Prog Rock Audio Archive

Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, recording engineer, record producer, and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, jazz, 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 20th-century classical composers such as Edgard Varèse, Igor Stravinsky, and Anton Webern along with 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.
Zappa was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often difficult 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 rock, jazz or classical. His lyrics—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.
He was a highly productive and prolific artist and gained widespread critical acclaim. He had some commercial success, particularly in Europe, and worked as an independent artist for most of his career. He also remains a major influence on musicians and composers. 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, Dweezil, Ahmet and Diva. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No. 71 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", and in 2011 at No. 22 on its list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Source: Wikipedia

Albums to Listen:

Freak Out! 1966	Absolutely Free 1967	Lumpy Gravy 1968
We’re Only In It For The Money 1968	Cruising With Ruben & The Jets 1968	Uncle Meat 1969
Hot Rats 1969	Burnt Weeny Sandwich 1970	Weasels Ripped My Flesh 1970
Chunga’s Revenge 1970	200 Motels 1971	Fillmore East - June 1971 1971
Just Another Band From L.A. 1972	Waka/Jawaka 1972	The Grand Wazoo 1972
Over-Nite Sensation 1973	Apostrophe (') 1974	Roxy & Elsewhere 1974
One Size Fits All 1975	Bongo Fury 1975	Zoot Allures 1976
Zappa In New York 1978	Studio Tan 1978	Sleep Dirt 1979
Sheik Yerbouti 1979	Orchestral Favorites 1979	Joe's Garage (Acts 1, 2 & 3) 1979
Tinseltown Rebellion 1981	Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar 1981	You Are What You Is 1981
Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch 1982	The Man From Utopia 1983	Baby Snakes 1983
London Symphony Orchestra Vol. I 1983	The Perfect Stranger 1984	Them Or Us 1984
Thing-Fish 1984	Francesco Zappa 1984	Frank Zappa Meets The Mothers Of Prevention 1985
Does Humor Belong In Music? 1986	Jazz From Hell 1986	London Symphony Orchestra Vol. II 1987
Guitar 1988	Broadway The Hard Way 1988	You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 1988
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 1988	You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 3 1988	You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 4 1991
The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life 1991	Make A Jazz Noise Here 1991	You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 5 1992
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 1992	Playground Psychotics 1992	Ahead Of Their Time 1993
The Yellow Shark 1993	Civilization Phase III 1994	LÄTHER 1996