner
Don Preston
Billy Mundi
Jim Fielder
Jim "Motorhead" Sherwood
Ian Underwood
Art Tripp
, and
Lowell George
Signing to Verve Records
edit
See also:
Freak Out!
Absolutely Free
, and
Lumpy Gravy
In early 1966, the Mothers were spotted by leading record producer
Tom Wilson
when playing "Trouble Every Day", a song about the
Watts riots
11
: 103
Wilson had earned acclaim as the producer for
Bob Dylan
and
Simon & Garfunkel
, and was one of the few African-Americans working as a major label pop music producer at this time. Wilson signed the Mothers to the
Verve
division of
MGM
, which had built up a strong reputation for its releases of modern jazz recordings in the 1940s and 1950s, but was attempting to diversify into pop and rock audiences. Verve insisted that the band change their name, as
Mother
was short for
motherfucker
—a term that, apart from its profane meanings, can denote a skilled musician.
32
As a compromise, Zappa expanded the band's name to "The Mothers of Invention".
33
With Wilson credited as producer, the Mothers of Invention, augmented by a studio orchestra, recorded the groundbreaking
Freak Out!
(1966), which, after Bob Dylan's
Blonde on Blonde
, was the second rock
double album
ever released. It mixed R&B,
doo-wop
musique concrète
34
: 25
and experimental
sound collages
that captured the
Los Angeles freak scene
22
: 60–61
Although he was dissatisfied with the final product,
Freak Out
immediately established Zappa as a radical new voice in rock music, providing an antidote to the "relentless consumer culture of America".
11
: 115
The sound was raw, but the arrangements were sophisticated. While recording in the studio, some of the additional
session musicians
were shocked that they were expected to read the notes on sheet music from
charts
with Zappa conducting them, since it was not standard when recording rock music.
11
: 112
The lyrics praised non-conformity, disparaged authorities, and had
dadaist
elements. Yet, there was a place for seemingly conventional love songs.
35
: 10–11
Most compositions are Zappa's, which set a precedent for the rest of his recording career. He had full control over the arrangements and musical decisions and did most
overdubs
. Wilson provided the industry clout and connections and was able to provide the group with the financial resources needed.
11
: 123
Although Wilson was able to provide Zappa and the Mothers with an extraordinary degree of artistic freedom for the time, the recording did not go entirely as planned. In a 1967 radio interview, Zappa explained that the album's outlandish 11-minute closing track, "Return of the Son of Monster Magnet" was not finished. The track as it appears on the album was only a backing track for a much more complex piece, but MGM refused to allow the additional recording time needed for completion. Much to Zappa's chagrin, it was issued in its unfinished state.
36
"Hungry Freaks Daddy" (1966)
The opening track on
Freak Out!
. The album has "consistently been voted as one of top 100 greatest albums ever made".
11
: 115
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During the recording of
Freak Out!
, Zappa moved into a house in
Laurel Canyon
with friend Pamela Zarubica, who appeared on the album.
11
: 112
The house became a meeting (and living) place for many LA musicians and
groupies
of the time, despite Zappa's disapproval of their illicit drug use.
11
: 122
After a short promotional tour following the release of
Freak Out!
, Zappa met
Adelaide Gail Sloatman
. He fell in love within "a couple of minutes", and she moved into the house over the summer.
: 65–66
They married in 1967, had four children and remained together until Zappa's death.
Wilson nominally produced the Mothers' second album
Absolutely Free
(1967), which was recorded in November 1966, and later
mixed
in New York, although by this time Zappa was in
de facto
control of most facets of the production. It featured extended playing by the Mothers of Invention and focused on songs that defined Zappa's compositional style of introducing abrupt rhythm changes into songs that were built from diverse elements.
34
: 5
Examples are "Plastic People" and "Brown Shoes Don't Make It", which contained lyrics that lampooned the hypocrisy and conformity of American society, but also of the
counterculture of the 1960s
34
: 38–43
As Zappa put it, "[W]e're satirists, and we are out to satirize everything."
11
: 135–138
At this time, Zappa had also recorded material for an album of orchestral works to be released under his own name,
Lumpy Gravy
to be released by
Capitol Records
in 1967. Due to contractual problems, the album was held back. Zappa took the opportunity to radically restructure the material, adding newly recorded improvised dialogue. After the contractual problems were resolved,
a new album of the same name
was issued by Verve in 1968.
11
: 140–141
It is an "incredible ambitious musical project",
34
: 56
a "monument to
John Cage
",
22
: 86
which intertwines orchestral themes, spoken words and electronic noises through radical
audio editing
techniques.
34
: 56
37
nb 4
Move to New York and beginning of Straight and Bizarre Records
edit
See also:
We're Only in It for the Money
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
Uncle Meat
, and
Ahead of Their Time
The Mothers of Invention played in New York in late 1966 and were offered a contract at the
Garrick Theater
(at 152
Bleecker Street
, above the
Cafe au Go Go
) during Easter 1967. This proved successful and Herb Cohen extended the booking, which eventually lasted half a year.
38
: 62–69
As a result, Zappa and his wife Gail, along with the Mothers of Invention, moved to New York.
11
: 140–141
Their shows became a combination of improvised acts showcasing individual talents of the band as well as tight performances of Zappa's music. Everything was directed by Zappa using hand signals.
11
: 147
Guest performers and audience participation became a regular part of the Garrick Theater shows. One evening, Zappa managed to entice some U.S. Marines from the audience onto the stage, where they proceeded to dismember a big baby doll, having been told by Zappa to pretend that it was a "
gook
baby".
: 94
In 1967, filmmaker
Ed Seeman
paid Zappa $2,000 to produce music for a
Luden's
cough drops television commercial.
39
Zappa's music was matched with Seeman's animation and the advertisement won a
Clio Award
for "Best Use of Sound".
40
41
An alternate version of the soundtrack, called "The Big Squeeze", later appeared on Zappa's posthumous 1996 album
The Lost Episodes
. This version lacks Seeman's narration.
While living in New York City, and interrupted by the band's first European tour, the Mothers of Invention recorded the album widely regarded as the peak of the group's late 1960s work,
We're Only in It for the Money
(released 1968).
42
It was produced by Zappa, with Wilson credited as executive producer. From then on, Zappa produced all albums released by the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist.
We're Only in It for the Money
featured some of the most creative audio editing and production yet heard in pop music, and the songs ruthlessly satirized the
hippie
and
flower power
phenomena.
22
: 90
35
: 15
He sampled surf music from his Studio Z days in the audio collage
Nasal Retentive Caliope Music
. The cover photo parodied that of
the Beatles
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
nb 5
The cover art was provided by
Cal Schenkel
whom Zappa met in New York. This initiated a lifelong collaboration in which Schenkel designed covers for numerous Zappa and Mothers albums.
18
: 88
Zappa (back) with the Mothers, 1968
Reflecting Zappa's eclectic approach to music, the next album,
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
(1968), was very different. It represented a collection of
doo-wop
songs; listeners and critics were not sure whether the album was a satire or a tribute.
34
: 58
Zappa later remarked that the album was conceived like Stravinsky's compositions in his neo-classical period: "If he could take the forms and clichés of the classical era and pervert them, why not do the same ... to doo-wop in the fifties?"
: 88
The opening theme from Stravinsky's
The Rite of Spring
is sung in "Fountain of Love".
In 1967 and 1968, Zappa made two appearances with
the Monkees
. The first appearance was on an episode of
their TV series
, "The Monkees Blow Their Minds", where Zappa, dressed up as
Mike Nesmith
, interviews Nesmith who is dressed up as Zappa. After the interview, Zappa destroys a car with a sledgehammer as the song "Mother People" plays. He later provided a cameo in the Monkees' movie
Head
where, leading a cow, he tells
Davy Jones
"the youth of America depends on you to show them the way." Zappa respected the Monkees and attempted to recruit
Micky Dolenz
to the Mothers but RCA/Columbia/Colgems would not release Dolenz from his contract.
11
: 158–159
During the late 1960s, Zappa continued to develop the business side of his career. He and Herb Cohen formed the
Bizarre
and
Straight
labels to increase creative control and produce recordings by other artists. These labels were distributed in the US by
Warner Bros. Records
. Zappa/Mothers recordings appeared on Bizarre along with
Wild Man Fischer
and
Lenny Bruce
11
: 173–175
Straight released the double album
Trout Mask Replica
for
Captain Beefheart
, and releases by
Alice Cooper
The Persuasions
, and
the GTOs
. The Mothers' first album on Bizarre was 1969's
Uncle Meat
, which Zappa described as "most of the music from the Mothers' movie of the same name which we haven't got enough money to finish yet". A version of the
Uncle Meat
film was released direct-to-video in 1987. Principal photography having never been completed, the VHS videocassette is a "making of" documentary showing rehearsals and background footage from 1968 and interviews with people involved with the uncompleted production.
43
Zappa and the Mothers on stage in Hamburg, October 1968
During the Mothers' second European tour in September/October 1968, they performed for the Internationale Essener Songtage at the
Grugahalle
in
Essen
, Germany; at the
Tivoli
in Copenhagen, Denmark; for TV programs in Germany (
Beat-Club
), France, and England; at the
Concertgebouw
in Amsterdam; at the
Royal Festival Hall
in London; and at the
Olympia
in Paris.
44
Return to California and breakup
edit
See also:
Hot Rats
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
, and
Weasels Ripped My Flesh
"Peaches En Regalia" (1969)
The opening track on
Hot Rats
is considered one of Zappa's most enduring compositions.
34
: 74
45
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Zappa and the Mothers of Invention returned to Los Angeles in mid-1968; the Zappas moved into a house on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, only to move again to Woodrow Wilson Drive.
11
: 178
This was Zappa's home for the rest of his life. Despite being successful in Europe, the Mothers of Invention were not doing well financially.
22
: 116
Their first records were vocally oriented, but as Zappa wrote more instrumental jazz and classical style music for the band's concerts, audiences were confused. Zappa felt that audiences failed to appreciate his "electrical chamber music".
11
: 185–187
13
: 119–120
In 1969, there were nine band members and Zappa was supporting the group from his publishing
royalties
whether they played or not.
22
: 116
In late 1969, Zappa broke up the band. He often cited the financial strain as the main reason,
: 107
but also commented on the band members' lack of diligence.
13
: 120
Many band members were bitter about Zappa's decision, and some took it as a sign of Zappa's perfectionism at the expense of human feeling.
11
: 185–187
Others were irritated by 'his
autocratic
ways',
11
: 123
exemplified by Zappa's never staying at the same hotel as the band members.
11
: 116
Several members would play with Zappa again in subsequent years, while Lowell George and Roy Estrada went on to form the band
Little Feat
. Zappa assembled remaining unreleased recordings of the band on the albums
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
and
Weasels Ripped My Flesh
, both released in 1970.
After he disbanded the Mothers of Invention, Zappa released the acclaimed solo album
Hot Rats
(1969).
11
: 194
46
It features, for the first time on record, Zappa playing extended guitar solos and contains one of his most enduring compositions, "
Peaches en Regalia
", which reappeared several times on future recordings.
34
: 74
He was backed by jazz, blues and R&B session players including violinist
Don "Sugarcane" Harris
, drummers
John Guerin
and
Paul Humphrey
, multi-instrumentalist and former Mothers of Invention member Ian Underwood, and multi-instrumentalist
Shuggie Otis
on bass, along with a guest appearance by
Captain Beefheart
on the only vocal track, "Willie the Pimp". It became a popular album in England,
: 109
and had a major influence on the development of
jazz-rock fusion
11
: 194
34
: 74
1970–1980: Highs and lows
edit
Rebirth of the Mothers and filmmaking
edit
See also:
Chunga's Revenge
Fillmore East – June 1971
200 Motels (soundtrack)
Just Another Band from L.A.
