
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.

Frank Zappa: Does Humor Belong in Music?

The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels

Video from Hell

Frank Zappa & The Mothers: Roxy: The Movie

Baby Snakes

Frank Zappa: The Dub Room Special!

The Amazing Mr. Bickford

Uncle Meat

200 Motels

Cheepnis

Burnt Weeny Sandwich

Frank Zappa - Over-Nite Sensation

Frank Zappa: Roxy, 1973

Deep Purple: Made In Japan

Hey, Hey, We're The Monkees

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

Steve Vai - His First 30 Years: The Documentary

Beat-Club

Faerie Tale Theatre

Feats First: The Life and Music of Lowell George

Led Zeppelin Played Here

Frank Zappa - Live in Paris 1980

Hart & Soul - The Hart Family Anthology

Frank Zappa: Live in Barcelona

The Yellow Shark

Pražákům, těm je hej

Laurel Canyon

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

Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music

Frank Zappa: Does Humor Belong in Music?

Frank Zappa: A Token of His Extreme

Classic Albums

Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice

Derailroaded

レンとスティンピー

The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels

特捜刑事マイアミ・バイス

Made in Japan: The Rise of Deep Purple Mk II

The Wrecking Crew

Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words

Zappa

Omnibus

Super Duper Alice Cooper

Video from Hell

The Big T.N.T. Show

Decade

サタデー・ナイト・ライブ

ヴェルヴェット・アンダーグラウンド

Frank Zappa & The Mothers: Roxy: The Movie

Echo in the Canyon

Manson: Music from an Unsound Mind

テイク・ユア・ピル: スマートドラッグの真実

The Monkees

Classic Albums: Frank Zappa - Apostrophe (') Over-Nite Sensation

Baby Snakes

All My Loving

The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers

Late Night Line-Up

Fuck

Head

Frank Zappa: A Token Of His Extreme

Yoko Ono: This Is Not Here

Cover Your Ears

Frank Zappa: The Dub Room Special!

Frank Zappa: The Torture Never Stops

The Amazing Mr. Bickford

Uncle Meat

Mondo Hollywood

200 Motels

Larry Flynt for President

Frank Zappa: We Don't Mess Around

From Straight to Bizarre

You Are What You Eat

Sex in Today's World

Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution

Frank Zappa filmt 200 Motels

Cheepnis

Burnt Weeny Sandwich

Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s

Funny

Frank Zappa: Music In Review

Amougies (Music Power - European Music Revolution)

The Rolling Stones - Die ersten 20 Jahre

Frank Zappa: The Broadcast Archives

Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention: In the 1960's

Kalvøyafestivalen - 50 år siden første riff

The Art of Dissent

Rock this Town

Frank Zappa: Peefeeyatko

Cocaine Blues

The Revenge of the Dead Indians

Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention - The Lost Broadcast: The Beat Club '68

Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention: Live at Whisky a Go Go 1968

Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa: A Pioneer of the Future of Music

The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart

Cosmic Debris

Frank Zappa: The Freak Out List

Frank Zappa - Over-Nite Sensation

Pink Floyd: Amougies Pop Festival

Frank Zappa, John Lennon & Yoko Ono: At Fillmore East

Frank Zappa: Opopoppa Stockholm, Sweden

Frank Zappa: Roxy, 1973

Frank Zappa: Cheaper Than Cheep

Nova '78

Girls and Boys - Sex and British Pop

Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution