NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Frank Zappa

Frank Vincent Zappa^[1] (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, musician, and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa established himself as a prolific and highly distinctive composer, electric guitar player and band leader. He worked in almost every musical genre and wrote music for rock bands, jazz ensembles, synthesizers and symphony orchestra, as well as Musique concrète works constructed from pre-recorded, synthesized or sampled sources. In addition to his music recordings, he created feature-length and short films, music videos, and album covers. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Baltimore redirects here. ... Official language(s) None (English, de facto) Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Largest metro area Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area Area Ranked 42nd - Total 12,407 sq mi (32,133 kmÂ²) - Width 101 miles (145 km) - Length 249 miles (400 km) - % water 21 - Latitude 37Â° 53â€² N to 39Â° 43â€² N... is the 338th day of the year (339th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... This article is about Western art music from 1000 AD to the 2000s . ... For experimental rock music, see experimental rock. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... â€œInstrumentalistâ€ redirects here. ... Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... A sunburst-colored Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... A typical vibraphone. ... Synclavier I The Synclavier System was an early digital synthesizer and sampler, manufactured by New England Digital. ... A drum kit (or drum set or trap set - the latter an old-fashioned term) is a collection of drums, cymbals and other percussion instruments arranged for convenient playing by a sole percussionist (drummer), usually for jazz, rock, or other types of contemporary music. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Verve Records is an American Jazz record label, founded by Norman Granz in 1956, which absorbed the catalogues of his earlier labels: Norgran Records and Clef Records (founded 1953). ... MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. ... Rykodisc Records is an American record label, and subsidiary of Warner Music Group. ... The Mothers of Invention were a rock and roll band active from the 1960s to the 1990s. ... Don Van Vliet (born Don Glen Vliet on January 15, 1941, in Glendale, California, U.S.) is a musician and visual artist, best known by the pseudonym Captain Beefheart. ... The Gibson Guitar Corporation, of Nashville, Tennessee, USA, is one of the worlds best-known manufacturers of acoustic and electric guitars. ... The Gibson SG is a popular model of solid-bodied electric guitar that was introduced in the early 1960s. ... The Gibson Les Paul is a popular solidbody electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s. ... Stratocaster redirects here. ... Synclavier I The Synclavier System was an early digital synthesizer and sampler, manufactured by New England Digital. ... is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 338th day of the year (339th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... â€œInstrumentalistâ€ redirects here. ... Director Herbert Brenon with actress Alla Nazimova on the set of War Brides, 1916 A director is a person who directs the making of a film. ... Rock is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars, and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles, however saxophones have been omitted from newer subgenres of rock music since the 90s. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Synthesizer (disambiguation). ... Orchestra at City Hall (Edmonton). ... Musique concrÃ¨te (French; literally, concrete music), is a style of avant-garde music that relies on natural environmental sounds and other non-musical noises to create music. ... This article is about reusing existing sound recordings in creating new works. ... A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ...

Although he only occasionally achieved major commercial success, he maintained a highly productive career that encompassed composing, recording, touring, producing and merchandising his own and others' music. Zappa self-produced almost every one of the more than sixty albums he released with the Mothers of Invention or as a solo artist. He received multiple Grammy nominations and won for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1988 for the album Jazz from Hell.^[2] Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. In 2005, his 1968 album with the Mothers of Invention, We're Only in It for the Money, was inducted into the United States National Recording Preservation Board's National Recording Registry. The same year, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #71 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[3] In 2007, his birthtown Baltimore declared August 9 official "Frank Zappa Day" in his honor.^[4] Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 - December 4, 1993) was an American rock/jazz fusion musician, composer, and satirist. ... Grammy Award statuette The Grammy Awards, presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in the recording industry, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the United States (the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music... The Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance has been awarded since 1980. ... Cover of Jazz From Hell (1986) Jazz From Hell is a jazz-rock instrumental album from Frank Zappa. ... This page is a partial list of inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, taken from the list on the Hall of Fames website. ... The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording [1]. This award is distinct from the Grammy Hall of Fame Award, which honors specific recordings rather than individuals, and... The Mothers of Invention chronology Alternate cover Zappas intended cover was changed to this portion of the inside sleeve. ... The United States National Recording Preservation Board selects recorded sounds for preservation in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry. ... The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings which are culturally, historically or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States. ... This article is about the music magazine. ... Baltimore redirects here. ... is the 221st day of the year (222nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Politically, Zappa was a self-proclaimed "practical conservative",^[5] an avowed supporter of capitalism and independent business. He was also a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion. Zappa was a forthright and passionate advocate for freedom of speech and the abolition of censorship, and his work embodied his skeptical view of established political processes and structures. Although many assumed that he, like many musicians, used drugs, Zappa strongly opposed recreational drug use.^[6] For other uses, see Capitalism (disambiguation). ... This article is about the general concept. ... For other uses, see Censor. ...

Zappa was married to Kathryn "Kay" Sherman (1960–1964; no children), and then in 1967 to Adelaide Gail Sloatman, with whom he remained until his death in December 1993 of prostate cancer. They had four children: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen. Gail Zappa handles the businesses of her late husband under the company name the Zappa Family Trust. HRPC redirects here. ... Moon Unit Zappa (born September 28, 1967, in New York City) is the oldest child of late American rock star Frank Zappa and Gail Sloatman; she goes by the name Moon Zappa. ... Dweezil Zappa (born September 5, 1969, in Los Angeles, California) is a heavy metal guitarist. ... Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa (born May 15, 1974 in Los Angeles, California) is a musician. ... Diva Thin Muffin Zappa (born July 30, 1979 in Los Angeles, California) is the youngest child of Frank Zappa and is the sister of Moon Unit Zappa, Dweezil Zappa and Ahmet Zappa. ...

Biography

Early life and influences

Frank Zappa was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 21, 1940 to Francis Zappa (born in Partinico, Sicily) who was of Greek-Arab descent, and Rose Marie Colimore who was of three quarters Italian and one quarter French descent.^[7] He was the oldest of four children (two brothers and a sister).^[2] During Zappa's childhood, the family often moved because his father, a chemist and mathematician, had various jobs in the US defense industry. After a brief period in Florida in the mid-1940s, the family returned to Edgewood, Maryland where Zappa’s father got a job at the Edgewood Arsenal chemical warfare facility at nearby Aberdeen Proving Ground. Due to the home's proximity to the Arsenal which stored mustard gas, Zappa's father kept gas masks on hand in case of an accident.^[8] This had a profound effect on the young Zappa: references to germs, germ warfare and other aspects of the defense industry occur throughout his work.^[9] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Baltimore redirects here. ... is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Partinico is a city and commune in Sicilia in Palermo Province. ... Sicily ( in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 kmÂ² (9,926 sq. ... Languages Arabic other minority languages Religions Predominantly Sunni Islam, as well as Shia Islam, Greek Orthodoxy, Greek Catholicism, Roman Catholicism, Alawite Islam, Druzism, Ibadi Islam, and Judaism Footnotes a Mainly in Antakya. ... A chemist pours from a round-bottom flask. ... Leonhard Euler, considered one of the greatest mathematicians of all time A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and research is the field of mathematics. ... This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ... Edgewood is a census-designated place located in Harford County, Maryland. ... Chemical warfare is warfare (and associated military operations) using the toxic properties of chemical substances to kill, injure or incapacitate an enemy. ... Aberdeen Proving Ground is a United States Army facility located at Aberdeen, Maryland (in Harford county). ... The sulfur mustards, of which mustard gas is a member, are a class of related cytotoxic, vesicant chemical warfare agents with the ability to form large blisters on exposed skin. ...