, and
Playground Psychotics
Frank Zappa, 1970
Zappa on stage at the
Theatre de Clichy
, Paris, 1971
In 1970, Zappa met conductor
Zubin Mehta
. They arranged a May 1970 concert where Mehta conducted the
Los Angeles Philharmonic
augmented by a rock band. According to Zappa, the music was mostly written in motel rooms while on tour with the Mothers of Invention. Some of it was later featured in the movie
200 Motels
: 109
Although the concert was a success, Zappa's experience working with a symphony orchestra was not a happy one.
: 88
His dissatisfaction became a recurring theme throughout his career; he often felt that the quality of performance of his material delivered by orchestras was not commensurate with the money he spent on orchestral concerts and recordings.
: 142–156
Later in 1970, Zappa formed a new version of the Mothers (from then on, he mostly dropped the "of Invention"). Along with Ian Underwood, the new band also included British drummer
Aynsley Dunbar
, jazz keyboardist
George Duke
, bassist
Jeff Simmons
, and the two lead singers of
the Turtles
Mark Volman
and
Howard Kaylan
, who, due to persistent legal and contractual problems, adopted the stage name "The Phlorescent Leech and Eddie" or "
Flo & Eddie
" for short.
11
: 201
Another member of the Turtles,
Jim Pons
, would join on bass in February 1971, following Simmons' departure the previous month and his brief replacement by Martin Lickert.
This version of the Mothers debuted on Zappa's next solo album
Chunga's Revenge
(1970),
11
: 205
which was followed by
the double-album soundtrack
to the movie
200 Motels
(1971), featuring the Mothers, the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Ringo Starr
Theodore Bikel
, and
Keith Moon
. Co-directed by Zappa and
Tony Palmer
, it was filmed in a week at
Pinewood Studios
outside London.
18
: 183
Tensions between Zappa and several cast and crew members arose before and during shooting.
18
: 183
The film deals loosely with life on the road as a rock musician.
11
: 207
It was the first feature film photographed on
videotape
and transferred to
35 mm film
, a process that allowed for novel visual effects.
47
It was released to mixed reviews.
34
: 94
The score relied extensively on orchestral music, and Zappa's dissatisfaction with the classical music world intensified when a concert, scheduled at the
Royal Albert Hall
after filming, was canceled because a representative of the venue found some of the lyrics obscene. In 1975, he lost a lawsuit against the Royal Albert Hall for breach of contract.
: 119–137
After
200 Motels
, the band went on tour, which resulted in two live albums,
Fillmore East – June 1971
and
Just Another Band from L.A.
; the latter included the 20-minute track "
Billy the Mountain
", Zappa's satire on rock opera set in Southern California. This track was representative of the band's theatrical performances—which used songs to build sketches based on
200 Motels
scenes, as well as new situations that often portrayed the band members' sexual encounters on the road.
11
: 203–204
nb 6
Accident, attack, and aftermath
edit
Zappa with the Mothers, 1971
On December 4, 1971, Zappa suffered his first of two serious setbacks. While performing at
Casino de Montreux
in Switzerland, the Mothers' equipment was destroyed when a flare set off by an audience member started a fire that burned down the casino.
: 112–115
Deep Purple
were booked to record in the casino after Zappa's performance, and wrote about the incident in their 1972 song "
Smoke on the Water
". A recording of the incident and immediate aftermath can be heard on the bootleg album
Swiss Cheese/Fire
, released legally as part of Zappa's
Beat the Boots II
box set. After losing $50,000 (equivalent to $397,000 in 2025) worth of equipment and a week's break, the Mothers played at the
Rainbow Theatre
, London, with rented gear. During the encore, an audience member, jealous because of his girlfriend's infatuation with Zappa, pushed him off the stage and into the concrete-floored orchestra pit.
48
The band thought Zappa had been killed—he had suffered serious fractures, head trauma and injuries to his back, leg, and neck, as well as a crushed
larynx
, which ultimately caused his voice to drop a
third
after healing.
: 112–115
A recording of the whole concert, including the attack, was released on the posthumous album
The Mothers 1971
in 2022.
Zappa on Stage in Hamburg, December 1971
After the attack, Zappa needed to use a wheelchair for an extended period; this made touring impossible for over half a year. Upon return to the stage in September 1972, Zappa was still wearing a leg brace, had a noticeable limp and could not stand for very long while on stage. Zappa noted that one leg healed "shorter than the other" (a reference later found in the lyrics of songs "Zomby Woof" and "
Dancin' Fool
"), resulting in chronic back pain.
: 112–115
Meanwhile, the Mothers were left in limbo and eventually formed the core of Flo and Eddie's band as they set out on their own.
Waka/Jawaka
and
The Grand Wazoo
edit
See also:
Waka/Jawaka
and
The Grand Wazoo
"Waka/Jawaka" (1972)
The closing track on
Waka/Jawaka
, one of Zappa's jazz-oriented albums.
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In 1972, Zappa released two strongly jazz-oriented solo LPs,
Waka/Jawaka
and
The Grand Wazoo
, which were recorded during the forced layoff from concert touring, using floating lineups of session players and Mothers alumni.
34
: 101
Musically, the albums were akin to
Hot Rats,
in that they featured extended instrumental tracks with extended soloing.
11
: 225–226
Zappa began touring again in late 1972.
11
: 225–226
His first effort was a series of concerts in September 1972 with a 20-piece
big band
referred to as the Grand Wazoo. This was followed by a scaled-down version known as the Petit Wazoo that toured the U.S. for five weeks from October to December 1972.
49
In December 1972,
50
David Walley published the first biography of Zappa, titled
No Commercial Potential
. Zappa was severely critical, calling it "a quickie, paperback, sensational book". He said that it contained "gross inaccuracies", described the writing as "not quality workmanship" and claimed that Walley had "just slung together a bunch of quotes".
51
Despite Zappa's complaints, the book was later published in an updated edition in 1980
22
and again in 1996 after Zappa's death.
Beginning of DiscReet Records and commercial peak
edit
See also:
Over-Nite Sensation
Apostrophe (')
Roxy & Elsewhere
One Size Fits All (Frank Zappa album)
, and
Bongo Fury
Zappa giving the finger during a show in Hamburg, September 1974
Zappa then formed and toured with smaller groups that variously included
Ian Underwood
(reeds, keyboards),
Ruth Underwood
(vibes, marimba), Sal Marquez (trumpet, vocals),
Napoleon Murphy Brock
(sax, flute and vocals),
Bruce Fowler
(trombone),
Tom Fowler
(bass),
Chester Thompson
(drums), Ralph Humphrey (drums),
George Duke
(keyboards, vocals), and
Jean-Luc Ponty
(violin).
By 1973, the Bizarre and Straight labels were discontinued. Zappa and Cohen then created
DiscReet
, also distributed by Warner.
11
: 231
Zappa continued a high rate of production through the first half of the 1970s, including the album
Apostrophe (')
(1974), which reached a career-high No. 10 on the
Billboard
pop album charts
52
helped by the No. 86 chart hit "
Don't Eat The Yellow Snow
".
53
Other albums from the period are
Over-Nite Sensation
(1973), which contained several future concert favourites such as "Dinah-Moe Humm" and "
Montana
", as well as
Roxy & Elsewhere
(1974) and
One Size Fits All
(1975), which are notable for the tight renditions of highly difficult
jazz fusion
songs in such pieces as "
Inca Roads
", "Echidna's Arf (Of You)" and "Be-Bop Tango (Of the Old Jazzmen's Church)".
34
: 114–122
A live recording from 1974,
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2
(1988), captures "the full spirit and excellence of the 1973–1975 band".
34
: 114–122
Zappa with
Captain Beefheart
, seated left, during a 1975 concert
In April 1975 Zappa complained about ongoing contractual problems between DiscReet and Warner.
54
He released
Bongo Fury
(1975), which featured a live recording at the
Armadillo World Headquarters
in Austin from a tour the same year that reunited him with
Captain Beefheart
for a brief period.
11
: 248
They later became estranged for a period of years, but were in contact at the end of Zappa's life.
11
: 372
Business breakups and continued touring
edit
See also:
Zoot Allures
Zappa in New York
Studio Tan
Sleep Dirt
, and
Orchestral Favorites
In 1976, Zappa produced the album
Good Singin', Good Playin'
for
Grand Funk Railroad
. His relationship with long-time manager Herb Cohen ended in May 1976.
55
After Cohen cashed one of Zappa's royalty checks from Warner and kept the money for himself, Zappa sued him.
56
Zappa was also upset with Cohen for signing acts he did not approve.
11
: 250
57
Cohen filed a lawsuit against Zappa in return, which froze the money the pair were expecting to receive from an out-of-court settlement with
MGM
Verve
over the rights to Zappa's early
Mothers of Invention
recordings. The MGM settlement was finalized in mid-1977 after two years of negotiations.
58
Litigation with Cohen also prevented Zappa having access to any of his previously recorded material during the trials. Zappa therefore took his personal master copies of the album
Zoot Allures
(1976) directly to Warner, while bypassing DiscReet.
11
: 253, 258–259
Cohen countersued, claiming that the Warner release violated the terms of his DiscReet contract with Zappa.
59
So the final four albums of Zappa's recording contract were then assigned back to DiscReet, against Zappa's objection. Following the split with Cohen, Zappa hired Bennett Glotzer as new manager.
60
By late 1976, Zappa was upset with Warner over inadequate promotion of his DiscReet recordings and he was eager to move on as soon as possible.
61
In March 1977, Zappa delivered four albums (five full-length LPs) to Warner to complete his contract:
Zappa in New York
(a 2-LP set),
Studio Tan
Sleep Dirt
and
Orchestral Favorites
57
These albums contained recordings mostly made between 1972 and 1976. Warner failed to meet contractual obligations to Zappa, and in response he filed a multi-million dollar breach of contract lawsuit.
62
During a lengthy legal debate, Warner eventually released the four disputed albums during 1978 and 1979,
Zappa in New York
having been censored to remove references to guitarist
Punky Meadows
. Following his completion of the Warner contract, Zappa reconfigured the four disputed albums, along with some other material, into a quadruple album called
Läther
(pronounced "leather") and negotiated distribution with
Phonogram Inc.
for release on the new
Zappa Records
label.
Läther
was scheduled for release on
Halloween
1977, but legal action from Warner forced Zappa to shelve this project.
11
: 261
In December 1977, Zappa appeared on the
Pasadena, California
radio station
KROQ-FM
and played the entire
Läther
album, while encouraging listeners to make tape recordings of the broadcast.
13
: 248
The album integrates many aspects of Zappa's 1970s work: heavy rock, orchestral works, and complex jazz instrumentals, along with Zappa's distinctive guitar solos.
Läther
was officially released posthumously in 1996. It has been debated as to whether Zappa had conceived the material as a four-LP set from the beginning, or only later when working with Phonogram.
11
: 267
nb 7
Gail Zappa claimed in 1996 that
Läther
was Zappa's original intention.
63
64
However, Zappa himself stated in an October 1978 radio interview that "
Läther
was made out of four albums. Warners has released two of them already and they have two more that they're probably gonna release."
65
Although Zappa eventually gained the rights to all his material created under the MGM and Warner contracts,
35
: 49
the various lawsuits meant that for a period Zappa's only income came from touring, which he therefore did extensively in 1975–1977 with relatively small, mainly rock-oriented, bands.
11
: 261
Drummer
Terry Bozzio
became a regular band member, Napoleon Murphy Brock stayed on for a while, and original Mothers of Invention bassist
Roy Estrada
joined. Among other musicians were bassist
Patrick O'Hearn
, singer-guitarist
Ray White
and former
Roxy Music
keyboardist/violinist
Eddie Jobson
. In December 1976, Zappa appeared as a featured musical guest on the
NBC
television show
Saturday Night Live
11
: 262
Zappa's song "
I'm the Slime
" was performed with a voice-over by
SNL
booth announcer
Don Pardo
, who also introduced "Peaches En Regalia" on the same airing. In 1978, Zappa served both as host and musical act on the show. The performances included an impromptu musical collaboration with cast member
John Belushi
during the instrumental piece "The Purple Lagoon". Belushi appeared as his
Samurai Futaba
character playing the tenor sax with Zappa conducting.
