Frank Vincent Zappa was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and musique concrète works; he also produced almost all of the 60-plus albums that he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. His work is characterized by non… See more
1940–1965: Early life and career
Zappa was born on December 21, 1940, in Baltimore, Maryland, to Rose Marie (née Colimore) and Francis Vincent Zappa. He was of Sicilian, Greek, Arab and French descent. Frank, the … See more
1965–1970: The Mothers of Invention
By April 1965, Ray Collins, one of Zappa's friends during the early Studio Z days, was the singer of an R&B band called the Soul Giants, based in Pomona, California. That month, he asked Zappa to take over as guitarist in t… See more
1970–1980: A decade of highs and lows
In 1970, Zappa met conductor Zubin Mehta. They arranged a May 1970 concert where Mehta conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic augmented by a rock band. According to Zappa, the music was mostly written in m… See more
1980–1993: Later years
Zappa cut ties with Phonogram after the distributor refused to release his song "I Don't Wanna Get Drafted", which was recorded in February 1980. The single was released independently by Zappa in the United Stat… See more