As a child, Zappa was often sick, suffering from asthma, earaches and a sinus problem. A doctor treated the latter by inserting a pellet of radium on a probe into each of Zappa's nostrils.^[8] Nasal imagery and references would appear both in his music and lyrics as well as in the collage album covers created by his long-time visual collaborator, Cal Schenkel. While little was known at the time about the potential dangers of living close to chemicals and being subjected to radiation, it is a fact that Zappa's illnesses peaked when he lived in the Baltimore area.^[10]^,^[8] Sinus is Latin for bay, pocket, curve or bosom. In anatomy, the term is used in various contexts. ... General Name, Symbol, Number radium, Ra, 88 Chemical series alkaline earth metals Group, Period, Block 2, 7, s Appearance silvery white metallic Standard atomic weight (226) gÂ·molâˆ’1 Electron configuration [Rn] 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ... A nostril is one of the two channels of the nose, from the point where they bifurcate to the external opening. ... Cal Schenkel was a visual collaborator of Frank Zappa. ...

In 1952, his family relocated mainly because of Frank's asthma. They settled first in Monterey, California, where Zappa’s father taught metallurgy at the Naval Postgraduate School. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Claremont, then again to El Cajon before once again moving a short distance, to San Diego. During this period, his parents bought a record player, one event initiating Zappa’s interest in music, as he started collecting records.^[11] Television also exerted a strong influence, as demonstrated by quotations from show themes and advertising jingles found in some of his later work. For other uses, see Monterey (disambiguation). ... Georg Agricola, author of De re metallica, an important early book on metal extraction Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their compounds, which are called alloys. ... The Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, United States is a graduate school operated by the United States Navy. ... Claremont is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, USA, about 30 miles (45 km) east of downtown Los Angeles at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains in the Pomona Valley. ... El Cajon (IPA pronunciation in English: ; Spanish: ) is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. ... San Diego redirects here. ...

The first music Zappa purchased were R&B singles, and he began building a large collection he would keep for the rest of his life.^[12] He was, however, mainly interested in sounds for their own sake, in particular, the sounds of drums and percussion. He got a snare drum at age twelve, and started learning the rudiments of orchestral percussion.^[13] Events that initiated Zappa's deep engagement with modern classical music occurred after his reading of a LOOK magazine story on the Sam Goody record store chain that lauded its ability to sell an LP as obscure as The Complete Works of Edgard Varèse, Volume One.^[14] It further described Varèse's percussion composition Ionisation as "a weird jumble of drums and other unpleasant sounds." Zappa then became convinced that he should seek out Varèse's music. When he finally found a copy after a year of searching (he noticed the LP for the "mad scientist" looking photo of Varèse on the cover), Zappa convinced the salesman to sell him the store's demonstration copy at a discount.^[14] Thus began a lifelong passion for Varèse's music, and other modern classical composers' music. For other uses, see Rhythm and blues (disambiguation). ... Look was a weekly, general-interest magazine published in the United States from 1937 to 1971, with more of an emphasis on photographs than articles. ... Sam Goody is a music and entertainment retailer in the United States and formerly in the United Kingdom. ... Edgard Victor Achille Charles VarÃ¨se (December 22, 1883 â€“ November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer. ... Ionisation (1929 - 1931) is a musical composition by Edgard VarÃ¨se written for thirteen percussionists playing the following instruments: 3 Bass Drums, 2 Side Drums, 2 Snare Drums, Tarole, 2 Bongos, Tambourine, Tambour militaire, crash cymbal, suspended cymbals, 3 tam-tams, gong, 2 anvils, 2 trinagles, sleigh bells, chimes, celesta...

Zappa grew up influenced in equal measures by avant-garde composers such as Varèse, Igor Stravinsky and Anton Webern, R&B and doo-wop groups (particularly local pachuco groups), and modern jazz. His own heterogeneous ethnic background and the diverse cultural and social mix that existed in and around greater Los Angeles at the time were also crucial in situating Zappa as a practitioner and fan of "outsider art".^[15] Indeed, throughout his career he was deeply distrustful and openly critical of "mainstream" social, political and musical movements, and he frequently lampooned popular musical fads like psychedelia, bubblegum pop, rock opera and disco.^[16] A work similar to Marcel Duchamps Fountain Avant garde (written avant-garde) is a French phrase, one of many French phrases used by English speakers. ... Igor Stravinsky. ... Anton Webern (December 3, 1883 â€“ September 15, 1945) was an Austrian composer and conductor. ... Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music popular in the mid-1950s to the early 1960s in America. ... This article is about the Mexican American subculture. ... Adolf WÃ¶lflis Irren-Anstalt Band-Hain, 1910 The term Outsider Art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for Art Brut (which literally translates as Raw Art or Rough Art), a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created... Psychedelia is a term describing a category of music, visual art, fashion, and culture that is associated originally with the high 1960s, hippies, and the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, California. ... Bubblegum pop (bubblegum rock, bubblegum music, youth music, or simply bubblegum) is a genre of pop music. ... The Whos Tommy, the first album explicitly billed as a rock opera A rock opera is a rock music album or stage production that resembles the form of an opera. ... This article is about the music genre. ...

