Frank Zappa

Known for ActingBorn 1940-12-21Died 1993-12-04Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.

Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band The Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. While in his teens, he acquired a taste for percussion-based avant-garde composers such as Edgard Varèse and 1950s rhythm and blues music. He began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands; he later switched to electric guitar. He was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often impossible to categorize. His 1966 debut album with The Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. His later albums shared this eclectic and experimental approach, irrespective of whether the fundamental format was one of rock, jazz or classical. He wrote the lyrics to all his songs, which—often humorously—reflected his iconoclastic view of established social and political processes, structures and movements. He was a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate for freedom of speech, self-education, political participation and the abolition of censorship. Zappa was a highly productive and prolific artist and gained widespread critical acclaim. Many of his albums are considered essential in rock and jazz history. He is regarded as one of the most original guitarists and composers of his time. He also remains a major influence on musicians and composers. He had some commercial success, particularly in Europe, and for most of his career was able to work as an independent artist. Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. Zappa was married to Kathryn J. "Kay" Sherman from 1960 to 1964. In 1967, he married Adelaide Gail Sloatman, with whom he remained until his death from prostate cancer in 1993. They had four children: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen. Gail Zappa manages the businesses of her late husband under the name the Zappa Family Trust. Description above from the Wikipedia article Frank Zappa, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia. Read more

Movies & web series

The Residents - A Documentary

Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s

Deep Purple: Made In Japan

Zapped: Frank Zappa par Frank Zappa

A Life of Extravaganza - The Genius Frank Zappa

Classic Albums: Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - Freak Out!

Steve Vai - His First 30 Years: The Documentary

Sex in Today's World

Beat-Club

Decade

Hey, Hey, We're The Monkees

Laurel Canyon

Feats First: The Life and Music of Lowell George

The Big T.N.T. Show

Led Zeppelin Played Here

Hart & Soul - The Hart Family Anthology

Frank Zappa - Live in Paris 1980

Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music

Frank Zappa – Summer '82: When Zappa Came to Sicily

Frank Zappa: Does Humor Belong in Music?

The Yellow Shark

Faerie Tale Theatre

Frank Zappa: Peefeeyatko

Funny

Frank Zappa: Live in Barcelona

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice

Frank Zappa: A Token of His Extreme

Classic Albums

Derailroaded

Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words

Made in Japan: The Rise of Deep Purple Mk II

The Ren & Stimpy Show

Zappa

Pražákům, těm je hej

The Wrecking Crew

Miami Vice

Super Duper Alice Cooper

The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels

Duckman

Video from Hell

Frank Zappa: Phase II - The Big Note

The Velvet Underground

Frank Zappa & The Mothers: Roxy: The Movie

Echo in the Canyon

The Revenge of the Dead Indians

Cousteau: Alaska: Outrage at Valdez

Manson: Music from an Unsound Mind

Omnibus