66
However, he earned a ban from the show after the latter episode because he had done what producers called "a disastrous job of hosting" (Zappa reportedly did not get along with cast and crew in the lead-up to recording, then told the audience he was simply reading from cue cards).
67
Zappa in Toronto, 1977
Zappa's band had a series of Christmas shows in New York City in 1976, recordings of which appear on
Zappa in New York
and
Läther
. The band included Ruth Underwood and a horn section (featuring
Michael
and
Randy Brecker
). It mixes complex instrumentals such as "
The Black Page
" and humorous songs like "Titties and Beer".
34
: 132
The former composition, written originally for drum kit but later developed for larger bands, is notorious for its complexity in rhythmic structure and short, densely arranged passages.
68
69
"The Black Page Drum Solo/Black Page #1" (recorded 1976, released 1978)
One of Zappa's complex, percussion-based compositions featured on
Zappa in New York
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Zappa in New York
also featured a song about sex criminal
Michael H. Kenyon
, "The Illinois Enema Bandit", in which Don Pardo provides the opening narrative. Like many songs on the album, it contained numerous sexual references,
34
: 132
leading to many critics objecting and being offended by the content.
34
: 134
34
: 261–262
Zappa dismissed the criticism by noting that he was acting as a "journalist" reporting on life as he saw it.
11
: 234
Predating his later fight against censorship, he remarked: "What do you make of a society that is so primitive that it clings to the belief that certain words in its language are so powerful that they could corrupt you the moment you hear them?"
31
The remaining albums released by Warner without Zappa's approval were
Studio Tan
in 1978 and
Sleep Dirt
and
Orchestral Favorites
in 1979. These releases were not promoted and were largely overlooked in the midst of the press about Zappa's legal problems.
34
: 138
The 1991 CD releases of these albums marked the first time they were issued with Zappa's full approval.
70
Zappa Records
edit
See also:
Sheik Yerbouti
Joe's Garage
, and
Baby Snakes (soundtrack)
"Bobby Brown" (1979)
The single became a hit in non-English speaking countries and helped
Sheik Yerbouti
become a best-seller.
18
: 351
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Zappa released two of his most important projects in 1979. The double LP
Sheik Yerbouti
appeared in March and was the first release on Zappa Records. It became the best-selling album of his career.
71
The album contained the
Grammy
-nominated single "Dancin' Fool", which reached No. 45 on the
Billboard
charts.
72
It also contained "
Jewish Princess
", which received attention when the
Anti-Defamation League
(ADL) attempted to prevent the song from receiving radio airplay due to its alleged
antisemitic
lyrics.
11
: 234
Zappa vehemently denied any antisemitic sentiments, and dismissed the ADL as a "noisemaking organization that tries to apply pressure on people in order to manufacture a stereotype image of Jews that suits their idea of a good time."
73
The album's commercial success was attributable in part to "
Bobby Brown
". Due to its explicit lyrics, the song did not get airplay in the U.S., but it topped the charts in several European countries where English is not the primary language.
18
: 351
Joe's Garage
has been described as a "bona fide masterpiece".
34
: 140
The project initially had to be released in two parts due to economic conditions.
74
The first was a single LP
Joe's Garage Act I
in September 1979, followed by a double LP
Joe's Garage Acts II and III
in November 1979. The story features singer
Ike Willis
as the lead character in a
rock opera
about the danger of
political systems
34
: 140
the suppression of
freedom of speech
and music—inspired in part by the 1979
Islamic
Iranian revolution
that had made music illegal
11
: 277
—and about the "strange relationship Americans have with sex and sexual frankness".
34
: 140
The
Act I
album reached number 27 on the
Billboard 200
chart. It contains the song "Catholic Girls" (a
riposte
to the controversies of "Jewish Princess")
35
: 59
and the title track, which was also released as a single. The second and third acts have extended guitar improvisations, which were recorded live, then combined with studio backing tracks. Zappa described this process as
xenochrony
. The band included drummer Vinnie Colaiuta (with whom Zappa had a particularly strong musical rapport)
: 180
Included is one of Zappa's guitar "signature pieces", "
Watermelon in Easter Hay
".
35
: 61
75
In 1987, all three acts were reissued together as a 3-LP and 2-CD set.
Zappa had been known for his long hair since the mid-1960s, but he had Gail cut it short around August 1979.
74
That autumn he cancelled tour plans to stay home with newborn daughter Diva, and celebrate the birthdays of children Moon and Dweezil in September.
76
At this time Zappa also completed the
Utility Muffin Research Kitchen
(UMRK) studios, which were located at his house,
77
thereby giving him complete freedom in his work.
11
: 269
On Zappa's 39th birthday, December 21, 1979, his film
Baby Snakes
premiered in New York City. He described it as "A movie about people who do stuff that is not normal".
78
The 2 hour and 40 minute movie shows concerts in New York during Halloween 1977, with a band featuring keyboardist
Tommy Mars
, percussionist
Ed Mann
and guitarist
Adrian Belew
. It also contained
clay animation
by
Bruce Bickford
who had earlier worked with Zappa on a 1974 TV special (later seen in the 1982 video
The Dub Room Special
).
11
: 282
The movie had a highly successful initial release in Manhattan, but did not do well in theatrical distribution,
79
It later won the Premier Grand Prix at the First International Music Festival in Paris in 1981.
11
: 282
1980–1993: Later years
edit
Beginning of Barking Pumpkin Records
edit
See also:
Tinsel Town Rebellion
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
, and
You Are What You Is
Zappa performing at the
Memorial Auditorium
Buffalo, New York
, 1980. The concert was released in 2007 as
Buffalo
Zappa cut ties with Phonogram after the distributor refused to release his song "
I Don't Wanna Get Drafted
", which was recorded in February 1980.
80
The single was released independently by Zappa in the United States and was picked up by CBS Records internationally.
81
After spending much of 1980 on the road, Zappa released
Tinsel Town Rebellion
in 1981. It was the first release on his own
Barking Pumpkin Records
34
: 161
and featured live recordings from 1979 and 1980, as well as a new studio track, "Fine Girl". The album is a mixture of complicated instrumentals and Zappa's use of
sprechstimme
(speaking song or voice)—a compositional technique utilized by such composers as
Arnold Schoenberg
and
Alban Berg
—showcasing some of the most accomplished bands Zappa ever had (mostly featuring drummer Vinnie Colaiuta).
34
: 161
While some lyrics still raised controversy among critics, some of whom found them sexist,
11
: 284
the political and sociological satire in songs like the title track and "The Blue Light" have been described as a "hilarious critique of the willingness of the American people to believe anything".
34
: 165
The album is also notable for the presence of guitarist
Steve Vai
, who joined Zappa's touring band in late 1980.
11
: 283
In 1981, Zappa also released three instrumental albums,
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar Some More
, and
The Return of the Son of Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar
, which were initially sold via
mail order
, but later released as one 3-LP set through CBS Records (now
Sony Music Entertainment
) due to popular demand.
82
The albums consist entirely of tracks in which Zappa is featured as a guitar soloist, and they are predominantly live recordings from 1979 to 1980; they highlight Zappa's improvisational skills with "beautiful performances from the backing group as well".
83
Another guitar-only album,
Guitar
, was released in 1988, and a third,
Trance-Fusion
, which Zappa completed shortly before his death, was released in 2006.
84
"Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar Some More" (recorded 1979, released 1981)
The title track on
Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar
features Zappa's guitar improvisations.
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The same year, the double album
You Are What You Is
was released. The album mainly consisted of rock songs with Zappa's sardonic social commentary—satirical lyrics directed at teenagers, the media, and religious and political hypocrisy.
85
"Dumb All Over" is a tirade against religion, as is "Heavenly Bank Account", wherein Zappa rails against
TV evangelists
such as
Jerry Falwell
and
Pat Robertson
for their purported influence on the U.S. administration as well as their use of religion as a means of raising money.
34
: 169–175
Songs like "Society Pages" and "I'm a Beautiful Guy" show Zappa's dismay with the
Reagan
era and its "obscene pursuit of wealth and happiness".
34
: 169–175
Zappa made his only music video for a song from this album – "You Are What You Is" – directed by Jerry Watson, produced by Paul Flattery. The video was banned from
MTV
, though was later featured by
Mike Judge
in the
Beavis & Butthead
episode "Canoe".
86
Also included is the guitar instrumental, "Theme from the 3rd Movement of Sinister Footwear" which he adapted from a ballet performed with the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra in 1984.
Zappa later expanded on his television appearances in a non-musical role. He was an actor or voice artist in episodes of
Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre
87
Miami Vice
11
: 343
and
The Ren & Stimpy Show
87
88
A voice part in
The Simpsons
never materialized, to creator
Matt Groening
's disappointment (Groening was a neighbor of Zappa and a lifelong fan).
89
"Valley Girl" and classical performances
edit
See also:
Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch
The Man from Utopia
, and
London Symphony Orchestra (Zappa albums)
In May 1982, Zappa released
Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch
, which featured his biggest selling single ever, the
Grammy Award
-nominated song "
Valley Girl
" (topping out at No. 32 on the
Billboard
charts).
72
In her improvised lyrics to the song, Zappa's daughter
Moon
satirized the
patois
of teenage girls from the
San Fernando Valley
, which popularized many "
Valleyspeak
" expressions such as "gag me with a spoon", "fer sure, fer sure", "grody to the max", and "barf out".
90
The first of Zappa's lawsuits against Warner was scheduled to go to court starting in January 1982.
91
92
All of Zappa's Bizarre and DiscReet recordings also went out of print when the Warner distribution agreement ended in 1982. In 1989 the Los Angeles Times quoted a Warner representative saying that these releases "consistently sold hundreds of thousands of units, which wasn’t huge, but it was substantial."
93
A 1983 album
The Man from Utopia
featured an anti-drug single "
Cocaine Decisions
". "The Dangerous Kitchen" and "The Jazz Discharge Party Hats" are continuations of the sprechstimme vocal excursions on
Tinseltown Rebellion
, and the album also has jazzy rock instrumentals "Mōggio" and "We Are Not Alone". A second 1983 album,
London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. I
, includes orchestral Zappa compositions conducted by
Kent Nagano
and performed by the
London Symphony Orchestra
(LSO). A second record of these sessions,
London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. II
was released in 1987. The material was recorded under a tight schedule with Zappa providing all funding, helped by the commercial success of "Valley Girl".
: 146–156
Zappa was not satisfied with the LSO recordings. He drew particular attention to the performance of "Strictly Genteel", which was recorded after the trumpet section had been out for drinks on a break: the track needed 40 edits to hide out-of-tune notes.
: 146–156
Conductor Nagano, who was pleased with the experience, noted that "in fairness to the orchestra, the music is humanly very, very difficult".
11
: 315
Some reviews noted that the recordings were the best representation of Zappa's orchestral work so far.
94
In 1984 Zappa teamed again with Nagano and the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra
95
for a live performance of
A Zappa Affair
with augmented orchestra, life-size puppets, and moving stage sets. Although critically acclaimed, the work was a financial failure, and only performed twice. Zappa was invited by conference organizer
Thomas Wells
to be the keynote speaker at the American Society of University Composers at the
Ohio State University
. It was there Zappa delivered an address entitled "Bingo! There Goes Your Tenure",
96
and had two of his orchestra pieces, "Dupree's Paradise" and "Naval Aviation in Art?" performed by the
Columbus Symphony Orchestra
and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus.
11
: 323
97
Zappa's management relationship with Bennett Glotzer ended in 1984.
98
Starting in 1985 Gail began managing much of the Zappa business empire, which included a record label, a mail-order company, a video company and a music publishing firm.
99
Beginning of Synclavier works
edit
See also:
The Perfect Stranger (Frank Zappa album)
Them or Us
Thing-Fish
Francesco Zappa (album)
, and
Does Humor Belong in Music? (album)
"Naval Aviation in Art?" (1984)
A Zappa composition for classical ensemble from
The Perfect Stranger
(1984)
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In 1983, Zappa began using the
Synclavier
, an early digital synthesizer which over time became his primary compositional and performance tool.
