Frank Zappa

One of rock music's most ambitious composers, Frank Zappa is the author of an original, experimental and satirical body of work stemming from the American counterculture and linking psychedelia to contemporary creation. Born in Baltimore (Maryland) on December 21, 1940, of Italian descent on his father's side, he grew up in California, where his interests lay as much in R&B as in avant-garde music. He learned to play guitar and formed The Mothers of Invention, with whom he produced the psychedelic double album Freak Out! (1966), followed by others including We're Only in It for the Money (1968) and Uncle Meat (1969). His satirical lyrics and abstract musical style make him a unique and disconcerting figure. Musical sketches, demonstrations of virtuosity and collage sequences formed the core of his recordings. He experimented with orchestration on Lumpy Gravy (1968) and founded his own Bizarre Records label, releasing a series of jazz-rock-oriented opuses including Hot Rats (1969), Chunga's Revenge (1971) and The Grand Wazoo (1972), as well as the soundtrack to his film 200 Motels with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. A prolific musician with a constantly renewed imagination, Frank Zappa divided his time between touring and his own studio. His regularly-rated albums follow one another in rapid succession. The more accessible Over-Nite Sensation (1973) and Apostrophe (1974, #10 on the Billboard 200) were followed by the last albums with The Mothers, Roxy & Elsewehere en public (1974), Bongo Fury with Captain Beefheart, One Size Fits All (1975) and Zoot Allures (1976). The tour that followed gave rise to the film Baby Snakes, before the release of four albums concluding the DiscReet Records/Warner Bros. period. The Zappa Records label he then founded spawned the double album Sheik Yerbouti (1979, no. 21), from which the hit "Dancin' Fool " was taken, and which was followed the same year by the Joe's Garage Act I-III suite. A 4th label, Barking Pumpkin Records, was launched with the double album Tinseltown Rebellion (1981). While he showcases his guitar work on the Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar (1981) and Guitar (1991) box sets, combining songs on You Are What You Is (1981) and The Man from Utopia (1983) after the hit "Valley Girl", the composer in search of legitimacy finds an unexpected ally in Pierre Boulez, leading the Ensemble InterContemporain on Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger (1984). The double opus Them or Us and the triple Thing-Fish continue in this contemporary orchestral vein, while Francesco Zappa comes from scores by an 18th-century ancestor, played on the Synclavier. The same instrument is used for the Grammy Award-winning Jazz from Hell (1986). After his defense of artists' freedom of expression before the US Senate against a virtue league, the libertarian musician embarked on what would be his last tour in 1988, resulting in three albums. Stricken with prostate cancer, he published more concert tapes, including the six-volume You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore series, as well as his autobiography. He travels in Russia and Eastern Europe, and meets an admirer in Václav Havel. His last works were ambitious: The Yellow Shark, commissioned by Ensemble Modern in Germany, and Civilization Phase III, published shortly after his death on December 4, 1993 at the age of 52. His musical legacy, managed by his widow Gail Zappa, is the subject of numerous publications, while his guitarist sons, Dweezil Zappa and Ahmet Zappa, honor his memory.