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Frank Zappa’s talents covered just about everything in the music industry. He was a distinctive composer who worked in just about every style including rock, jazz, and classical. Frank was a master guitarist, percussionist, vocalist, band leader, and producer and also created feature-length and short films, music videos, and album covers. Zappa joined his first band The Ramblers in high school. Frank had began his career as a musician on drums, but performed most of his career as a singer and guitarist. His original love for classical percussion influenced his compositions, which are notorious for complexity in rhythmic structure, featuring radical changes of tempo and metre. In 1957 Frank was given his first guitar. His early influences included Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Howlin' Wolf and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. Zappa considered soloing as the equivalent of forming "air sculptures," and developed an eclectic, innovative and personal style. He eventually became one of the most highly regarded electric guitarists of his time. Zappa was approached by Ray Collins in 1965 to join a local R&B band, The Soul Giants, as a guitarist. Frank quickly became the leader and the band was renamed "The Mothers" on Mothers Day. When they signed with Verve Records, the named was changed to "The Mothers of Invention." After Frank disbanded the Mothers of Invention, he released the acclaimed solo album Hot Rats in 1969. It features, for the first time on record, Zappa playing extended guitar solos. Also, it contains one of Zappa’s most enduring compositions, “Peaches En Regalia.” In December 1971 there were two serious setbacks. While performing at Casino de Montreux in Switzerland, the Mothers' equipment was destroyed when a flare set off by an audience member started a fire that burned down the casino, and with the member of Deep Purple there to witness, became the story line for their classic song “Smoke on the Water”. The other happen a week later at the Rainbow Theatre, in London. During an encore, an audience member pushed Zappa off the stage and into the concrete-floored orchestra pit. Zappa suffered serious fractures, head trauma and injuries to his back, leg, and neck, as well as a crushed larynx which caused his voice to drop in pitch healing. On September 19, 1985, Zappa testified before the US Senate
Commerce, Technology, and Transportation committee, attacking the
Parents Music Resource Center or PMRC, a music censorship
organization, founded by then-Senator Al Gore's wife Tipper Gore.
Frank Zappa died on December 4, 1993, age 52, from prostate cancer. Click here to download the Frank Zappa 1024x768 image. Click here to return to the Hall Of Fame.
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