As astute an entrepreneur as he was a musician, he was impatient with any division between popular and high art; he combined scatological humor with political wit, required of his players an intimidating skill, and displayed consistent innovation in instrumental and studio technology. “I knew there was a big thing here that was unique, because the beat matched the great rhythm of the human body.” He was born in 1940 in Baltimore where his Sicilian-born, Greek-Arab meteorologist father was employed by an arsenal that manufactured poison gas during World War II. The eldest of four children of a guitar-playing government scientist, Frank Zappa moved with his family at age ten to California. At the age of twelve Zappa became interested in drums, learning orchestral percussion. By 1956 he was playing drums in a local R&B band called the Ramblers. “I was extremely suspect of any rock music played by white people.
The sincerity and emotional intensity of their performances, when they sang about boyfriends and girlfriends and breaking up, etc., was nowhere when I compared it to my high school Negro R&B heroes like Johnny Otis, Howlin Wolf and Willie Mae Thornton.” Early exposure to a record of Ionisation by avant garde classical composer Edgard Varese instilled an interest in advanced rhythmic experimentation, which lead to the fascination of the electric guitar. “Enlightenment is , to a certain extent, attributable to the evolution of rock and vice versa.” In 1963 Mr. Zappa wrote a score for a Western called Run Home Slow and with the money built a studio in Cucamonga, California. But along with success come some misfortune in which Zappa was charged for conspiracy to commit pornography by the San Bernardino Vice Squad after an undercover policeman requested some sex”party” tapes. Zappa delivered tapes of faked grunting, and served ten days of a six-month jail sentence. In 1964, Zappa joined a local R&B outfit, the Soul Giants and started writing songs for them. Eager to gain a heavier image Flo and Eddie joined up with Zappa for the film 200 Motels.
But once again misfortune struck Zappa. On December 4,1971 there was a fire that destroyed the bands equipment and a crazy accident in which Zappa was pushed off-stage at Londons Rainbow theatre. He crushed his larynx (lowering his voice a third), and damaged his spine, which kept him wheelchair-bound for the best part of a year. Apostrophe () showcased Zappas talents as a story – teller in the Lord Buckley tradition. I reached number 10 in the Billboard chart in June 1974.
In 1975 Captain Beefheart joined Zappa for a tour, Zappa overdubbing most of the instruments himself. He was experimenting with what he termed”xenochronicity” (combining unrelated tracks to create a piece of non-synchronous music) and produced intriguing results on Friendly Little Finger. “Through rock music, the audience is being exposed to an assortment of advanced musical and electronic techniques that five years ago might have sent them screaming into the street.” In 1976, Zappa filed a lawsuit against Herb Cohen, which in 1977 severed ties with Warner Bros., moving to Mercury two years later.
There he set up Zappa Records and retired the Mothers name, calling all later groups Zappa. In 1980 Zappa recorded a single, “I Dont Wanna Get Drafted,” which Mercury refused to release, prompting him to leave the label and eventually establish his own Barking Pumpkin Label. In 1981 Zappa released his first Barking Pumpkin album, and that year, some ex-Mothers, including Jimmy Carl Black, Don Preston, and Bunk Gardner, united to form the Grandmothers. “They did everything they could to make sure their audience was moved erotically.” In 1984 he was quite outrageously prolific: he unearthed the an 18th century composer named Francesco Zappa and recorded his work on a synclavier. Two releases, Shut Up N Play Yer Guitar and Guitar, proved that Zappas guitar playing was unique; Jazz From Hell presented wordless compositions for synclavier that drew inspiration from Conlon Nancarrow; Thing-Fish was a Broadway musical about AIDS, homophobia and racism.
In November of 1991, in New York on the eve of a tribute concert entitled “Zappas Universe,” Moon Unit and Dweezil Zappa announced that their father had been diagnosed with cancer of the prostate. A lifelong teetotaler and abstainer from drugs (Zappa, however, smoked cigarettes and drank coffee incessantly), the composer continued a rigorous work schedule. And in May 1993 Zappa, clearly weak from intensive chemotherapy, announced that he was fast losing the battle as it had spread into his bones. At the age of 52, shortly before his 53rd birthday, at his Los Angeles home Zappa succumbed to the disease. Zappas career in perspective shows a musical perfectionist using only the highest standards of musicianship and the finest recording quality.
“It has been discovered and revealed that song can capture the fancy of the American public efficiently.” History will certainly recognize Zappa as a sophisticated, serious composer and a highly accomplished master of music. Zappa was one of the most exotic, original and complex figures to have emerged from rock culture. Guitar hero, satirist, and political commentator, Zappa managed to avoid being easily categorized for over three decades. And to show their appreciation the Critics elected Zappa into the Down Beat Hall of Fame.