: 172–173
According to Zappa, "With the Synclavier, any group of imaginary instruments can be invited to play the most difficult passages ... with
one-millisecond
accuracy—every time".
: 172–173
Even though it essentially did away with the need for musicians,
11
: 319
Zappa viewed the Synclavier and real-life musicians as separate.
: 172–173
In late 1984, he released four albums.
The Perfect Stranger
contains orchestral works commissioned and conducted by celebrated conductor, composer and pianist
Pierre Boulez
(who was listed as an influence on
Freak Out!
), and performed by his
Ensemble intercontemporain
. These were juxtaposed with premiere Synclavier pieces. Again, Zappa was not satisfied with the performances of his orchestral works, regarding them as under-rehearsed, but in the album liner notes he respectfully thanks Boulez's demands for precision.
35
: 73
The Synclavier pieces stood in contrast to the orchestral works, as the sounds were electronically generated and not, as became possible shortly thereafter,
sampled
Them or Us
is a two LP set of studio and live rock recordings. It includes a version of the
Allman Brothers Band
song "
Whipping Post
", and "Be in My Video", Zappa's satirical take on perceived visual clichés of the
MTV
channel.
Francesco Zappa
, a Synclavier rendition of works by 18th-century composer
Francesco Zappa
, was also released in 1984.
100
The album
Thing-Fish
was an ambitious three-record set in the style of a Broadway play dealing with a
dystopian
"what-if" scenario involving feminism, homosexuality, manufacturing and distribution of the AIDS virus, and a
eugenics
program conducted by the United States government.
101
New vocals were combined with previously released tracks and new Synclavier music; "the work is an extraordinary example of
bricolage
".
102
Merchandising
edit
Zappa's mail-order merchandise business, Barfko-Swill, established during the 1980s by Zappa's wife Gail, offers t-shirts, videos, posters, sheet music, and collector's recordings, most of them unavailable through other media.
103
Gail has explained why Barfko-Swill was founded: "Just piles and piles of fan mail sitting around unanswered or with no response. The first thing that we did was put a list together from the fan mail and made a Barking Pumpkin t-shirt available which we still have – same old shirt, same old logo, same old price – just to see what would happen. Everybody would write to us and ask us if there was something they could get besides records. ... That was really the primary reason for getting into the business – for setting up Barfko-Swill – in those days was to be independent. To not have to rely on a major record company's interest and ability to promote your product. And that was what the challenge was for me. I prefer the autonomy."
104
From 1983 to 1993, Barfko-Swill was run by
Gerry Fialka
105
Fialka also worked for Zappa as archivist, production assistant, tour assistant, and
factotum
106
107
108
109
and answered the phone for Zappa's
Barking Pumpkin Records
hotline.
110
111
The 1987
VHS
release of Zappa's film
Baby Snakes
includes, as an extra feature, Fialka giving a tour of Barfko-Swill. He is credited on-screen as "Gerald Fialka Cool Guy Who Wraps Stuff So It Doesn't Break".
112
A short clip of this tour is also included in the 2020 documentary film
Zappa
Digital medium and last tour
edit
See also:
Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention
Jazz from Hell
Guitar (Frank Zappa album)
Broadway the Hard Way
The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life
Make a Jazz Noise Here
, and
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore
Starting in the mid-1980s, Zappa undertook a comprehensive re-release program of his earlier vinyl recordings.
11
: 340
He personally oversaw the remastering of all his 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s albums for the new digital compact disc (CD) medium.
nb 8
Certain aspects of these re-issues have been criticized by some fans as being unfaithful to the original recordings, with changes made to
We're Only in It for the Money
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
Uncle Meat
, and
Sleep Dirt
being the most strongly criticized.
113
Nearly twenty years before the advent of online music stores, Zappa had proposed to replace "phonographic record merchandising" of music by "direct digital-to-digital transfer" through phone or cable TV (with royalty payments and consumer billing automatically built into the accompanying software).
: 337–339
In 1989, Zappa considered his idea a "miserable flop".
: 337–339
The album
Jazz from Hell
released in 1986, earned Zappa his first
Grammy Award
in 1988 for
Best Rock Instrumental Performance
. Except for one live guitar solo ("St. Etienne"), the album exclusively featured compositions brought to life by the Synclavier.
Zappa's last tour began on February 2, 1988 in Albany, New York and ended on June 6th in Genoa, Italy.
114
By the end the band had a repertoire of over 100 mostly Zappa compositions. With 12 members, it was one of his largest touring ensembles, including a five piece horn section. The group split up early under acrimonious circumstances before Zappa's intended completion date.
11
: 346–350
The tour was documented on the albums
Broadway the Hard Way
(new material featuring songs with strong political emphasis);
The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life
(Zappa "standards" and an eclectic collection of cover tunes, ranging from
Maurice Ravel
's
Boléro
to
Led Zeppelin
's "
Stairway to Heaven
"); and
Make a Jazz Noise Here
(a selection of Zappa's more instrumentally complex and jazz orientated material). An album of guitar solos from this tour also appeared as the posthumous 2006 album
Trance-Fusion
, a follow-up to the
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
and
Guitar
albums.
More recordings from the 1988 tour would appear as part of
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore
, a series of six double CDs compiled by Zappa from unreleased live recordings, dating back to the earliest Mothers recordings from 1965. The six volumes were released between 1988 and 1992.
The Real Frank Zappa Book
, co-written with Peter Occhiogrosso, was published by
Poseidon Press
in 1989. Zappa appeared on the TV interview show
Larry King Live
to promote it. He explained the title by saying he wrote it in response to previous unauthorized books, which he considered to be stupid and exploitative.
115
Health deterioration
edit
See also:
The Yellow Shark
"N-Lite" (recorded circa 1991-1992, released 1994)
One of Zappa's works for Synclavier on
Civilization Phaze III
, cited as his "last great work".
35
: 100
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In 1990, Zappa was diagnosed with terminal
prostate cancer
. The disease had been developing unnoticed for years and was considered inoperable.
116
117
After the diagnosis, Zappa devoted most of his energy to modern orchestral and
Synclavier
works. Shortly before his death in 1993 he completed
Civilization Phaze III
, a major Synclavier work that he had begun in the 1980s.
11
: 374–375
nb 9
In 1991, Zappa was chosen to be one of four featured composers at the Frankfurt Festival in 1992 (the others were
John Cage
Karlheinz Stockhausen
, and
Alexander Knaifel
).
118
Zappa was approached by the German chamber ensemble
Ensemble Modern
, which was interested in playing his music for the event. Although ill, he invited them to Los Angeles for rehearsals of new compositions and new arrangements of older material.
11
: 369
Zappa also got along with the musicians, and the concerts in Germany and Austria were set up for later in the year.
11
: 369
Zappa also performed in 1991 in
Prague
, claiming that "was the first time that he had a reason to play his guitar in 3 years", and that that moment was just "the beginning of a new country", and asked the public to "try to keep your country unique, do not change it into something else".
119
120
John Kricfalusi
, creator of
Nickelodeon
's
The Ren & Stimpy Show
, idolized Zappa and got him to voice the
Pope
in the episode "
Powdered Toast Man
"; as Zappa was too ill to head to
Spümcø
at
Los Angeles
, he recorded his lines at his residence. The episode aired in August 1992 to significant controversy unrelated to Zappa's appearance.
121
In September 1992, the concerts went ahead as scheduled but Zappa could only appear at two in Frankfurt due to illness. At the first concert, he conducted the opening "Overture" and the final "
G-Spot Tornado
", as well as the theatrical "Food Gathering in Post-Industrial America, 1992" and "Welcome to the United States" (the remainder of the program was conducted by the ensemble's regular conductor
Peter Rundel
). Zappa received a 20-minute ovation.
11
: 371
"G-Spot Tornado" was performed with Canadian dancer
Louise Lecavalier
. It was Zappa's last professional public appearance, as the cancer was spreading to such an extent that he was in too much pain to enjoy an event that he otherwise found "exhilarating".
11
: 371
Recordings from the concerts appeared on
The Yellow Shark
(1993), Zappa's last release during his lifetime, and some material from studio rehearsals appeared on the posthumous
Everything Is Healing Nicely
(1999).
Death
edit
On December 4, 1993, Zappa died from
prostate cancer
at his home with his wife and children by his side. On December 6, his family publicly announced that "Composer Frank Zappa left for his final tour just before 6:00 P.M. on Saturday".
13
: 320
He was buried at a private ceremony in a grave at the
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
, in Los Angeles. The grave remains unmarked and located just to the right of actor
Lew Ayres
' grave. Zappa was 52 years old.
11
: 379–380
35
: 552
Artistry
edit
Musical style and classification
edit
Zappa performing in 1973
The general phases of Zappa's music have been variously categorized under
blues rock
122
experimental rock
123
jazz
123
classical
123
avant-pop
124
experimental pop
125
comedy rock
doo-wop
126
jazz fusion
progressive rock
proto-prog
127
avant-jazz
and
psychedelic rock
Influences
edit
Zappa grew up influenced by
avant-garde
composers such as
Edgard Varèse
Igor Stravinsky
, and
Anton Webern
; 1950s
blues
artists
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
Guitar Slim
Howlin' Wolf
Johnny "Guitar" Watson
, and
B.B. King
128
Egyptian composer
Halim El-Dabh
21
R&B and
doo-wop
groups (particularly local
pachuco
groups); and
modern jazz
. His own heterogeneous ethnic background, and the diverse social and cultural mix in and around greater Los Angeles, were crucial in the formation of Zappa as a practitioner of
underground music
and of his later distrustful and openly critical attitude towards "mainstream" social, political and musical movements. He frequently lampooned musical fads like
psychedelia
rock opera
and
disco
18
: 13
nb 10
Television also exerted a strong influence, as demonstrated by quotations from show themes and advertising jingles found in his later works.
130
In his book
The Real Frank Zappa Book
, Zappa credited composer
Spike Jones
for his frequent use of funny sound effects, mouth noises, and humorous percussion interjections. After explaining his ideas on this, he said "I owe this part of my musical existence to Spike Jones."
131
Project/Object
edit
Zappa's albums make extensive use of
segued
tracks, breaklessly joining the elements of his albums.
132
His total output is unified by a conceptual continuity he termed "Project/Object", with numerous musical phrases, ideas, and characters reappearing across his albums.
He also called it a "conceptual continuity", meaning that any project or album was part of a larger project. Everything was connected, and musical themes and lyrics reappeared in different form on later albums. Conceptual continuity clues are found throughout Zappa's entire œuvre.
11
: 160
130
Techniques
edit
Guitar playing
edit
Zappa is widely recognized as one of the most significant electric guitar soloists. In a 1983 issue of
Guitar World
, John Swenson declared: "the fact of the matter is that [Zappa] is one of the greatest guitarists we have and is sorely unappreciated as such."
133
His idiosyncratic style developed gradually and was mature by the early 1980s, by which time his live performances featured lengthy improvised solos during many songs. A November 2016 feature by the editors of
Guitar Player
magazine wrote: "Brimming with sophisticated motifs and convoluted rhythms, Zappa's extended excursions are more akin to symphonies than they are to guitar solos." The symphonic comparison stems from his habit of introducing melodic themes that, like a symphony's main melodies, were repeated with variations throughout his solos. He was further described as using a wide variety of scales and modes, enlivened by "unusual rhythmic combinations". His left hand was capable of smooth
legato
technique, while Zappa's right was "one of the fastest pick hands in the business."
134
In 2016,
Dweezil Zappa
explained a distinctive element of his father's guitar improvisation technique was relying heavily on upstrokes much more than many other guitarists, who are more likely to use downstrokes with their picking.
His song "Outside Now" from
Joe's Garage
poked fun at the negative reception of Zappa's guitar technique by those more commercially minded, as the song's narrator lives in a world where music is outlawed and he imagines "imaginary guitar notes that would irritate/An executive kind of guy", lyrics that are followed by one of Zappa's characteristically quirky solos in 11/8 time.
