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.
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.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0953261
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q127330
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Filmography (Movies)
Frank Zappa: Cheaper Than Cheep
Character:Self (guitar, vocals)
Release Date:09/05/2025
Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:27/01/2025
Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention: Live at Whisky a Go Go 1968
Character:
Release Date:21/06/2024
Cover Your Ears
Character:Self - Musician (archive footage)
Release Date:08/05/2023
Steve Vai - His First 30 Years: The Documentary
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:07/09/2022
Rock this Town
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:24/03/2022
Kalvøyafestivalen - 50 år siden første riff
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:13/12/2021
The Velvet Underground
Character:Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Release Date:15/10/2021
Classic Albums: Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - Freak Out!
Character:Self
Release Date:08/10/2021
The Art of Dissent
Character:Self - Subject (archive footage)
Release Date:05/10/2021
Larry Flynt for President
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:12/06/2021
Zappa
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:27/11/2020
Stupor Mundi: Book 3, The Most Dangerous Encounter
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:19/09/2019
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:06/09/2019
Manson: Music from an Unsound Mind
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:13/08/2019
Echo in the Canyon
Character:Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Release Date:24/05/2019
Marian Briozzo
Character:Himself (archive footage)
Release Date:19/04/2018
Take Your Pills
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:09/03/2018
Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:03/05/2016
Stupor Mundi: Livre 1, Rituel de décapitation du pape
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:13/03/2016
Stupor Mundi: Livre 2, Les Hommes qui mangèrent la montagne
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:13/03/2016
Zapped: Frank Zappa par Frank Zappa
Character:Self - Subject (archive footage)
Release Date:01/01/2016
Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention - The Lost Broadcast: The Beat Club '68
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/2016
Frank Zappa & The Mothers: Roxy: The Movie
Character:Himself
Release Date:10/09/2015
Feats First: The Life and Music of Lowell George
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:23/03/2015
Led Zeppelin Played Here
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:11/10/2014
Frank Zappa – Summer '82: When Zappa Came to Sicily
Character:Himself (archive Footage)
Release Date:05/10/2014
Made in Japan: The Rise of Deep Purple Mk II
Character:Himself (archive footage)
Release Date:12/09/2014
Cheepnis
Character:Himself
Release Date:17/08/2014
Super Duper Alice Cooper
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:17/04/2014
Frank Zappa: A Token Of His Extreme
Character:Himself
Release Date:03/06/2013
From Straight to Bizarre
Character:Self
Release Date:21/02/2012
Frank Zappa: The Freak Out List
Character:Himself
Release Date:19/04/2010
Hart & Soul - The Hart Family Anthology
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:06/04/2010
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention: In the 1960's
Character:Himself
Release Date:20/01/2009
Frank Zappa - Live in Paris 1980
Character:Self
Release Date:12/06/2008
Frank Zappa: The Torture Never Stops
Character:Self
Release Date:01/05/2008
Frank Zappa: The Broadcast Archives
Character:Self
Release Date:01/04/2008
The Wrecking Crew
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:11/03/2008
Frank Zappa: Music In Review
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:05/02/2008
Classic Albums: Frank Zappa - Apostrophe (') Over-Nite Sensation
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:01/05/2007
Frank Zappa: A Pioneer of the Future of Music
Character:
Release Date:22/04/2007
Frank Zappa: Roxy, 1973
Character:
Release Date:01/04/2007
Fuck
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:10/11/2006
EAV Rarities
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:10/02/2006
Frank Zappa: A Token of His Extreme
Character:Himself
Release Date:02/08/2005