By 1955, the Zappa family moved to Lancaster, a small aerospace and farming town in Antelope Valley of the Mojave Desert, close to Edwards Air Force Base, Los Angeles, and the San Gabriel Mountains. Lancaster's location gave Zappa access to the exciting sounds of radio stations in Los Angeles and KSPC 88.7 FM in Claremont, where Zappa had his own Saturday night show. Zappa's mother gave him considerable encouragement in his musical interests. Though she disliked Varèse's music, she was indulgent enough to award Zappa a long distance call to the composer as a fifteenth birthday present.^[14] Unfortunately, Varèse was in Europe at the time, so Frank spoke to the composer's wife. Zappa later received a letter from Varèse thanking Zappa for his interest, telling him about a composition he was working on called "Déserts." Living in the desert town of Lancaster, Zappa found this very exciting. Varèse invited Zappa to see him if he ever came to New York. The meeting never took place (Varèse died in 1965), but Zappa kept the framed letter displayed for the rest of his life.^[17]^[18] Lancaster, California, USA, is the eighth-largest city in Los Angeles County and the 9th fastest growing city in the United States. ... Look up aerospace in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A truck passes eastbound along the busy Highway 58 through the Antelope Valley. ... For the indigenous American tribe, see Mohave. ... Edwards Air Force Base (IATA: EDW, ICAO: KEDW) is a United States Air Force airbase located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County, California in the Antelope Valley, 7 miles (11 km) due east of Rosamond. ... Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... The San Gabriel Mountains are located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, USA. The mountain range forms a barrier between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the Mojave Desert. ... Claremont is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, USA, about 30 miles (45 km) east of downtown Los Angeles at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains in the Pomona Valley. ...

By age 15, Zappa had attended six different high schools. As a student, Zappa was bored and given to distracting the rest of the class with juvenile antics. He left community college after one semester, and maintained a disdain for formal education throughout his life, taking his children out of school at age 15 and refusing to pay for their college.^[19] For other uses, see High school (disambiguation). ...

Zappa's interest in composing and arranging burgeoned in his later high school years and he dreamed of being a composer. By his final year, he was writing prolifically and had not only composed, arranged and conducted an avant-garde performance piece for the school orchestra, but had also contrived to have the event both broadcast on local radio and recorded.^[20] A composer is a person who writes music. ...

Zappa began his career as a musician on drums, and while attending Mission Bay High School in San Diego, he joined his first band, The Ramblers.^[21] Although he performed as a singer and guitarist for most of his later career, Zappa's original influence by classical percussion compositions made him retain a strong interest in rhythm and percussion and his bands have been noted for the excellence of their drummers and percussionists. His works such as "The Black Page" are notorious for complexity in rhythmic structure, featuring radical changes of tempo and metre as well as short, densely arranged passages contrasted by free-form breaks and extended improvisations. Mission Bay High School is a public school located in the Pacific Beach suburb of San Diego, California. ... The Black Page is a piece composed by American musician Frank Zappa known for being ridiculously difficult to play. ...

In 1956 Zappa met Don Van Vliet (best known by his stage name "Captain Beefheart") while taking classes at Antelope Valley High School and playing drums in a local band, The Blackouts.^[2] The Blackouts, a racially-mixed outfit, included Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood (who later became a member of the Mothers of Invention). Zappa and Van Vliet became close friends, influencing each other musically, and collaborating in the late Sixties and mid-Seventies (e.g., on Van Vliet's Trout Mask Replica, which Zappa produced, and the 1975 Mothers of Invention live album Bongo Fury). They later became estranged for a period of years, but were in contact at the end of Zappa’s life.^[22] Don Van Vliet (born Don Glen Vliet on January 15, 1941, in Glendale, California, U.S.) is a musician and visual artist, best known by the pseudonym Captain Beefheart. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Trout Mask Replica is the third studio album by Captain Beefheart (real name Don van Vliet) and His Magic Band. ... Cover of Bongo Fury (1975) Bongo Fury is a mostly live album released by Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart in 1975. ...

In 1957 Zappa was given his first guitar. Among his early influences were Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Howlin' Wolf and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (he would in the 1970s and 80s invite Watson to perform on several albums).^[23] Zappa considered soloing as the equivalent of forming "air sculptures", and developed an eclectic, innovative and personal style. He eventually became one of the most highly regarded electric guitarists of his time.^[24]^[25] Johnny Guitar Watson (February 3, 1935 - May 17, 1996) was an American musician whose long career influenced the development of blues, soul music, rhythm & blues, funk, rock music, and rap music. ... Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910 â€“ January 10, 1976), better known as Howlin Wolf or sometimes, The Howlin Wolf, was an influential blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. ... Clarence Gatemouth Brown (born April 18, 1924) is generally categorized as a blues artist and guitarist, although he describes his own music as American music, Texas style. ...

In June 1958 Zappa worked for a time in advertising. His sojourn in the commercial world was another important influence on his work, and within a few years Zappa was co-opting the techniques he learned as a commercial artist. Zappa used them to deconstruct music, the music business, the media and society at large by combining them with the ideas he had gleaned from his studies of Dada, the Situationist International, and surrealism. Zappa thereafter always took a keen interest in the visual presentation of his work, designing some of his album covers and directing his own films and videos. DaDa is a concept album by Alice Cooper, released in 1983. ... The Situationist International (SI) was a small group of international political and artistic agitators with roots in Marxism, Lettrism and the early 20th century European artistic and political avant-gardes. ... Max Ernst. ...

Zappa moved to Los Angeles in 1959 and spent most of the rest of his life there.

1960s

Among Zappa's earliest professional recordings were two scores for the low-budget films The World's Greatest Sinner (1962) and Run Home Slow (1965). In 1963, he began playing professionally around Los Angeles and bought the small Pal Recording Studio in Cucamonga (now Rancho Cucamonga, California), which included a unique 5-track tape recorder built by Paul Buff. At this time, only a handful of the most expensive commercial studios had multitrack facilities, the industry standard for smaller studios was still mono or two-track. Zappa renamed the studio "Studio Z," moved into it, and began routinely working 12 hours or more per day. This set a pattern that would endure for almost all of his life. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Worlds Greatest Sinner is a 1962 film written, directed by, and starring Timothy Carey. ... Pal Recording Studio (1957-1964) was an independent recording studio that operated in Cucamonga, California. ... Rancho Cucamonga is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. ...

While at "Studio Z", Zappa accepted an offer of $100 to produce a suggestive audio tape for a customer's stag party. Zappa and a female friend jokingly faked an "erotic" recording. Unfortunately, the customer was an undercover member of the Vice Squad and Zappa was jailed for ten days on charges of supplying pornography.^[2] His entrapment and brief imprisonment left a permanent mark, and was a key event in the formation of his anti-authoritarian stance. A Vice Unit is a department in many police forces that investigates morality crimes. ... Porn redirects here. ...

After a short career as a professional songwriter — his elegiac "Memories of El Monte" was recorded by Doo-Wop group The Penguins — in 1964 Zappa joined a local R&B band, The Soul Giants, as a guitarist.^[2] Soon he assumed leadership, renaming the band "The Mothers." In 1965 the group increased their bookings after beginning an association with manager Herb Cohen. They gradually began to gain attention on the burgeoning Los Angeles underground "freak scene" and in late 1965 they were spotted by leading record producer Tom Wilson, who had earned acclaim as the producer for Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel. Wilson was also notable as one of the few African-Americans working as a major label pop producer at this time. Wilson signed The Mothers to the Verve label, which had built up a strong reputation for its modern jazz recordings in the 1940s and 1950s, but was then attempting to diversify into pop and rock, with an "artistic" or "experimental" bent. Verve Records insisted that the band officially re-titled themselves "The Mothers of Invention" because "Mother" was short for "motherfucker" — a term that apart from its profane meanings can denote a skilled musician.^[26] Around this time, Zappa also met and signed with longtime manager Herb Cohen. A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... Elegiac refers either to those compositions that are like elegies or to a specific poetic meter used in Classical elegies. ... The Penguins were an American Doo-Wop group of the 1950s and 60s, best remembered for their only top 40 hit, Earth Angel, which was one of the first rhythm and blues hits to cross over to the pop charts. ... For the UK magazine, see Guitarist (magazine). ... This article is about the type of musical group. ... Herb Cohen (b. ... Underground music is music which has developed a cult following, independent of commercial success. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... This article is about the recording artist. ... Bridge Over Troubled Water was Simon and Garfunkels last album; the title track was their only number one hit in the United Kingdom. ... Verve Records is an American Jazz record label, founded by Norman Granz in 1956, which absorbed the catalogues of his earlier labels: Norgran Records and Clef Records (founded 1953). ... The Mothers of Invention were a rock and roll band active from the 1960s to the 1990s. ... Motherfucker (also existing in countless contracted forms e. ...

With Wilson credited as producer, The Mothers recorded their groundbreaking double album debut Freak Out! (1966), a mixture of R&B, doo-wop and experimental sound collages that attempted to capture the "freak" subculture of Los Angeles at that time. One of the first record albums united by an underlying theme, it was also only the second double LP of rock music ever released, and firmly established Zappa as a radical new voice in rock music. Wilson is also credited with producing the follow-up Absolutely Free; but for the third LP, Wilson was listed as "Executive producer," and Zappa took over as producer for all the Mothers and solo Zappa recordings issued from that time on. Even on the two first albums, Zappa was already responsible for virtually all of the musical decisions, with Wilson providing the industry clout and connections to get the unknown group financial resources needed. During this period, Wilson also had Zappa collaborate with The Animals on the song "All Night Long" on their album Animalism. Freak Out!, released June 27, 1966 on MGM/Verve Records, is the debut album of The Mothers of Invention, led by Frank Zappa. ... In popular music, a concept album is an album which is unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical (Shuker 2002, p. ... Absolutely Free (1967) is the second album by The Mothers of Invention, led by Frank Zappa. ... The US edition of The Animals self-titled debut album. ... Animalism is a blues rock album by The Animals, released in December of 1966 (see 1966 in music). ...

The early Mothers' anarchic stage shows were legendary — during a 1967 performance at the Garrick Theatre in New York, Zappa managed to entice some U.S. Marines from the audience onto the stage, where they proceeded to dismember a collection of baby dolls, having been told by Zappa to imagine that they were "gook babies".^[27] The following is a list of ethnic slurs, also known as ethnophaulisms, that are, or have been, used to refer to members of a given ethnicity (or, in some cases, nationality, region, or religion) in a derogatory or pejorative manner. ...

Zappa's second and third studio albums were landmarks of record production highlighted by liberal use of 'cut-up' editing techniques. Absolutely Free (1967) continued Zappa's lyrical preoccupations with the hypocrisy and conformity of American society, with the alleged suppression of underground and alternative culture. It was followed by the album widely regarded as the peak of the group's late Sixties work, We're Only in It for the Money (1968) which featured some of the most radical audio editing and production yet heard in pop music, and ruthlessly satirized the hippie and flower power phenomena. The cover photo parodied that of The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.^[28] Absolutely Free (1967) is the second album by The Mothers of Invention, led by Frank Zappa. ... The Mothers of Invention chronology Alternate cover Zappas intended cover was changed to this portion of the inside sleeve. ... Audio editing is the process of taking recorded sound and changing it directly on the recording medium (analog) or in RAM (digital). ... Singer of a modern Hippie movement in Russia The hippie subculture was a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread around the world. ... A bus covered with Hippie slogans and flowers Flower power was a slogan used by hippies in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of the non-violence ideology. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... Sgt. ...

This was book-ended by two closely linked companion pieces. The audio collage Lumpy Gravy (1968) — released as a solo album under the name Francis Vincent Zappa^[1] — took Zappa's production techniques to a new level and, according to Zappa, took nine months to edit. It mixes a multitude of musical styles and orchestra line ups. His next album was a tribute to the doo-wop genre Cruising with Ruben & the Jets (1968). Lumpy Gravy is the first solo album by Frank Zappa, released in 1968. ... Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music popular in the mid-1950s to the early 1960s in America. ... Cruising With Ruben And The Jets The Story of Ruben & the Jets. ...

During the late Sixties, Zappa continued to develop both the artistic and business sides of his career. In 1969 Zappa and Herb Cohen formed the Bizarre Records, label distributed by Warner Bros. Records, as a business venture to aid the funding of projects and increase creative control. He increasingly used tape editing as a compositional tool. A prime example being the double album Uncle Meat (1969), where the track "King Kong" is edited from various studio and live performances. Zappa further evolved a compositional approach — which he dubbed "conceptual continuity" — that ranged across virtually every genre of music. His work combines satirical lyrics and pop melodies with virtuoso instrumental prowess, where long, jazz-inflected improvisational passages are counterbalanced with densely edited and seemingly chaotic collage sequences that mix music, sound effects and snatches of conversation. Conceptual continuity clues are found throughout Zappa's entire oeuvre. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Bizarre Records was a record label formed for artists discovered by Frank Zappa and his business partner/manager Herb Cohen. ... Warner Bros. ... Uncle Meat, released in 1969, is the soundtrack to Frank Zappas long-delayed film of the same name. ...

He became famous for regularly quoting musical phrases that influenced or amused him — one of his most famous and regular quotes was the riff from the perennial Sixties rock hit "Louie Louie", which appears in various forms in numerous recordings over the whole span of his career. He also frequently quoted from or referred to TV show themes (e.g., The Untouchables, Hawaii Five O, and the The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson), from famous rock & pop songs such as "My Sharona," "Stayin' Alive," "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?", "Let's Dance," "Whip It," "Owner of a Lonely Heart," and from classical works such as The Rite of Spring, Boléro and The Planets. For the American singer, see Louie Louie (musician). ... The Untouchables is the name of a television series that ran from 1959 to 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company. ... Hawaii Five-O ran for twelve seasons on CBS television network. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... My Sharona is a 1979 song which was the debut single by and international hit for The Knack. ... Stayin Alive is a song by The Bee Gees, released as a single in 1977. ... Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? was a UK number one single for three weeks in October 1982 for Culture Club. ... Letâ€™s Dance is the title album track on David Bowies album Lets Dance. ... Whip It is the title of a 1980 single by the New Wave band Devo. ... Owner of a Lonely Heart is a song by the rock band Yes. ... The Rite of Spring, commonly referred to by its original French title, Le Sacre du printemps (Russian: Ð’ÐµÑÐ½Ð° ÑÐ²ÑÑ‰ÐµÐ½Ð½Ð°Ñ, Vesna svjaÅ¡Äennaja) is a ballet with music by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, which was first performed in 1913. ... BolÃ©ro is a one-movement orchestral piece by Maurice Ravel. ... This page is about the orchestral suite by Gustav Holst. ...

In the late 1960s, Zappa began regularly recording his concerts, beginning with a simple two-track portable recorder and eventually progressing to a mobile 48-track digital system in 1988. In the process, he built up a vast archive of live recordings. In the late 1980s some of these recordings were collected for the 12-CD set You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore. Because of his insistence on precise tuning and timing in concert, from the 1970s on Zappa was able to augment his studio productions with excerpts from live shows, and vice versa.^[29] Later, he would combine recordings of different compositions into new pieces, irrespective of the tempo or meter of the sources. He dubbed this process xenochrony (alien time).^[30] For other uses, see Tempo (disambiguation). ... Particularly, this article is not about Hymn meters, as often found on hymn tunes Meter (UK spelling: metre) is the measurement of a musical line into measures of stressed and unstressed beats, indicated in Western music notation by a symbol called a time signature. ... Xenochrony is a studio-based musical technique developed in the 1970s by Frank Zappa. ...

Although they were lauded by critics and their peers and had a rabid cult following, mainstream audiences often found much of Zappa and the Mothers' music, appearance and attitude impossible to comprehend, and the band was often greeted with derision. More importantly, the financial strain and interpersonal tensions involved in keeping a large jazz-rock ensemble on the road eventually led to the group's demise in 1969, although numerous members would remain with or return to Zappa in years to come. Remaining Mothers recordings from this period were collected on Weasels Ripped My Flesh and Burnt Weeny Sandwich (both 1970). Weasels Ripped My Flesh is an album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in 1970 (see 1970 in music). ... Burnt Weeny Sandwich is an album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in 1970 (see 1970 in music). ...

After he disbanded the original Mothers, Zappa released the acclaimed solo instrumental album Hot Rats, featuring his jazz-inflected guitar playing backed by jazz, blues and R&B session players including violinist Don "Sugarcane" Harris, drummer John Guerin, multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood, and bassist Shuggie Otis. It remains one of his most popular and accessible recordings and undoubtedly had a major influence on the development of the jazz-rock fusion genre. Hot Rats is an album by Frank Zappa. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... Don Sugarcane Harris (June 19, 1938 - November 30 (or December 1), 1999) was a American rock & roll violinist and guitarist. ... Ian Underwood (born May 22, 1939) is a saxophonist, flautist and pianist. ... Shuggie the f-ing man Otis (born in 1953) is an American rock, blues, and funk guitarist and songwriter who also plays piano, organ, drums and bass. ... Jazz fusion (sometimes referred to simply as fusion) is a musical genre that loosely encompasses the merging of jazz with other styles, particularly rock, funk, R&B, and world music. ...

In 1969 Zappa and Cohen also organized the Straight Records label. Zappa produced the double album Trout Mask Replica for Captain Beefheart (who also appeared on Hot Rats), and releases by Alice Cooper, Tim Buckley, Wild Man Fischer, The GTOs as well as Lenny Bruce's last live performance. Straight Records was a record label formed in 1969 to distribute productions and discoveries of Frank Zappa and his business partner/manager Herb Cohen. ... Trout Mask Replica is the third studio album by Captain Beefheart (real name Don van Vliet) and His Magic Band. ... Don Van Vliet (born Don Glen Vliet on January 15, 1941, in Glendale, California, U.S.) is a musician and visual artist, best known by the pseudonym Captain Beefheart. ... Alice Cooper (born February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans four decades. ... Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 â€“ June 29, 1975) was an experimental vocalist and performer who incorporated jazz, psychedelia, funk, soul, and avant-garde rock in a short career spanning the late 1960s and early 1970s. ... Larry Wild Man Fischer (born Lawrence Wayne Fischer, 6 November 1945 in Los Angeles, California, USA) has the curious claim to fame of being responsible for Rhino Records first releaseâ€”Go to Rhino Records (1975). ... The GTOs is a groupie group that was formed by young women around Los Angeles in the late 1960s. ... Lenny Bruce (October 13, 1925 â€“ August 3, 1966), born Leonard Alfred Schneider, was a controversial American stand-up comedian, writer, social critic and satirist of the 1950s and 1960s. ...

1970s

Around 1970, Zappa put together a new version of The Mothers that included British drummer Aynsley Dunbar, jazz keyboardist George Duke, previous Mothers member Ian Underwood, Jeff Simmons (bass, rhythm guitar), and no fewer than three members of The Turtles: bass player Jim Pons, who before joining The Turtles had been the lead singer of The Leaves (of "Hey Joe" fame); and singers Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, who due to persisting legal/contractual problems adopted the stage-monikers "The Phlorescent Leech and Eddie," or "Flo & Eddie" for short. Prolific English drummer Aynsley Dunbar (born on January 10, 1946, in Liverpool, England) has worked with some of the top names in rock and roll, including John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, David Bowie, and Sammy Hagar. ... George Duke (born 12 January 1946 in San Rafael, California) is a piano and synthesizer pioneer, making a name for himself with the album Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio. ... Jeff Simmons is a musician and former member of Frank Zappas Mothers of Invention. ... The Turtles were an American pop, psychedelic and folk rock band, defined by a good-natured, joyously melancholic and occasionally cheeky sound. ... Jim Pons was a bass guitarist and singer for several 1960s rock bands, including The Leaves, The Turtles, and The Mothers of Invention. ... The Turtles were an American pop, psychedelic and folk rock band, defined by a good-natured, joyously melancholic and occasionally cheeky sound. ... The Leaves were an American garage band formed in California in 1963. ... Mark Volman (born April 19, 1947 in Los Angeles, California) is an American rock and roll musician, best known as a founding member of the 1960s band The Turtles. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Howard Kaylan (Eddie) and Mark Volman (Flo aka Phlorescent Leech) were the original founding members of the psychedelic / bubblegum rock group The Turtles. ...

