Frank Vincent Zappa, born on December 21, 1940, in Baltimore, Maryland, was a multifaceted individual who defied categorization. He was a workaholic perfectionist, a rock star who rejected the counterculture movement of the 1960s, criticizing its conformism, spurious ideals, and drug use. Zappa was not only a virtuosic rock guitarist but also an orchestral composer, innovative filmmaker, music producer, businessman, iconoclast, and astute political and social commentator.
Zappa began playing drums at the age of 12 and was performing in R&B groups by high school, switching to guitar at 18. After barely graduating from high school and dropping out of junior college, where he met his first wife, Kay Sherman, Zappa worked various jobs, including window dressing, copywriting, and door-to-door sales. With the money he earned from scoring the film "Run Home, Slow" (1965),written by his high school English teacher, Don Cerveris, Zappa purchased a recording studio and was arrested for 10 days for creating an allegedly obscene recording for an undercover policeman.
Zappa's diverse range of albums, both with the seminal group The Mothers of Invention and his solo releases, are renowned for their bravura musicianship, satire, and ability to offend various groups, often conservatives, both religious and political. His 1971 soundtrack "200 Motels" was deemed too offensive by the Royal Albert Hall, which canceled scheduled concerts in 1975, and his 1979 song "Jewish Princess" led to Jewish calls for Zappa to apologize. These events, along with his 1985 testimony before Congress against rock music censorship, being appointed by Czech president Václav Havel as his Cultural Liaison Officer, and considering a run for US president, have unfortunately been Zappa's only real source of mainstream publicity.
Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1991, Zappa continued working from his Hollywood Hills home until his death on December 4, 1993. His widow, Gail, and children, Dweezil Zappa, Moon Unit Zappa, Ahmet Zappa, and Diva Zappa, released a statement to the press stating: "Composer Frank Zappa left for his final tour just before 6 pm Saturday."