Derailroaded
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:01/03/2005
Frank Zappa - John, Dan And Me
Character:Himself
Release Date:01/01/2004
Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:30/08/2002
Frank Zappa: Phase II - The Big Note
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:20/06/2002
Frank Zappa: The Present-Day Composer Refuses To Die
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:02/07/2000
The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart
Character:Himself (archive footage)
Release Date:19/08/1997
Porridge and kerosene
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:18/03/1997
Hey, Hey, We're The Monkees
Character:Mike Nesmith (archive footage)
Release Date:22/01/1997
An American Dissident: un tributo a Frank Zappa
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:07/01/1994
A Life of Extravaganza - The Genius Frank Zappa
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/1993
The Revenge of the Dead Indians
Character:Himself
Release Date:01/01/1993
The Yellow Shark
Character:Self
Release Date:17/09/1992
Tom Arnold: The Naked Truth
Character:Self
Release Date:01/04/1991
Pražákům, těm je hej
Character:Frank Zappa
Release Date:01/04/1991
Frank Zappa: Peefeeyatko
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/1991
Your vote
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/1991
Decade
Character:Self
Release Date:09/12/1989
Služební cesta podporučíka Svěráka
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:01/01/1989
Funny
Character:Self
Release Date:01/04/1988
The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/1988
Frank Zappa: Live in Barcelona
Character:
Release Date:01/01/1988
Video from Hell
Character:Self
Release Date:28/02/1987
The Amazing Mr. Bickford
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/1987
Uncle Meat
Character:Self / The Imaginary Director
Release Date:01/01/1987
Night Flight with Frank Zappa, Porn Wars
Character:Self
Release Date:19/09/1985
Frank Zappa: Does Humor Belong in Music?
Character:Self
Release Date:26/08/1985
The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers
Character:Attila
Release Date:17/09/1984
Cocaine Blues
Character:Himself
Release Date:02/01/1983
Frank Zappa: The Dub Room Special!
Character:Self
Release Date:01/06/1982
The Rolling Stones - The First 20 Years
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/1982
Frank Zappa: New York and Elsewhere
Character:Self
Release Date:01/06/1980
Frank Zappa: Baby Snakes
Character:Self
Release Date:21/12/1979
Frank Zappa: We Don't Mess Around
Character:Self
Release Date:08/08/1978
Frank Zappa: Opopoppa Stockholm, Sweden
Character:
Release Date:10/09/1973
Frank Zappa - Over-Nite Sensation
Character:
Release Date:01/09/1973
Yoko Ono: This Is Not Here
Character:Self
Release Date:11/05/1972
Deep Purple: Made In Japan
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:30/04/1972
Frank Zappa filmt 200 Motels
Character:Self
Release Date:23/12/1971
200 Motels
Character:Member of Mothers of Invention (uncredited)
Release Date:10/11/1971
Frank Zappa, John Lennon & Yoko Ono: At Fillmore East
Character:
Release Date:06/06/1971
Frank Zappa: A Day With Frank
Character:Self
Release Date:11/02/1971
Amougies (Music Power - European Music Revolution)
Character:Self
Release Date:01/05/1970
Pink Floyd: Amougies Pop Festival
Character:
Release Date:01/05/1970
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Character:Self
Release Date:30/04/1969
Head
Character:The Critic
Release Date:06/11/1968
All My Loving
Character:Self
Release Date:03/11/1968
You Are What You Eat
Character:
Release Date:24/09/1968
Mondo Hollywood
Character:
Release Date:30/06/1967
Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution
Character:Self
Release Date:25/04/1967
Sex in Today's World
Character:Self
Release Date:11/01/1967
The Big T.N.T. Show
Character:Self (uncredited)
Release Date:22/12/1965
Television Appearances
Laurel Canyon
Character:Self (archive footage)
Girls and Boys - Sex and British Pop
Character:Self (archive footage)
Classic Albums
Character:Self (archive footage)
The Ren & Stimpy Show
Character:The Pope (voice)
Miami Vice
Character:Mario Fuente
Faerie Tale Theatre
Character:Attilla
Saturday Night Live
Character:Self - Musical Guest
Saturday Night Live
Character:Self - Host & Musical Guest
Omnibus
Character:Self
Good Evening — I'm Jonathan King
Character:Himself
Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution
Character:Self
The Monkees
Character:
Beat-Club
Character:Self
Images