The new lineup debuted on Zappa's next solo LP Chunga's Revenge, which was followed by the soundtrack to the movie project 200 Motels, featuring both The Mothers and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. At the time George Duke was in the band and appears both in the film and on the soundtrack as a musician. He left the band to play with Cannonball Adderley and was replaced by Don Preston from the original Mothers, who acted in the film, but is not playing on the soundtrack. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Chungas Revenge is an album by Frank Zappa, released in 1970. ... 200 Motels is a 1971 movie featuring Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, produced at Pinewood Studios, England. ... The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is an English orchestra based in London. ... Julian Edwin Cannonball Adderley (September 15, 1928 â€“ August 8, 1975), originally from Tampa, Florida, was a jazz alto saxophonist of the small combo era of the 1950s and 1960s. ... Donald Ward Preston also known as Dom DeWilde or Biff Debrie born September 21, 1932 in Flint, Michigan. ...

This double album was followed by two live sets, Fillmore East - June 1971 and Just Another Band From L.A., which included the 20-minute track "Billy The Mountain," Zappa's satire on rock opera, set in Southern California. The low-concept cover art of the Fillmore album — satirizing the bootleg albums that had recently become popular, and of which Zappa was a favoured target — appeared just at the apex of the era of great rock "album cover artwork".^[31] Fillmore East â€“ June 1971 is a live album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in 1971. ... Just Another Band from L.A. is an album by The Mothers, released in 1972 (see 1972 in music). ... For other uses, see Bootleg. ...

In December 1971 there were two serious setbacks. While performing in Montreux, Switzerland, the Mothers' equipment was destroyed when a flare set off by an audience member started a fire that burned down the casino where they were playing —an event immortalized in Deep Purple's song "Smoke on the Water." The event and immediate aftermath can be heard on the bootleg album Swiss Cheese/Fire, released legally as part of Zappa's Beat the Boots II compilation. Later that month, Zappa was attacked at the Rainbow Theatre, London. An audience member pushed Frank off the stage and into the orchestra pit. The man, Trevor Howell, gave two stories to the press: one was that he felt the band hadn't given him value for his money; the other was that Zappa had supposedly been making eyes at Howell's girlfriend. Zappa suffered serious fractures, head trauma and injuries to his back, leg, and neck, as well as a crushed larynx (which caused his voice to drop a third after healing). This left him wheelchair bound for a time, forcing him off the road for over half a year. Upon his return to the stage in September 1972, he was still wearing a leg brace for a period thereafter, had a noticeable limp and couldn't stand for very long while on stage. He said one leg healed "shorter than the other" (a reference found in the lyrics of "Zomby Woof" and "Dancin' Fool"). Meanwhile, the Mothers were left in limbo, and eventually formed the core of Flo and Eddie's band as they set out on their own. Montreux is a resort town in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, on Lake Geneva with a population of 22,897. ... This article is about the rock band. ... Machine Head track listing UK single cover Smoke on the Water is a famous and influential rock song by British rock band Deep Purple. ... Beat the Boots II is a box set by Frank Zappa. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The larynx (plural larynges), colloquially known as the voicebox, is an organ in the neck of mammals involved in protection of the trachea and sound production. ... In music, see the following intervals: Major third Minor third The mediant, and the chord built on the mediant, is often called simply the third, as it is the third degree of the diatonic scale. ... Howard Kaylan (Eddie) and Mark Volman (Flo aka Phlorescent Leech) were the original founding members of the psychedelic / bubblegum rock group The Turtles. ...

In 1971-72 Zappa released two strongly jazz-oriented solo LPs, Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo, which were recorded during the forced layoff from concert touring, using floating lineups of session players and Mothers alumni. Extracts from both these LPs, as well as from the earlier Hot Rats and the later Sleep Dirt regularly appear as background music in TV-documentaries on various topics, the most popular track appearing to be the title-track of Waka/Jawaka. Waka/Jawaka is an album by Frank Zappa, released in 1972. ... The Grand Wazoo is a 1972 jazz fusion album by Frank Zappa. ... Hot Rats is an album by Frank Zappa. ... Sleep Dirt is an album by Frank Zappa released in 1979. ... Waka/Jawaka is an album by Frank Zappa, released in 1972. ...

Zappa began touring again in late 1972, first with a scaled-down version of the big band appearing on The Grand Wazoo - appropriately known as "Petit Wazoo."^[32] He then formed groups that variously included Ian Underwood (reeds, keyboards), Ruth Underwood (vibes, marimba), Sal Marquez (trumpet, vocals), Napoleon Murphy Brock (sax, flute and vocals), Bruce Fowler (trombone), Tom Fowler (bass), Chester Thompson (drums), Ralph Humphrey (drums), George Duke (keyboards, vocals) and Jean-Luc Ponty (violin). Ian Underwood (born May 22, 1939) is a saxophonist, flautist and pianist. ... Ruth Underwood, (born Ruth Komanoff on May 23, 1946) is a retired professional musician, best known and revered for playing xylophone, marimba, vibraphone and other percussion in Frank Zappas Mothers (of Invention) from 1969 to 1977. ... Napoleon Murphy Brock Napoleon Murphy Brock is an American singer, saxophonist and flautist who is best known for his work with Frank Zappa in the 1970s, including the albums One Size Fits All, Roxy and Elsewhere, and Bongo Fury. ... Bruce Fowler is a prominent American trombone player and composer. ... Thomas W. Fowler (commonly reffered to as Tom Fowler in credits etc. ... Chester Thompson, born in Baltimore, Maryland, made his name as a session drummer, going on to play in Frank Zappas touring band and with Weather Report. ... Grappelli (left) and Jean-Luc Ponty (right). ...

Zappa and Cohen merged the Bizarre and Straight labels in 1973 and renamed the company DiscReet Records, also distributed by Warner Bros. He continued a high rate of production through the early 1970s, including the albums One Size Fits All and Apostrophe, Over-Nite Sensation and Roxy & Elsewhere featuring ever-changing versions of a band though still called the Mothers. These albums were notable for the highly technical jazz-fusion the bands were renowned for, demonstrated on such pieces as "Inca Roads," "Echidna's Arf (Of You)" or "Be-Bop Tango (Of the Old Jazzmen's Church)." DiscReet Records was founded in 1973 by Frank Zappa as his old label, Bizarre Records, was closed by Warner Bros. ... Cover of One Size Fits All (1975) One Size Fits All is a 1975 rock album from Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. ... Apostrophe () is an album by Frank Zappa. ... Over-Nite Sensation is an album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers, released in 1973 (see 1973 in music). ... Roxy & Elsewhere is a live album by Frank Zappa & the Mothers which was released in 1974. ... Jazz fusion (or jazz-rock fusion or fusion) is a musical genre that merges elements of jazz with other styles of music, particularly pop, rock, folk, reggae, funk, metal, country, R&B, hip hop, electronic music and world music. ... Inca Roads is the opening track on Frank Zappas 1975 album One Size Fits All. ...

In the mid 1970s Zappa prepared material for Läther (pronounced "leather"), an intended four-LP project. Läther encapsulated all the aspects of Zappa's musical styles —rock tunes, orchestral works, complex instrumentals, and Zappa's own trademark tube distortion-drenched guitar solos. Wary of a quadruple-LP, Warner Bros. Records refused to release it. Zappa soon appeared on the (at the time) influential Los Angeles radio station KROQ, allowing them to broadcast the Läther album and encouraging listeners to make their own tape recordings. A lawsuit between Zappa and Warner Bros. followed, during which the major parts of the album were issued as Zappa in New York (1978), Studio Tan (1978), Sleep Dirt (1979), and Orchestral Favorites (1979), with limited promotion. Läther was released posthumously in 1996. Image File history File links Zappa. ... Image File history File links Zappa. ... The Armadillo World Headquarters (usually called simply The Armadillo) was the premiere music hall and entertainment center in Austin, Texas between 1970 and 1980. ... is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... LÃ¤ther is an album by Frank Zappa. ... Structure of a vacuum tube diode Structure of a vacuum tube triode In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube, or (outside North America) thermionic valve or just valve, is a device used to amplify, switch or modify a signal by controlling the movement of electrons in an evacuated space. ... Warner Bros. ... KROQ is a commercial rock and roll music radio station in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting on 106. ... Zappa in New York is a live album by Frank Zappa. ... Studio Tan is an album by Frank Zappa, first released in September 1978. ... Sleep Dirt is an album by Frank Zappa released in 1979. ... Orchestral Favorites is a 1979 album by Frank Zappa. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Marketing Scale model of a Wheaties cereal box at a pep rally Promotion is one of the four key aspects of the marketing mix. ...

Zappa's relationship with long-time manager Herb Cohen ended in 1976. The breakup was an acrimonious affair, exacerbated by Zappa's ongoing feud with Warner Bros. Zappa however discovered that Cohen had been skimming more than he was allocated from the label, and he also alleged that Cohen had used some of Frank's money to fund recordings for other artists. Cohen filed a lawsuit against Zappa in return, due to Zappa taking the master copies of Zoot Allures (1976) directly to Warner Bros., thus bypassing DiscReet completely. While it is unknown what became of the lawsuits, Zappa and Cohen would never work together again. Zappa eventually gained the rights of all his material created under the Warner Bros. contract. Zoot Allures is a 1976 rock album by Frank Zappa. ...

During the late 1970s Zappa made two appearances on the popular NBC television show Saturday Night Live. His appearance in December 1976 as a featured musical guest, included an impromptu musical collaboration with cast member John Belushi during the instrumental piece "The Purple Lagoon". Belushi appeared as his Samurai Futaba character playing the tenor sax with Zappa conducting. Also, "I'm The Slime", featuring a voice-over by SNL booth announcer Don Pardo, was performed. In 1978 Zappa served both as host and musical act, and as an actor in various sketches.^[33] This article is about the television network. ... This article is about the American television series. ... John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 â€“ March 5, 1982) was an Emmy Award-winning American comedian, actor and musician, notable for his work on Saturday Night Live, National Lampoons Animal House and The Blues Brothers. ... Dominick George Don Pardo (born February 22, 1918 in Westfield, Massachusetts) is a legendary American radio and television announcer. ...

Zappa's 1970s period ended with the releases of Sheik Yerbouti (1979), the first release on Zappa Records, which contained Zappa classics such as "Dancin' Fool", "Bobby Brown", and "Jewish Princess," which received some controversial attention, as well as the triple LP Joe's Garage (1979), which features lead singer Ike Willis as voice of "Joe". Joe's Garage features a coherent story line about the suppression of freedom of speech (and music), and mixes catchy songs like "Catholic Girls," "Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up," and the title track, with long guitar solos taken from live concerts and mixed with studio material (cf. the aforementioned process xenochrony). Finally, the album contains what would become one of Zappa's most famous guitar "signature pieces," "Watermelon in Easter Hay."^[34] Joe's Garage went on to be named one of the top-25 drumming performances of all time in a 1993 Modern Drummer magazine article. Sheik Yerbouti was a commercial success mainly due to "Bobby Brown (Goes Down)." Due to the explicit lyrics about a young man's encounter with a "dyke by the name of Freddie," the song did not get airplay in the US, but it topped the charts in several European countries and is still popular in countries where English is not the primary language.^[35] In 1992 Zappa told Matt Groening that "I don't think anything has outsold Sheik Yerbouti, partly because ‘Bobby Brown’ keeps becoming a hit every ten years . . . I think it was back on the charts again in Norway. For no apparent reason, it was back."^[36] Sheik Yerbouti (Shake Your Booty) is a double vinyl album by Frank Zappa featuring material recorded in 1977 and 1978. ... Frank Vincent Zappa[1] (December 21, 1940 â€“ December 4, 1993) was an American composer, musician, and film director. ... Bobby Brown (Goes Down) is a song by American singer, band leader and innovator Frank Zappa. ... Joes Garage: Acts I, II & III Photo used as the cover for Joes Garage: Acts II & III. Joes Garage: Acts I, II & III is a 1979 rock opera by Frank Zappa. ... Ike Willis WebsiteIke Willis is a singer and guitarist who was a regular sideman for Frank Zappa, first joining Zappas band for the fall 1978 tour and remaining in the band for several years. ... Xenochrony is a studio-based musical technique developed in the 1970s by Frank Zappa. ... Modern Drummer is the oldest magazine (still being published) devoted to the subject of drumming and percussion. ... Matthew Abram Groening is an American cartoonist (Life in Hell) and the Emmy Award-winning creator of the animated series, The Simpsons and Futurama. ...

1980s

In 1981, Tinsel Town Rebellion was the first release on Barking Pumpkin Records, a mixture of songs taken from a 1979 tour, one studio track and the rest were taken from the last tour of 1980. The album is a mixture of complicated instrumentals, of which "The Blue Light" is a salient example, demonstrating Vinnie Colaiuta's dexterity around a drum kit and Zappa's use of sprechstimme (speaking song or voice), a compositional technique utilized by such composers as Arnold Schoenberg, and Alban Berg. Cover of Tinsel Town Rebellion (1981) Tinsel Town Rebellion is a nearly all live double-album released by Frank Zappa in 1981. ... Barking Pumpkin Records was created by Frank Zappa in 1981 after leaving Mercury Records because they wouldnt release his single â€œI Donâ€™t Wanna Get Draftedâ€ in 1980. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A drum kit (or drum set or trap set) is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as a cowbell, wood block, chimes or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer. ... Sprechgesang (German for speech song) or Sprechstimme (speech voice) is a technique of vocal production halfway between singing and speaking. ... Arnold Schoenberg, Los Angeles, 1948 Arnold Schoenberg (the anglicized form of SchÃ¶nberg â€” Schoenberg changed the spelling officially when he left Germany and re-converted to Judaism in 1933; September 13, 1874 â€“ July 13, 1951) was an Austrian and later American composer. ... Bust of Alban Berg at Schiefling, Carinthia, Austria Alban Maria Johannes Berg (February 9, 1885 â€“ December 24, 1935) was an Austrian composer. ...

