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About Frank Zappa
Born
1940
Genre
Rock
Singer, guitarist, and composer Frank Zappa got his start writing avant-garde performance pieces for his high school orchestra in the ’50s, before turning to rock.
∙ Zappa and future bandmate Ray Collins cowrote “Memories of El Monte,” which became a doo-wop hit for The Penguins in 1963.
∙ In 1966, his band The Mothers of Invention released the satirical concept record Freak Out, rock’s first-ever two-disc debut album.
∙ The Mothers’ 1971 performance at the Montreux Casino inspired Deep Purple to write one of rock’s greatest anthems, “Smoke On the Water.”
∙ 1974’s Apostrophe (’)—featuring the Pop hit “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow”—peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart, giving the Mothers their only Gold record.
∙ “Valley Girl,” which Zappa recorded with his 14-year-old daughter, Moon, in 1982, was his first and only Top 40 hit.
∙ He won his first of two Grammy Awards in 1987, when Jazz From Hell was named Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
∙ In 1995, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Lou Reed, and his daughter, Moon, delivered the acceptance speech.
∙ Former New York Philharmonic director and composer Pierre Boulez released the critically acclaimed Boulez Conducts Zappa in 1998.
Frank Zappa has also released music as a member of Ruben and the Jets, The Masters The Mothers of Invention.
Musical InfluencesFrank Zappa's musical influences include John Coltrane, The Shaggs, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and more.
Influenced by Frank ZappaFrank Zappa has influenced the music of Tenacious D, Adrian Belew, Phish and more.
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