Frank Zappa
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- December 21, 1940
- Died
- December 4, 1993 (aged 52)
- Birthplace
- Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Frank Zappa, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
The Male Swagger
Movie · as Guitarist (archive footage)
Nova '78
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Frank Zappa: Cheaper Than Cheep
Movie · as Self (guitar, vocals)
Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention: Live at Whisky a Go Go 1968
Movie
Cover Your Ears
Movie · as Self - Musician (archive footage)
Rock this Town
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Steve Vai - His First 30 Years: The Documentary
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Larry Flynt for President
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Kalvøyafestivalen - 50 år siden første riff
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Art of Dissent
Movie · as Self - Subject (archive footage)
The Velvet Underground
Movie · as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Classic Albums: Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - Freak Out!
Movie · as Self
Zappa
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Laurel Canyon
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 2 eps
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Echo in the Canyon
Movie · as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Manson: Music from an Unsound Mind
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Stupor Mundi: Book 3, The Most Dangerous Encounter
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Take Your Pills
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Cosmic Debris
Movie · as Himself (archive footage)
Stupor Mundi: Livre 1, Rituel de décapitation du pape
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Stupor Mundi: Livre 2, Les Hommes qui mangèrent la montagne
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention - The Lost Broadcast: The Beat Club '68
Movie · as Self
Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Feats First: The Life and Music of Lowell George
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Frank Zappa & The Mothers: Roxy: The Movie
Movie · as Himself
Frank Zappa – Summer '82: When Zappa Came to Sicily
Movie · as Himself (archive Footage)
Cheepnis
Movie · as Himself
Super Duper Alice Cooper
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Made in Japan: The Rise of Deep Purple Mk II
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Led Zeppelin Played Here
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Frank Zappa: A Token Of His Extreme
Movie · as Himself
From Straight to Bizarre
Movie · as Self
Hart & Soul - The Hart Family Anthology
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Frank Zappa: The Freak Out List
Movie · as Himself
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention: In the 1960's
Movie · as Himself
An Evening with Frank Zappa During Which... The Torture Never Stops
Movie · as Self
Frank Zappa: Music In Review
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Frank Zappa: The Broadcast Archives
Movie · as Self
Frank Zappa - Live in Paris 1980
Movie · as Self
The Wrecking Crew
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Classic Albums: Frank Zappa - Apostrophe (') Over-Nite Sensation
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Frank Zappa: A Pioneer of the Future of Music
Movie
Frank Zappa: Roxy, 1973
Movie
Fuck
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
EAV Rarities
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Frank Zappa: A Token of His Extreme
Movie · as Himself
Derailroaded
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Girls and Boys - Sex and British Pop
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 4 eps
Frank Zappa - John, Dan And Me
Movie · as Himself
Frank Zappa: Phase II - The Big Note
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Frank Zappa: The Present-Day Composer Refuses To Die
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Hey, Hey, We're The Monkees
Movie · as Mike Nesmith (archive footage)
Porridge and kerosene
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart
Movie · as Himself (archive footage)
Classic Albums
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 2 eps
An American Dissident: un tributo a Frank Zappa
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
A Life of Extravaganza - The Genius Frank Zappa
Movie · as Self
The Revenge of the Dead Indians
Movie · as Himself
The Yellow Shark
Movie · as Self
Tom Arnold: The Naked Truth
Movie · as Self
Frank Zappa: Peefeeyatko
Movie · as Self
Your vote
Movie · as Self
Pražákům, těm je hej
Movie · as Frank Zappa
The Ren & Stimpy Show
TV · as The Pope (voice) · 1 ep
Služební cesta podporučíka Svěráka
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Decade
Movie · as Self
Funny
Movie · as Self
The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels
Movie · as Self
Frank Zappa: Live in Barcelona
Movie
Video from Hell
Movie · as Self
The Amazing Mr. Bickford
Movie · as Self
Uncle Meat
Movie · as Self / The Imaginary Director
Frank Zappa: Does Humor Belong in Music?
Movie · as Self
Night Flight with Frank Zappa, Porn Wars
Movie · as Self
The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers
Movie · as Attila
Miami Vice
TV · as Mario Fuente · 1 ep
Cocaine Blues
Movie · as Himself
The Rolling Stones - The First 20 Years
Movie · as Self
Frank Zappa: The Dub Room Special!
Movie · as Self
Faerie Tale Theatre
TV · as Attilla · 1 ep
Frank Zappa: New York and Elsewhere
Movie · as Self
Baby Snakes
Movie · as Self
Frank Zappa: We Don't Mess Around
Movie · as Self
Saturday Night Live
TV · as Self - Musical Guest, Self - Host & Musical Guest · 1 ep
Frank Zappa: Opopoppa Stockholm, Sweden
Movie
Deep Purple: Made In Japan
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Yoko Ono: This Is Not Here
Movie · as Self
The Making of 200 Motels
Movie · as Self
200 Motels
Movie · as Member of Mothers of Invention (uncredited)
Frank Zappa
Movie · as Self
Frank Zappa, John Lennon & Yoko Ono: At Fillmore East
Movie
Amougies (Music Power - European Music Revolution)
Movie · as Self
Pink Floyd: Amougies Pop Festival
Movie · as Self
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Movie · as Self
Head
Movie · as The Critic
All My Loving
Movie · as Self
You Are What You Eat
Movie
Sex in Today's World
Movie · as Self
Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution
Movie · as Self
Mondo Hollywood
Movie
Good Evening — I'm Jonathan King
TV · as Himself · 1 ep
Omnibus
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Monkees
TV · as Self (uncredited) · 1 ep
The Big T.N.T. Show
Movie · as Self (uncredited)
Beat-Club
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Late Night Line-Up
TV · as Himself · 1 ep