135
Zappa transcriptionist Kasper Sloots wrote, "Zappa's guitar solos aren't meant to show off technically (Zappa hasn't claimed to be a big virtuoso on the instrument), but for the pleasure it gives trying to build a composition right in front of an audience without knowing what the outcome will be."
136
Zappa's guitar style was not without its critics. English guitarist and bandleader
John McLaughlin
, whose band
Mahavishnu Orchestra
toured with the Mothers of Invention in 1973, opined that Zappa was "very interesting as a human being and a very interesting composer" and that he "was a very good musician but he was a dictator in his band," and that he "was taking very long guitar solos [when performing live]—10–15 minute guitar solos and really he should have taken two or three minute guitar solos, because they were a little bit boring."
137
In 2000, he was ranked number 36 on
VH1
's
100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock
138
In 2004,
Rolling Stone
magazine ranked him at number 71 on its
list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time"
139
and in 2011 at number 22 on its list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
140
Tape manipulation
edit
During recording sessions in New York in 1967, Zappa increasingly used
tape editing
as a compositional tool.
11
: 160
A prime example is found on the double album
Uncle Meat
(1969),
38
: 104
where the track "King Kong" is edited from various studio and live performances. Zappa had begun regularly recording concerts,
nb 11
and because of his insistence on precise
tuning
and timing, he was able to augment his studio productions with excerpts from live shows, and vice versa.
77
Later, he combined recordings of different compositions into new pieces, irrespective of the
tempo
or
meter
of the sources. He dubbed this process "
xenochrony
" (strange synchronizations
141
)—ref
from the Greek "xeno" (alien or strange) and "chronos" (time).
77
Personal life
edit
Family
edit
Main articles:
Gail Zappa
Moon Zappa
Dweezil Zappa
Ahmet Zappa
, and
Diva Zappa
Left to right: Simon Prentis (Zappa's "Semantic Scrutinizer"), Zappa, Zappa's production assistant
Gerry Fialka
, and Zappa's second wife Gail outside Zappa's home recording studio
Utility Muffin Research Kitchen
in 1986. Prentis holds a preview cassette of the album
Jazz From Hell
that Fialka had just delivered for Zappa's approval.
142
Zappa's parents were Francis Vincent Zappa and Rose Marie Zappa (née Colimore). Frank was the second of five children, preceded by his half-sister Ann and followed by his brothers Bobby and Carl and sister Patrice (also known as Candy).
Zappa was married to Kathryn J. "Kay" Sherman from 1960 to 1963. In 1967, he married
Adelaide Gail Sloatman
143
144
He and his second wife had four children:
Moon
(born 1967),
Dweezil
(born 1969),
Ahmet
(born 1974), and
Diva
(born 1979).
145
Moon and Ahmet sang on Frank's 1981 album
You Are What You Is
, while Moon also provided the "
Valley girl
" voice on
the song of the same name
on 1982's
Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch
. The song became Frank's only US Top 40 hit single and is credited with popularizing
valspeak
and valley girl culture, despite being intended by Frank and Moon as a parody and criticism of it.
146
147
148
An accomplished guitarist in his own right, Dweezil made several guest appearances on stage with Frank during the 1982, 1984, and 1988 tours, and Frank produced Dweezil's first album
Havin' a Bad Day
in 1986.
Following Zappa's death, his widow Gail created the Zappa Family Trust, which owns the rights to Zappa's music and some other creative output: 62 albums released during Zappa's lifetime and 72 released posthumously as of May 2026. Upon Gail's death in October 2015, the Zappa children received shares of the trust; Ahmet and Diva received 30% each, Moon and Dweezil received 20% each.
149
The original trust, signed by Frank and Gail in 1990, assured the four children would receive equal shares, but this was altered by Gail sometime after Frank's death.
150
In the mid-1980s, Zappa learned of an obscure 18th century Italian composer and cellist named
Francesco Zappa
. Initially assuming him to be an ancestor, Frank recorded and released an album of Francesco's music,
Francesco Zappa
, in 1984. It was subsequently found that Frank and Francesco were not actually related, which Frank confirmed in
The Real Frank Zappa Book
in 1989.
Captain Beefheart
edit
Main article:
Captain Beefheart
Zappa and
Don Van Vliet
met when they were both teenagers and shared an interest in
rhythm and blues
and
Chicago blues
151
They collaborated from this early stage with Zappa's scripts for "teenage operettas", such as "Captain Beefheart & the Grunt People", with Vliet eventually adopting the Captain Beefheart name. The earliest known recording of either Zappa or Beefheart is a collaboration between them, "Lost in a Whirlpool", recorded around 1958/1959 and included on the posthumous Zappa album
The Lost Episodes
in 1996. In 1963, the pair recorded a demo at the
Pal Recording Studio
in Cucamonga as the Soots, seeking support from a major label. Their efforts were unsuccessful, as Vliet's
Howlin' Wolf
-influenced vocal style and Zappa's distorted guitar were "not on the agenda" at the time.
151
In 1965, while Zappa formed the Mothers of Invention, Beefheart assembled Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band. Their third album, 1969's critically acclaimed
Trout Mask Replica
, was produced by Zappa. That same year, Beefheart provided the vocal on "Willie the Pimp" on the
Hot Rats
album. Beefheart also played the harmonica on "San Ber'dino" (credited as "Bloodshot Rollin' Red") on
One Size Fits All
(1975) and "
Find Her Finer
" on
Zoot Allures
(1976).
152
Over the years, Zappa and Beefheart's friendship was sometimes complicated by rivalry, as musicians drifted back and forth between their groups. Beefheart joined Zappa's band on the early 1975 tour, documented on the
Bongo Fury
album,
153
mainly because conflicting contractual obligations made Beefheart unable to tour or record independently at the time. Their relationship grew acrimonious on the tour to the point that they refused to talk to one another. Zappa became irritated by Beefheart, who drew constantly, including while on stage, filling one of his large sketch books with rapidly executed portraits and warped caricatures of Zappa. Musically, Beefheart's primitive style contrasted sharply with Zappa's compositional discipline and abundant technique. Mothers of Invention drummer
Jimmy Carl Black
described the situation as "two geniuses" on "ego trips".
154
Estranged for years afterwards, they reconciled by the end of Zappa's life.
Beliefs and politics
edit
Drugs
edit
Zappa stated, "Drugs do not become a problem until the person who uses the drugs does something to you, or does something that would affect your life that you don't want to have happen to you, like an airline pilot who crashes because he was full of drugs."
155
Zappa was a heavy
tobacco smoker
for most of his life, and critical of anti-tobacco campaigns.
nb 12
While he disapproved of drug use, he criticized the
war on drugs
, comparing it to
alcohol prohibition
; he stated that the
United States Treasury
would benefit from the decriminalization and regulation of drugs.
: 329
Describing his philosophical views, Zappa stated, "I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."
: 315–316, 323–324, 329–330
Government and religion
edit
Zappa with
Václav Havel
, 1990
In a 1991 interview, Zappa reported that he was a registered
Democrat
but added "that might not last long—I'm going to shred that."
157
Describing his political views, Zappa categorized himself as a "
practical conservative
."
nb 13
He favored
limited government
and low
taxes
; he also stated that he approved of national defense,
social security
, and other federal programs, but only if citizens are willing and able to pay for them.
: 315–316, 323–324, 329–330
He opposed military drafts, saying that military service should be voluntary.
158
He favored capitalism,
entrepreneurship
, and independent business, stating that musicians could make more from owning their own businesses than from collecting royalties.
159
He
opposed
communism, stating, "A system that doesn't allow ownership... has—to put it mildly—a fatal design flaw."
: 315–316, 323–324, 329–330
He had placed messages on his album covers to encourage his fans to
register to vote
; further, throughout 1988, Zappa had registration booths at his concerts.
11
: 348
He even considered running for president of the United States as an independent.
11
: 365
160
Zappa was an
atheist
161
162
He recalled his parents being "pretty religious" and trying to make him go to Catholic school despite his resentment. He felt disgust towards
organized religion
(Christianity in particular) because he believed that it promoted ignorance and
anti-intellectualism
. He held the view that the Garden of Eden story shows that the essence of Christianity is to oppose gaining knowledge.
163
Some of his songs, concert performances, interviews and public debates in the 1980s criticized and derided Republicans and their policies—President
Ronald Reagan
, the
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
televangelism
, and the
Christian Right
—and warned that the United States government was in danger of becoming a "fascist theocracy."
164
165
In early 1990, Zappa visited
Czechoslovakia
at the request of
President
Václav Havel
. The meeting had been arranged by keyboardist
Michael Kocáb
. A longtime admirer of Zappa's commitment to individualism, Havel designated him as Czechoslovakia's "Special Ambassador to the West on Trade, Culture and Tourism."
166
Havel was a lifelong fan of Zappa, who had great influence in the avant-garde and underground scene in Central Europe in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Plastic People of the Universe
, a Czechoslovak jazz rock group associated with
Prague underground culture
, took its name from Zappa's 1967 song "
Plastic People
".
167
Under pressure from Secretary of State,
James Baker
, Zappa's posting (as Czech 'Special Ambassador') was withdrawn.
168
Havel made Zappa an unofficial
cultural attaché
instead.
11
: 357–361
Zappa planned to develop an international consulting enterprise to facilitate trade between the former Eastern Bloc and Western businesses.
117
Anti-censorship activism
edit
Zappa expressed opinions on
censorship
when he appeared on
CNN
's
Crossfire
TV series and debated issues with
Washington Times
commentator
John Lofton
in 1986.
165
On September 19, 1985, Zappa testified before the
United States Senate
Commerce, Technology, and Transportation committee, attacking the
Parents Music Resource Center
(PMRC), an organization co-founded by
Tipper Gore
, wife of then-senator
Al Gore
169
The PMRC consisted of many wives of politicians, including the wives of five members of the committee, and was founded to address the issue of song lyrics with sexual or satanic content.
170
During Zappa's testimony, he stated that there was a clear conflict of interest between the PMRC due to the relations of its founders to the politicians who were then trying to pass what he referred to as the "Blank Tape Tax." Kandy Stroud, a spokeswoman for the PMRC, announced that Senator Gore (who co-founded the committee) was a co-sponsor of that legislation. Zappa suggested that record labels were trying to get the bill passed quickly through committees, one of which was chaired by Senator
Strom Thurmond
, who was also affiliated with the PMRC. Zappa further said that this committee was being used as a distraction from that bill being passed, which would lead only to the benefit of a select few in the music industry.
171
172
Zappa saw their activities as on a path towards censorship
: 267
and called their proposal for voluntary
labelling of records
with explicit content "extortion" of the music industry.
: 262
In his prepared statement, he said:
The PMRC proposal is an ill-conceived piece of nonsense which fails to deliver any real benefits to children, infringes the civil liberties of people who are not children, and promises to keep the courts busy for years dealing with the interpretational and enforcemental problems inherent in the proposal's design. It is my understanding that, in law,
First Amendment
issues are decided with a preference for the least restrictive alternative. In this context, the PMRC's demands are the equivalent of treating
dandruff
by
decapitation
. ... The establishment of a rating system, voluntary or otherwise, opens the door to an endless parade of moral quality control programs based on things certain Christians do not like. What if the next bunch of Washington wives demands a
large yellow "J"
on all material written or performed by Jews, in order to save helpless children from exposure to concealed Zionist doctrine?
171
172
173
Zappa set excerpts from the PMRC hearings to Synclavier music in his composition "Porn Wars" on the 1985 album
Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention
, and the full recording was released in 2010 as
Congress Shall Make No Law...
Zappa is heard interacting with Senators
Fritz Hollings
Slade Gorton
and
Al Gore
174
Legacy
edit
Main article:
Frank Zappa in popular culture
Zappa was a controversial figure. As
Geoffrey Himes
noted in 1993 after the artist's death, Zappa was hailed as a genius by conductor
Kent Nagano
and nominated by Czechoslovak President
Václav Havel
to the country's cultural ambassadorship; however, in his lifetime, Zappa was rejected twice for admission into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
. In
Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies
(1981),
Robert Christgau
dismissed Zappa's music as "sexist adolescent drivel ... with meters and voicings and key changes that are as hard to play as they are easy to forget."
