Biography
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band The Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist.
While in his teens, he acquired a taste for percussion-based avant-garde composers such as Edgard Varèse and 1950s rhythm and blues music. He began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands; he later switched to electric guitar. He was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often impossible to categorize. His 1966 debut album with The Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. His later albums shared this eclectic and experimental approach, irrespective of whether the fundamental format was one of rock, jazz or classical. He wrote the lyrics to all his songs, which—often humorously—reflected his iconoclastic view of established social and political processes, structures and movements. He was a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate for freedom of speech, self-education, political participation and the abolition of censorship.
Zappa was a highly productive and prolific artist and gained widespread critical acclaim. Many of his albums are considered essential in rock and jazz history. He is regarded as one of the most original guitarists and composers of his time. He also remains a major influence on musicians and composers. He had some commercial success, particularly in Europe, and for most of his career was able to work as an independent artist. Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.
Zappa was married to Kathryn J. "Kay" Sherman from 1960 to 1964. In 1967, he married Adelaide Gail Sloatman, with whom he remained until his death from prostate cancer in 1993. They had four children: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen. Gail Zappa manages the businesses of her late husband under the name the Zappa Family Trust.
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Filmography
all 114
Movies 99
self 85
TV Shows 15
Director 4
Voice 1
Over-Nite Sensation (2023)
Steve Vai - His First 30 Years: The Documentary (2022)
Rock this Town (2022)
Kalvøyafestivalen - 50 år siden første riff (2021)
The Velvet Underground (2021)
Classic Albums: Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - Freak Out! (2021)
The Art of Dissent (2021)
Larry Flynt for President (2021)
Zappa (2020)
Laurel Canyon (2020)
Stupor Mundi: Livre 3, La plus dangereuse rencontre (2019)
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (2019)
Manson: Music From an Unsound Mind (2019)
Echo in the Canyon (2019)
Marian Briozzo (2018)
Take Your Pills (2018)
Uncle Howard (2017)
Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words (2016)
Stupor Mundi: Livre 2, Les Hommes qui mangèrent la montagne (2016)
Stupor Mundi: Livre 1, Rituel de décapitation du pape (2016)
Zapped: Frank Zappa par Frank Zappa (2016)
Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention - The Lost Broadcast: The Beat Club '68 (2016)
Roxy: The Movie (2015)
Feats First: The Life and Music of Lowell George (2015)
Led Zeppelin Played Here (2014)
Frank Zappa - Summer '82: When Zappa Came to Sicily (2014)
Made in Japan: The Rise of Deep Purple Mk II (2014)
Cheepnis (2014)
Super Duper Alice Cooper (2014)
Frank Zappa: A Token Of His Extreme (2013)
From Straight to Bizarre (2012)
1982. L'estate di Frank (2012)
Chorus : La première émission Rock d'Antoine de Caunes (2010)
Frank Zappa: The Freak Out List (2010)
Hart & Soul - The Hart Family Anthology (2010)
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention: In the 1960's (2009)
Frank Zappa - Live in Paris 1980 (2008)
Frank Zappa: The Torture Never Stops (2008)
Frank Zappa: The Broadcast Archives (2008)
The Wrecking Crew (2008)
Frank Zappa: Music In Review (2008)
Classic Albums: Frank Zappa - Apostrophe (') Over-Nite Sensation (2007)
Frank Zappa: A Pioneer of the Future of Music (2007)
Fuck (2006)
EAV Rarities (2006)
Girls and Boys - Sex and British Pop (2005)
Frank Zappa: A Token of His Extreme (2005)
Derailroaded (2005)
Frank Zappa - John, Dan And Me (2004)
Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s (2002)
Frank Zappa: Phase II - The Big Note (2002)
Band from Utopia: A Tribute to the Music of Frank Zappa (2002)
Frank Zappa: The Present-Day Composer Refuses To Die (2000)
The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart (1997)
Classic Albums (1997)
Porridge and kerosene (1997)
Hey, Hey We're The Monkees (1997)
Duckman (1994)
An American Dissident: un tributo a Frank Zappa (1994)
A Life of Extravaganza - The Genius Frank Zappa (1993)
Beasts (1993)
The Revenge of the Dead Indians (1993)
The Yellow Shark (1992)
The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991)
Tom Arnold: The Naked Truth (1991)
Pražákům, těm je hej (1991)
Frank Zappa: Peefeeyatko (1991)
Your vote (1991)
Cousteau: Alaska: Outrage at Valdez (1990)
Decade (1989)
Služební cesta podporučíka Svěráka (1989)
Funny (1988)
The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels (1988)
Frank Zappa: Live in Barcelona (1988)
Video From Hell (1987)
Uncle Meat (1987)
The Amazing Mr. Bickford (1987)
Night Flight with Frank Zappa, Porn Wars (1985)
Frank Zappa: Does Humor Belong in Music? (1985)
The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers (1984)
Miami Vice (1984)
Cocaine Blues (1983)
Faerie Tale Theatre (1982)
Frank Zappa: The Dub Room Special! (1982)
The Rolling Stones - The First 20 Years (1982)
Frank Zappa: New York and Elsewhere (1980)
Baby Snakes (1979)
Frank Zappa: We Don't Mess Around (1978)
Saturday Night Live (1975)
Yoko Ono: This Is Not Here (1972)
Deep Purple: Made In Japan (1972)
Frank Zappa filmt 200 Motels (1971)
The Manipulator (1971)
200 Motels (1971)
Frank Zappa (1971)
Amougies (Music Power - European Music Revolution) (1970)
Burnt Weeny Sandwich (1969)
Head (1968)
All My Loving (1968)
You Are What You Eat (1968)
Omnibus (1967)
Good Evening — I'm Jonathan King (1967)
Mondo Hollywood (1967)
Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution (1967)
Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution (1967)
Sex in Today's World (1967)
The Monkees (1966)
The Big T.N.T. Show (1966)
Run Home Slow (1965)
Beat-Club (1965)
The World's Greatest Sinner (1962)
Livewire
The Male Swagger
Late Night Line-Up
Ratings
Gallery
Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1940-12-21
Deathday1993-12-04 (52 years old)
Birth NameFrank Vincent Zappa
Birth PlaceBaltimore, United States of America
Religionatheism
Height1.83-meter
RelationshipsGail Zappa (1967-09-21 - 1993-12-04)
ChildrenDiva Zappa, Ahmet Zappa, Moon Zappa, Dweezil Zappa
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Also Known AsZappa, FZ, Френк Заппа
AwardsGrammy Lifetime Achievement Award
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