According to Himes:
Admirers and detractors agree that Zappa's music—with its odd time signatures, unorthodox harmonies and fiendishly difficult lines—boasts a rare cerebral complexity. But that's where the agreement ends. Some fans find his sophomoric jokes ("Don't Eat the Yellow Snow") and pop music parodies ("Sheik Yerbouti") a crucial counterbalance to the rarefied density of the music; other devotees find the jokes an irrelevant sideshow to music best appreciated in a chamber or orchestral setting. The critics find the humor's smug iconoclasm a symptom of the essential emptiness of Zappa's intellectual exercises.
Acclaim and honors
edit
Frank Zappa was one of the first to try tearing down the barriers between rock, jazz, and classical music. In the late Sixties his Mothers of Invention would slip from
Stravinsky
's "
Petroushka
" into
The Dovells
' "
Bristol Stomp
" before breaking down into saxophone squeals inspired by
Albert Ayler
The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll
, p. 497
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
(2004) writes: "Frank Zappa dabbled in virtually all kinds of music—and, whether guised as a satirical rocker, jazz-rock fusionist, guitar virtuoso, electronics wizard, or orchestral innovator, his eccentric genius was undeniable."
175
Even though his work drew inspiration from many different genres, Zappa was seen as establishing a coherent and personal expression. In 1980, biographer David Walley noted that "The whole structure of his music is unified, not neatly divided by dates or time sequences and it is all building into a composite".
22
: 3
On commenting on Zappa's music, politics and philosophy,
Barry Miles
noted in 2004 that they cannot be separated: "It was all one; all part of his 'conceptual continuity'."
11
: 383
Zappa in 1977
Guitar Player
devoted a special issue to Zappa in 1992, and asked on the cover "Is FZ America's Best Kept Musical Secret?" Editor Don Menn remarked that the issue was about "The most important composer to come out of modern popular music".
176
Among those contributing to the issue was composer and
musicologist
Nicolas Slonimsky
, who conducted premiere performances of works of
Ives
and Varèse in the 1930s.
177
He became friends with Zappa in the 1980s,
178
and said, "I admire everything Frank does, because he practically created the new musical millennium. He does beautiful, beautiful work ... It has been my luck to have lived to see the emergence of this totally new type of music."
179
Conductor
Kent Nagano
remarked in the same issue that "Frank is a genius. That's a word I don't use often ... In Frank's case it is not too strong ... He is extremely literate musically. I'm not sure if the general public knows that."
180
Pierre Boulez
told
Musician
magazine's posthumous Zappa tribute article that Zappa "was an exceptional figure because he was part of the worlds of rock and classical music and that both types of his work would survive."
181
In 1994, jazz magazine
DownBeat
s critics poll placed Zappa in its Hall of Fame.
182
Zappa was posthumously inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 1995. There, it was written that "Frank Zappa was rock and roll's sharpest musical mind and most astute social critic. He was the most prolific composer of his age, and he bridged genres—rock, jazz, classical, avant-garde and even novelty music—with masterful ease".
183
He was ranked number 36 on
VH1
's
100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock
138
in 2000. In 2005, the U.S.
National Recording Preservation Board
included
We're Only in It for the Money
in the
National Recording Registry
as "Frank Zappa's inventive and iconoclastic album presents a unique political stance, both anti-conservative and anti-counterculture, and features a scathing satire on hippiedom and America's reactions to it".
184
The same year,
Rolling Stone
magazine ranked him at No. 71 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
185
In 2011, he was ranked at No. 22 on the list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by the same magazine.
186
In 2016,
Guitar World
magazine placed Zappa atop its list of "15 of the best progressive rock guitarists through the years."
187
The street of
Partinico
where his father lived at number 13, Via Zammatà, has been renamed to Via Frank Zappa.
188
Since his death, several musicians have been considered by critics as filling the artistic niche left behind by Zappa, in view of their prolific output, eclecticism and other qualities, including
Devin Townsend
189
190
191
192
Mike Patton
193
194
195
and
Omar Rodríguez-López
196
197
Grammy Awards
edit
In the course of his career, Zappa was nominated for nine competitive
Grammy Awards
, which resulted in two wins (one posthumous). In 1998, he received the
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
198
Year
Nominee / work
Award
Result
1980
Rat Tomago
Best Rock Instrumental Performance
Nominated
Dancin' Fool
Best Male Rock Vocal Performance
Nominated
1983
Valley Girl
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
Nominated
1985
The Perfect Stranger
Best New Classical Composition
Nominated
1988
"Jazz from Hell"
Best Instrumental Composition
Nominated
Jazz from Hell
Best Rock Instrumental Performance (Orchestra, Group or Soloist)
Won
1989
Guitar
Nominated
1990
Broadway the Hard Way
Best Musical Cast Show Album
Nominated
1996
Civilization Phaze III
Best Recording Package – Boxed
Won
1997
Frank Zappa
Lifetime Achievement Award
Honored
Artists influenced by Zappa
edit
Many musicians, bands and orchestras from diverse genres have been influenced by Zappa's music. Rock artists such as
The Plastic People of the Universe
199
Alice Cooper
200
Larry LaLonde
of
Primus
201
Fee Waybill
of
the Tubes
202
all cite Zappa's influence, as do
progressive
alternative
electronic
and
avant-garde
experimental rock
artists like
Can
nb 14
Pere Ubu
nb 15
Yes
203
204
Soft Machine
205
206
Henry Cow
207
Faust
208
Devo
209
Kraftwerk
210
Trey Anastasio
and
Jon Fishman
of
Phish
185
Jeff Buckley
211
John Frusciante
212
Steven Wilson
213
and
The Aristocrats
214
Paul McCartney
regarded
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
as
the Beatles
Freak Out!.
215
Jimi Hendrix
216
and heavy rock and metal acts like
Black Sabbath
217
Living Colour
218
Simon Phillips
219
Mike Portnoy
220
Warren DeMartini
221
Alex Skolnick
222
Steve Vai
223
Strapping Young Lad
224
System of a Down
225
and
Clawfinger
226
have acknowledged Zappa as inspiration. On the classical music scene, Tomas Ulrich,
227
Meridian Arts Ensemble
228
Ensemble Ambrosius
229
and the Fireworks Ensemble
230
regularly perform Zappa's compositions and quote his influence. Contemporary jazz musicians and composers
Bobby Sanabria
Bill Frisell
231
and
John Zorn
232
are inspired by Zappa, as is funk legend
George Clinton
233
Other artists affected by Zappa include ambient composer
Brian Eno
234
235
new age pianist
George Winston
236
electronic composer
Bob Gluck
237
parodist artist and disk jockey
Dr. Demento
238
parodist and novelty composer
"Weird Al" Yankovic
239
industrial music
pioneer
Genesis P-Orridge
240
singer
Cree Summer
241
242
noise music
artist Masami Akita of
Merzbow
243
the Italian pianist
Stefano Bollani
244
245
the Italian band
Elio e le Storie Tese
246
247
248
and Chilean composer Cristián Crisosto from
Fulano
and
Mediabanda
249
250
251
References in arts and sciences
edit
Frank Zappa bust by Vaclav Cesak in
Bad Doberan
, Germany
Scientists from various fields have honored Zappa by naming new discoveries after him. In 1967, paleontologist Leo P. Plas Jr., identified an extinct
mollusc
in Nevada and named it
Amaurotoma zappa
with the motivation that, "The specific name,
zappa
, honors Frank Zappa".
252
In the 1980s, biologist Ed Murdy named a
genus
of
gobiid
fishes of New Guinea
Zappa
, with a
species
named
Zappa confluentus
253
Biologist Ferdinando Boero named a Californian
jellyfish
Phialella zappai
(1987), noting that he had "pleasure in naming this species after the modern music composer".
254
Belgian biologists Bosmans and Bosselaers discovered in the early 1980s a Cameroonese spider, which they in 1994 named
Pachygnatha zappa
because "the ventral side of the abdomen of the female of this species strikingly resembles the artist's legendary moustache".
255
A gene of the bacterium
Proteus mirabilis
that causes urinary tract infections was in 1995 named
zapA
by three biologists from Maryland. In their scientific article, they "especially thank the late Frank Zappa for inspiration and assistance with genetic nomenclature".
256
Repeating regions of the genome of the human tumor virus
KSHV
were named
frnk
vnct
and
zppa
in 1996 by
Yuan Chang
and
Patrick S. Moore
who discovered the virus. Also, a 143 base pair repeat sequence occurring at two positions was named
waka/jwka
257
In the late 1990s, American paleontologists Marc Salak and Halard L. Lescinsky discovered a
metazoan
fossil, and named it
Spygori zappania
to honor "the late Frank Zappa ... whose mission paralleled that of the earliest paleontologists: to challenge conventional and traditional beliefs when such beliefs lacked roots in logic and reason".
258
In 1994, lobbying efforts initiated by psychiatrist John Scialli led the
International Astronomical Union
's
Minor Planet Center
to name an
asteroid
in Zappa's honor:
3834 Zappafrank
259
The asteroid was discovered in 1980 by Czechoslovak astronomer
Ladislav Brožek
, and the citation for its naming says that "Zappa was an eclectic, self-trained artist and composer ... Before 1989 he was regarded as a symbol of democracy and freedom by many people in Czechoslovakia".
260
In 1995, a bust of Zappa by sculptor Konstantinas Bogdanas was installed in
Vilnius
Lithuania
. The choice of Zappa was explained as "a symbol that would mark the end of communism, but at the same time express that it wasn't always doom and gloom."
166
A replica was offered to the city of Baltimore in 2008, and on September 19, 2010—the twenty-fifth anniversary of Zappa's testimony to the U.S. Senate—a ceremony dedicating the replica was held, and the bust was unveiled at a library in the city.
261
262
Frank-Zappa-Straße in Berlin
In 2002, a bronze bust was installed in German city
Bad Doberan
, location of the
Zappanale
since 1990, an annual music festival celebrating Zappa.
263
At the initiative of musicians community
ORWOhaus
, the city of Berlin named a street in the
Marzahn
district "Frank-Zappa-Straße" in 2007.
264
The same year, Baltimore mayor
Sheila Dixon
proclaimed August 9 as the city's official "Frank Zappa Day" citing Zappa's musical accomplishments as well as his defense of the
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
265
Zappa
documentary
edit
The biographical documentary
Zappa
, directed by
Alex Winter
and released on November 27, 2020, includes previously unreleased footage from Zappa's personal vault, to which he was granted access by the Zappa Family Trust.
266
267
Discography
edit
Main article:
Frank Zappa discography
During his lifetime, Zappa released 62 albums. Since 1994, the Zappa Family Trust has released 72 posthumous albums, making a total of 134 albums.
268
The distributor of Zappa's recorded output is
Universal Music Enterprises
269
In June 2022, the Zappa Trust announced that it had sold Zappa's entire catalog to Universal Music, including master tapes, song copyrights and trademarks.
270
Albums
edit
Freak Out!
(1966)
Absolutely Free
(1967)
We're Only in It for the Money
(1968)
Lumpy Gravy
(1968)
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
(1968)
Mothermania
(1969)
Uncle Meat
(1969)
Hot Rats
(1969)
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
(1970)
Weasels Ripped My Flesh
(1970)
Chunga's Revenge
(1970)
Fillmore East – June 1971
(1971)
200 Motels
(1971)
Just Another Band from L.A.
(1972)
Waka/Jawaka
(1972)
The Grand Wazoo
(1972)
Over-Nite Sensation
(1973)
Apostrophe (')
(1974)
Roxy & Elsewhere
(1974)
One Size Fits All
(1975)
Bongo Fury
(1975)
Zoot Allures
(1976)
Zappa in New York
(1978)
Studio Tan
(1978)
Sleep Dirt
(1979)
Sheik Yerbouti
(1979)
Orchestral Favorites
(1979)
Joe's Garage, Act I
(1979)
Joe's Garage, Acts II & III
(1979)
Tinsel Town Rebellion
(1981)
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
(1981)
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar Some More
(1981)
Return of the Son of Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
(1981)
You Are What You Is
(1981)
Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch
(1982)
The Man from Utopia
(1983)
Baby Snakes
(1983)
London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. I
(1983)
Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger
(1984)
Them or Us
(1984)
Thing-Fish
(1984)
Francesco Zappa
(1984)
Old Masters, Box I
(1985)
Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention
(1985)
Does Humor Belong in Music?
(1986)
Old Masters, Box II
(1986)
Jazz from Hell
(1986)
London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. II
(1987)
Old Masters, Box III
(1987)
Guitar
(1988)
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1
(1988)
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2
(1988)
Broadway the Hard Way
(1988)
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3
(1989)
The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life
(1991)
Make a Jazz Noise Here
(1991)
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4
(1991)
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5
(1992)
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6
(1992)
Playground Psychotics
(1992)
Ahead of Their Time
(1993)
The Yellow Shark
(1993)
Posthumous albums
edit
Civilization Phaze III
(1994)
The Lost Episodes
(1996)
Läther
(1996)
Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute
(1996)
Have I Offended Someone?
(1997)
Mystery Disc
(1998)
Everything Is Healing Nicely
(1999)
FZ:OZ
(2002)
Halloween
(2003)
Joe's Corsage
(2004)
Joe's Domage
(2004)
Quaudiophiliac
(2004)
Joe's Xmasage
(2005)
Imaginary Diseases
(2006)
The MOFO Project/Object
(2006)
The MOFO Project/Object (fazedooh)
(2006)
Trance-Fusion
(2006)
Buffalo
(2007)
The Dub Room Special!
(2007)
Wazoo
(2007)
One Shot Deal
(2008)
Joe's Menage
(2008)
The Lumpy Money Project/Object
(2009)
Philly '76
(2009)
Greasy Love Songs
(2010)
Congress Shall Make No Law...
(2010)
Hammersmith Odeon
(2010)
Feeding the Monkies at Ma Maison
(2011)
Carnegie Hall
(2011)
Road Tapes, Venue 1
(2012)
Understanding America
(2012)
Finer Moments
(2012)
AAAFNRAA: Baby Snakes: The Compleat Soundtrack
(2012)
Road Tapes, Venue 2
(2013)
A Token of His Extreme
(2013)
Joe's Camouflage
(2014)
Roxy by Proxy
(2014)
Dance Me This
(2015)
200 Motels: The Suites
(2015)
Roxy The Soundtrack
(2015)
Road Tapes, Venue 3
(2016)
The Crux of the Biscuit
(2016)
Frank Zappa for President
(2016)
ZAPPAtite: Frank Zappa's Tastiest Tracks
(2016)
Meat Light
(2016)
Chicago '78
(2016)
Little Dots
(2016)
Halloween 77
(2017)
The Roxy Performances
(2018)
Zappa in New York 40th Anniversary Edition
(2019)
Orchestral Favorites 40th Anniversary Edition
(2019)
Halloween 73
(2019)
The Hot Rats Sessions
(2019)
The Mothers 1970
(2020)
Halloween 81
(2020)
Zappa: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(2020)
Zappa '88: The Last U.S. Show
(2021)
200 Motels 50th Anniversary Edition
(2021)
The Mothers 1971
(2022)
Zappa/Erie
(2022)
Zappa '75: Zagreb/Ljubljana
(2022)
Waka/Wazoo
(2022)
Zappa '80: Mudd Club/Munich
(2023)
Funky Nothingness
(2023)
Over-Nite Sensation 50th Anniversary Edition
(2023)
Whisky a Go Go 1968
(2024)
Apostrophe (') 50th Anniversary Edition
(2024)
Cheaper Than Cheep
(2025)
One Size Fits All 50th Anniversary Edition
(2025)
Halloween 78
(2025)
Bongo Fury 50th Anniversary Edition
(2026)
Zappa '66 Vol. 1: Live at TTG Studios
(2026)
Videography
edit
1971 –
200 Motels
1976 –
A Token of His Extreme
1979 –
Baby Snakes
1981 –
The Torture Never Stops
1982 –
The Dub Room Special
1985 –
Does Humor Belong in Music?
1987 –
Video from Hell
1987 –
Uncle Meat
1987 –
The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels
1987 –
The Amazing Mr. Bickford
2015 –
Roxy The Movie
2020 –
Zappa
2025 –
Cheaper Than Cheep
Tours
edit
July – December 1966: The Mothers of Invention US Tour
January – December 1967: The Mothers of Invention World Tour (including residency at
the Garrick Theatre
in New York City during April – September)
January – December 1968: The Mothers of Invention World Tour
January – August 1969: The Mothers of Invention World Tour
February – March 1970: Hot Rats US Tour
May – December 1970: The Mothers of Invention World Tour
May – August 1971: The Mothers of Invention North American Tour
October – December 1971: The Mothers of Invention World Tour
September – December 1972: The Grand Wazoo (big band, September) / The Petit Wazoo (small band, October – December) World Tour
February – December 1973: Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention World Tour
January – December 1974: Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention World Tour
April – May 1975: Frank Zappa,
Captain Beefheart
, and The Mothers of Invention US Tour
September – December 1975: Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention World Tour
January – March 1976: Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention World Tour
September – December 1976: Frank Zappa North American Tour
January – February 1977: Frank Zappa European Tour
September – December 1977: Frank Zappa North American Tour
January – March 1978: Frank Zappa European Tour
August – October 1978: Frank Zappa World Tour
February – March 1979: Frank Zappa European Tour
March – July 1980: Frank Zappa World Tour
October – December 1980: Frank Zappa North American Tour
September – December 1981: Frank Zappa North American Tour
May – July 1982: Frank Zappa European Tour
July – December 1984: Frank Zappa World Tour
February – June 1988: Frank Zappa World Tour
Source
271
Touring bands timeline
edit
Books
edit
Them or Us
, self-published, 1984, re-published Pinter & Martin Ltd, 2010
The Real Frank Zappa Book
, New York, Poseidon Press, 1989 with
Peter Occhiogrosso
Frank Zappa in His Own Words
, Omnibus Press, 1993
The Real Porn Wars
, Gonzo Multimedia, 2014
The Frank Zappa Guitar Book
, Hal Leonard Publishing, 2017 compiled and transcribed by
Steve Vai
See also
edit
List of performers on Frank Zappa records
Frank Zappa in popular culture
Notes
edit
Until discovering his birth certificate as an adult, Zappa believed he had been christened "Francis Vincent Zappa" after his father, and he is credited as Francis on some of his early albums. However, the name on his birth certificate is "Frank".
: 15
"My ancestry is Sicilian, Greek,
Arbëresh
, and French. My mother's mother was French and Sicilian, and her Dad was Italian (from Naples). She was first-generation. The Greek-Arab side is from my Dad. He was born in a Sicilian village called Partinico ..."
: 15
On several of his earlier albums, Zappa paid tribute to Varèse by quoting his: "The present-day composer refuses to die."
17
The initial orchestra-only recordings were released posthumously on the box set
Lumpy Money
(2009). See
Dolan, Casey (2008-12-08).
"The Resurrection of Frank Zappa's Soul"
LA Weekly
Archived
from the original on 2012-10-04
. Retrieved
2009-02-02
As the legal aspects of using the
Sgt. Pepper
concept were unsettled, the album was released with the cover and back on the inside of the gatefold, while the actual cover and back were a picture of the group in a pose parodying the inside of the Beatles album.
11
: 151
During the June 1971 Fillmore concerts Zappa was joined on stage by
John Lennon
and
Yoko Ono
. This performance was recorded, and Lennon released excerpts on his album
Some Time in New York City
in 1972. Zappa later released his version of excerpts from the concert on
Playground Psychotics
in 1992, including the jam track "Scumbag" and an extended avant-garde vocal piece by Ono (originally called "Au"), which Zappa renamed "A Small Eternity with Yoko Ono".
When the music was first released on CD in 1991, Zappa chose to re-release the four individual albums.
35
: 49
In the liner notes to the 1996 release, Gail Zappa states that "As originally conceived by Frank,
Läther
was always a 4-record box set."
For a comprehensive comparison of vinyl and CD releases, see
"The Frank Zappa Album Versions Guide – Index"
. The Zappa Patio. lukpac.org/~handmade/patio
. Retrieved
2008-01-07
It brought him a posthumous
Grammy Award
(with Gail Zappa) for
Best Recording Package – Boxed
in 1994.
"Grammy Winners"
. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
. Retrieved
2008-08-18
Among his many musical satires are the 1967 songs "Flower Punk" (which parodies the song "
Hey Joe
") and "
Who Needs the Peace Corps?
", which are critiques of the late-Sixties commercialization of the
hippie
phenomenon.
129
In the process, he built up a vast archive of live recordings. In the late 1980s some of these recordings were collected for the 12-CD set
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore
He considered such campaigns as
yuppie
inventions and noted that "Some people like garlic. ... I like pepper, tobacco and coffee. That's my metabolism."
: 234–235
and once described tobacco as his "favorite vegetable."
156
"Politically, I consider myself to be a (don't laugh) 'Practical Conservative'. I want a smaller, less intrusive government, and lower taxes. What? You too?"
: 315
"CAN was formed by ex-student of Stockhausen Irmin Schmidt, who, fired by the sounds of Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa abandoned his career in classic music to form a group which could utilise and transcend all boundaries of ethnic, electronic experimental and modern classical music."
"CAN – The Lost Tapes"
Spoon Records
"The group is very influenced by Capt. Beefheart and Frank Zappa. The roots of Pere Ubu lie in a comedy cover band called Rocket from the Tombs ..."
George Gimarc (1994).
Punk Diary: 1970–1979
. Vintage. p. 22.
ISBN
978-0-09-952211-9
References
edit
aa
ab
ac
ad
ae
af
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ak
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ao
ap
aq
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as
at
au
Zappa, Frank
; Occhiogrosso, Peter (1989).
Real Frank Zappa Book
. Simon and Schuster.
ISBN
978-0-671-70572-5
Ruhlmann, William.
"Frank Zappa – Biography & History"
AllMusic
. Retrieved
2017-08-08
"Dweezil Zappa Teaches Frank Zappa's Improvisation Techniques"
. Reverb.com. 2016-12-06
. Retrieved
2024-04-12
Zappa regularly used structured improvisation in a Jazz-like context but also occasionally used what he called "spontaneous composition"
Semley, John (2012-08-09).
"Where to dive into Frank Zappa's weird, unwieldy discography"
The A.V. Club
Archived
from the original on 2017-12-22
. Retrieved
2019-03-14
Whitaker, Sterling (2015-12-04).
"The Day Frank Zappa Died"
Ultimate Classic Rock
Maume, Chris (2015-10-12).
"Gail Zappa: Frank Zappa's wife, muse and manager who ferociously protected his musical legacy"
The Independent
. Retrieved
2019-03-14
Buckley, Peter (2003).
The Rough Guide to Rock: [The Definitive Guide to More Than 1200 Artists and Bands]
(3rd ed.). London: Rough Guides. p.
1211
ISBN
978-1-84353-105-0
As a teenager, Zappa was simultaneously enthralled by black R&B (Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, Guitar Slim), doo-wop (The Channels, The Velvets), the modernist 20th century composers, such as Igor Stravinsky, Anton Webern and Edgard Varèse.
"Comedy rock"
AllMusic
. Retrieved
2020-11-14
Himes, Geoffrey (1993-12-12).
"Pop Recordings"
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
2018-10-13
The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll
, 1993.
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ao
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au
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aw
ax
ay
az
ba
bb
bc
bd
be
bf
bg
bh
bi
bj
bk
bl
bm
bn
bo
bp
bq
br
bs
bt
bu
bv
bw
bx
by
bz
ca
cb
cc
cd
ce
Miles, Barry (2004).
Frank Zappa
. London: Atlantic Books.
ISBN
978-1-84354-092-2
Real Frank Zappa Book
. Simon and Schuster. 1989.
ISBN
978-0-671-70572-5
. Retrieved
2022-05-01
Slaven, Neil (2003).
Electric Don Quixote: The Definitive Story of Frank Zappa
(2nd ed.). Music Sales Group.
ISBN
978-0-7119-9436-2
Mendoza, Bart (2005-11-11).
"Counter Culture Coincidence"
(PDF)
San Diego Troubadour
. p. 4
. Retrieved
2010-09-11
Zappa, Frank (June 1971).
"Edgard Varèse: The Idol of My Youth"
(PDF)
Stereo Review
26
(6):
62–
68 – via World Radio History.
Zappa, Frank (December 1973).
"Lyrics of Village Of The Sun"
Village Of The Sun, Roxy and Elsewhere
. Retrieved
2016-10-20
Dineen, Murray (2011).
Friendly Remainders: Essays in Music Criticism after Adorno
. McGill-Queen's Press. p.
122
ISBN
978-0-7735-8576-8
Watson, Ben (1996).
Frank Zappa: The Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play
. New York: St. Martin's Griffin.
ISBN
978-0-312-14124-0
Miles, Barry (2014).
Frank Zappa
. Atlantic Books Ltd. p.
266
ISBN
978-1-78239-678-9
Watson, Ben; Leslie, Esther (2005).
Academy Zappa: Proceedings of the First International Conference of Esemplastic Zappology (ICE-Z)
(illusdtrated ed.). SAF Publishing Ltd. p.
223
ISBN
978-0-946719-79-2
Holmes, Thom (2008).
"Early Synthesizers and Experimenters"
Electronic and experimental music: technology, music, and culture
(3rd ed.).
Taylor & Francis
. pp.
153–
154.
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Bibliography
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Censorship: Or Freedom of Expression?
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Necessity Is ...: The Early Years of Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention
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The Words and Music of Frank Zappa
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Avant Rock: Experimental Music from the Beatles to Björk
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Cocaine Fiends and Reefer Madness: An Illustrated History of Drugs in the Movies
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External links
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Official releases
(1966–1993)
1960s
Freak Out!
Absolutely Free
We're Only in It for the Money
Lumpy Gravy
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
Mothermania
Uncle Meat
Hot Rats
1970s
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Chunga's Revenge
Fillmore East – June 1971
200 Motels
Just Another Band from L.A.
Waka/Jawaka
The Grand Wazoo
Over-Nite Sensation
Apostrophe (')
Roxy & Elsewhere
One Size Fits All
Bongo Fury
Zoot Allures
Zappa in New York
Studio Tan
Sleep Dirt
Sheik Yerbouti
Orchestral Favorites
Joe's Garage Act I
Joe's Garage Acts II & III
1980s
Tinsel Town Rebellion
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar Some More
Return of the Son of Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
You Are What You Is
Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch
The Man from Utopia
Baby Snakes
London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. I
The Perfect Stranger
Them or Us
Thing-Fish
Francesco Zappa
The Old Masters, Box I
Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention
Does Humor Belong in Music?
The Old Masters, Box II
Jazz from Hell
London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. II
The Old Masters, Box III
Guitar
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2
Broadway the Hard Way
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3
1990s
The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life
Make a Jazz Noise Here
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6
Playground Psychotics
Ahead of Their Time
The Yellow Shark
Posthumous
official releases
(1994–)
1990s
Civilization Phaze III
The Lost Episodes
Läther
Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute
Have I Offended Someone?
Mystery Disc
Everything Is Healing Nicely
2000s
FZ:OZ
Halloween
Joe's Corsage
Quaudiophiliac
Joe's Domage
Joe's Xmasage
Imaginary Diseases
Trance-Fusion
The MOFO Project/Object
The MOFO Project/Object (Fazedooh)
Buffalo
The Dub Room Special!
Wazoo
One Shot Deal
Joe's Menage
The Lumpy Money Project/Object
Philly '76
2010s
Greasy Love Songs
"Congress Shall Make No Law..."
Hammersmith Odeon
Feeding the Monkies at Ma Maison
Carnegie Hall
Understanding America
Road Tapes, Venue #1
Finer Moments
AAAFNRAA: Baby Snakes – The Compleat Soundtrack
Road Tapes, Venue #2
A Token of His Extreme Soundtrack
Joe's Camouflage
Roxy by Proxy
Dance Me This
200 Motels: The Suites
Roxy the Soundtrack
Road Tapes, Venue #3
The Crux of the Biscuit
Frank Zappa for President
ZAPPAtite: Frank Zappa's Tastiest Tracks
Meat Light: The Uncle Meat Project/Object Audio Documentary
Chicago '78
Little Dots
Halloween 77
The Roxy Performances
Zappa in New York 40th Anniversary
Orchestral Favorites 40th Anniversary
Halloween 73
The Hot Rats Sessions
2020s
The Mothers 1970
Halloween 81
Halloween 81 Highlights
Zappa - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Zappa '88: The Last U.S. Show
200 Motels 50th Anniversary Edition
The Mothers 1971
Zappa/Erie
Zappa '75: Zagreb/Ljubljana
Waka/Wazoo
Zappa '80: Mudd Club/Munich
Funky Nothingness
Over-Nite Sensation 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition
Whisky a Go Go 1968
Apostrophe (') 50th Anniversary Edition
Cheaper Than Cheep
One Size Fits All 50th Anniversary Edition
Halloween 78
Halloween 78 Highlights: Live at the Palladium, New York
Bongo Fury 50th Anniversary Edition
Miscellaneous
Lumpy Gravy (Primordial)
The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa
Beat the Boots!
Beat the Boots! #2
Beat the Boots! III
Compilations
The **** of the Mothers
London Symphony Orchestra Vol. 1 & 2
Strictly Commercial: The Best of Frank Zappa
Strictly Genteel: A "Classical" Introduction to Frank Zappa
Cucamonga
Cheap Thrills
Son of Cheep Thrills
Birthday Bundle
series
2006
2008
2010
2011
Singles
Trouble Comin' Every Day
Who Are the Brain Police?
WPLJ
My Guitar
Peaches en Regalia
I'm the Slime
Cosmik Debris
Don't Eat the Yellow Snow
Du Bist Mein Sofa
Find Her Finer
Disco Boy
Dancin' Fool
Bobby Brown
Joe's Garage
I Don't Wanna Get Drafted
You Are What You Is
Valley Girl
Cocaine Decisions
Stairway to Heaven
Other
compositions
Absolutely Free
Advance Romance
The Adventures of Greggery Peccary
America Drinks & Goes Home
Are You Hung Up?
Billy the Mountain
The Black Page
Brown Shoes Don't Make It
Camarillo Brillo
Cheepnis
Duodenum
Father O'Blivion
Help, I'm a Rock
G-Spot Tornado
I Have Been in You
Inca Roads
Jewish Princess
Let's Make the Water Turn Black
A Little Green Rosetta
Memories of El Monte
Montana
Muffin Man
Nanook Rubs It
Plastic People
The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet
Rollo
Sleep Dirt
St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast
Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance
A Token of My Extreme
The Torture Never Stops
Uncle Remus
Watermelon in Easter Hay
Who Needs the Peace Corps?
Willie the Pimp
Wind Up Workin' in a Gas Station
Filmography
200 Motels
Baby Snakes
The Dub Room Special
Does Humor Belong in Music?
Video from Hell
Uncle Meat
The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels
The Amazing Mr. Bickford
Relatives
Gail Zappa
Moon Zappa
Dweezil Zappa
Ahmet Zappa
Diva Zappa
Influence
In popular culture
Zappa Plays Zappa
Pachygnatha zappa
Phialella zappai
Zappa confluentus
3834 Zappafrank
Frankly a Cappella
King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa
Zappa's Universe
Related articles
Discography
Musicians
Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra
Alice Cooper
The GTOs
Wild Man Fischer
Ruben and the Jets
Bobby Jameson
Little Feat
Flo & Eddie
U.K
Missing Persons
The Turtles
Bizarre Records
Straight Records
DiscReet Records
Zappa Records
Barking Pumpkin Records
The Real Frank Zappa Book
Studio Z
Utility Muffin Research Kitchen
Zappa
Category
Frank Zappa
and
the Mothers of Invention
album discography
Official releases
(1966–1993)
1960s
Freak Out!
Absolutely Free
We're Only in It for the Money
Lumpy Gravy
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
Mothermania
Uncle Meat
Hot Rats
1970s
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Chunga's Revenge
Fillmore East – June 1971
200 Motels
Just Another Band from L.A.
Waka/Jawaka
The Grand Wazoo
Over-Nite Sensation
Apostrophe (')
Roxy & Elsewhere
One Size Fits All
Bongo Fury
Zoot Allures
Zappa in New York
Studio Tan
Sleep Dirt
Sheik Yerbouti
Orchestral Favorites
Joe's Garage Act I
Joe's Garage Acts II & III
1980s
Tinsel Town Rebellion
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar Some More
Return of the Son of Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
You Are What You Is
Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch
The Man from Utopia
Baby Snakes
London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. I
The Perfect Stranger
Them or Us
Thing-Fish
Francesco Zappa
The Old Masters, Box I
Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention
Does Humor Belong in Music?
The Old Masters, Box II
Jazz from Hell
London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. II
The Old Masters, Box III
Guitar
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2
Broadway the Hard Way
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3
1990s
The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life
Make a Jazz Noise Here
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6
Playground Psychotics
Ahead of Their Time
The Yellow Shark
Posthumous
official releases
1990s
Civilization Phaze III
The Lost Episodes
Läther
Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute
Have I Offended Someone?
Mystery Disc
Everything Is Healing Nicely
2000s
FZ:OZ
Halloween
Joe's Corsage
Quaudiophiliac
Joe's Domage
Joe's Xmasage
Imaginary Diseases
Trance-Fusion
The MOFO Project/Object
The MOFO Project/Object (Fazedooh)
Buffalo
The Dub Room Special!
Wazoo
One Shot Deal
Joe's Menage
The Lumpy Money Project/Object
Philly '76
2010s
Greasy Love Songs
"Congress Shall Make No Law..."
Hammersmith Odeon
Feeding the Monkies at Ma Maison
Carnegie Hall
Understanding America
Road Tapes, Venue #1
Finer Moments
AAAFNRAA: Baby Snakes – The Compleat Soundtrack
Road Tapes, Venue #2
A Token of His Extreme Soundtrack
Joe's Camouflage
Roxy by Proxy
Dance Me This
200 Motels: The Suites
Roxy the Soundtrack
Road Tapes, Venue #3
The Crux of the Biscuit
Frank Zappa for President
ZAPPAtite: Frank Zappa's Tastiest Tracks
Meat Light: The Uncle Meat Project/Object Audio Documentary
Chicago '78
Little Dots
Halloween 77
The Roxy Performances
Zappa in New York 40th Anniversary
Orchestral Favorites 40th Anniversary
Halloween 73
The Hot Rats Sessions
2020s
The Mothers 1970
Halloween 81
Zappa - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Zappa '88: The Last U.S. Show
200 Motels 50th Anniversary Edition
The Mothers 1971
Zappa/Erie
Zappa '75: Zagreb/Ljubljana
Waka/Wazoo
Zappa '80: Mudd Club/Munich
Funky Nothingness
Over-Nite Sensation 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition
Whisky a Go Go, 1968
Apostrophe (') 50th Anniversary Edition
Cheaper Than Cheep
One Size Fits All 50th Anniversary Edition
Halloween 78
Halloween 78 Highlights: Live at the Palladium, New York
Bongo Fury 50th Anniversary Edition
Miscellaneous
Lumpy Gravy (Primordial)
The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa
Beat the Boots!
Beat the Boots! #2
Beat the Boots! III
Compilations
The **** of the Mothers
London Symphony Orchestra Vol. 1 & 2
Strictly Commercial: The Best of Frank Zappa
Strictly Genteel: A "Classical" Introduction to Frank Zappa
Cucamonga
Cheap Thrills
Son of Cheep Thrills
Birthday Bundle
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