The same year the double album You Are What You Is was released. Most of the album was recorded in Zappa's brand new UMRK (Utility Muffin Research Kitchen) studios. It featured 19 songs, which included such complex instrumentals as "Theme from the 3^rd Movement of Sinister Footwear", but mainly focused on rock songs with Zappa's sardonic social commentary. "Dumb All Over," is an example of this, being a devastating tirade on religion, as is "Heavenly Bank Account," wherein Zappa rails against people such as Jerry Falwell for relying upon the US administration to finance the religious organization, the "Moral Majority," while simultaneously embezzling the funds. The album is also notable for the presence of guitar virtuoso Steve Vai, who joined Zappa's touring band in the Fall of 1980. You Are What You Is is an album by Frank Zappa. ... The Utility Muffin Research Kitchen was the name of the recording studio that Frank Zappa had built and used extensively at his home for many of his musical recordings. ... This article is about Jerry Falwell, Sr. ... Steven Steve Siro Vai (born June 6, 1960 in Carle Place, New York) is a Grammy Award winning guitarist, composer, vocalist, and record producer. ...

1981 also saw the release of three instrumental albums Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar, Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar Some More, and The Return of the Son of Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar, which were initially sold via mail order by Zappa himself, but were later released commercially through CBS label due to popular demand.^[37]As the titles reveal, these albums focus exclusively on Frank Zappa as a guitar soloist. Frank Zappa's guitar solos had been a trademark during his career, and now he decided to release albums focusing on his work as a guitarist. The guitar tracks on the albums are predominantly live recordings from 1979-80, and highlight Zappa's exceptional improvisational skills and unique sound. The albums were subsequently released as a 3-album box set, and were in 1988 followed by the album Guitar focusing on recordings from 1981-82 and 1984. A third guitar-only album, Trance-Fusion, completed by Zappa shortly before his death, featuring solos recorded between 1979 and 1988 (with an emphasis on 1988) was released in 2006. Shut Up n Play Yer Guitar is a triple vinyl album featuring live material recorded by Frank Zappa between February 1976 and December 1980 (with the final track, Canard du Jour, a duet with Frank Zappa on electric bouzouki and Jean-Luc Ponty on baritone violin, dating from a 1973... This article is about the broadcast network. ... Guitar is a 1988 album by Frank Zappa. ... Trance fusion is a style of music that incorporates the structure and sound of electronica trance, but is played with traditional rock/jazz instruments allowing for more versatility in a live setting. ...

In May of 1982, Zappa released Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch, which featured his biggest selling single, "Valley Girl" (topping out at #32 on the Billboard charts). In her improvised "lyrics" to the song, Zappa's daughter Moon Unit satirized the vapid speech of teenage girls from the San Fernando Valley, which popularized many "Valspeak" expressions such as "gag me with a spoon" and "barf out." Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch is an album by Frank Zappa, released in May 1982 and digitally remastered in 1991. ... Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. ... Moon Unit Zappa (born September 28, 1967, in New York City) is the oldest child of late American rock star Frank Zappa and Gail Sloatman; she goes by the name Moon Zappa. ... San Fernando Valley from its southwestern edge. ...

1983 saw the release of two different projects, beginning with The Man From Utopia, a rock-oriented work. The album itself is eclectic, featuring the vocal-led "Dangerous Kitchen" and "The Jazz Discharge Party Hats," both continuations of the sprechstimme excursions shown on Tinseltown Rebellion. The second album was the first fully orchestral recording of Zappa pieces, something he had been waiting to accomplish for some time. Conducted by Kent Nagano and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, it featured the compositions "Sad Jane," "Pedro's Dowry," and "Mo 'n Herb's Vacation." A second record of these sessions saw release in 1987, containing "Bogus Pomp." Frank was not pleased with the LSO recordings as they were not perfect performances of his compositions. The most notable example is "Strictly Genteel," which was recorded after the trumpet section had gone out for drinks on break.^[38] This track took an immense amount of edits to get a passable version. The Man from Utopia is a 1983 album by Frank Zappa. ... Kent Nagano is the current music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de MontrÃ©al. ... The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom. ...

For the remainder of his career, much of Zappa's work was affected by use of the synclavier as a compositional and performance tool. In 1984, he released four albums within a few months. Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger, which juxtaposed orchestral works commissioned and conducted by world-renowned conductor Pierre Boulez and premiere synclavier pieces; Thing-Fish, an ambitious three-record set in the style of a Broadway play dealing with a dystopian "what-if" scenario involving feminism, homosexuality, manufacturing and distribution of the AIDS virus, and a eugenics program conducted by the United States government. New vocals were combined with previously released tracks and new synclavier music, and therefore "the work is an extraordinary example of bricolage" in Zappa's production;^[39] Francesco Zappa a synclavier rendition of works by 17^th century composer, Francesco Zappa (no relation); Them or Us, a two-record set of heavily edited live and session pieces. Synclavier I The Synclavier System was an early digital synthesizer and sampler, manufactured by New England Digital. ... Pierre Boulez Pierre Boulez (IPA: /pjÉ›Ê.buËˆlÉ›z/) (born March 26, 1925) is a conductor and composer of classical music. ... Cover of Thing-Fish (1984) Thing-Fish is a 1984 concept album from Frank Zappa. ... Eugenics is the self-direction of human evolution: Logo from the Second International Eugenics Conference [7], 1921, depicting it as a tree which unites a variety of different fields. ... Look up Bricolage in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Francesco Zappa is a 1984 album by Frank Zappa. ... Cover of Them or Us (1984) Them or Us is an album by Frank Zappa released in October 1984. ...

On September 19, 1985, Zappa testified before the US Senate Commerce, Technology, and Transportation committee, attacking the Parents Music Resource Center or PMRC, a music censorship organization founded by then-Senator Al Gore's wife Tipper Gore and including many other political wives, including the wives of five members of the committee. In his prepared statement, Zappa said is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Type Upper House President of the Senate Richard B. Cheney, R since January 20, 2001 President pro tempore Robert C. Byrd, D since January 4, 2007 Members 100 Political groups Democratic Party Republican Party Last elections November 7, 2006 Meeting place Senate Chamber United States Capitol Washington, DC United States... The Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) was a committee formed in 1985 by the wives of several congressmen. ... For other uses, see Censor. ... This article is about the former Vice President of the United States. ... Mary Elizabeth Aitcheson Gore (born August 19, 1948), known as Tipper Gore, is the wife of former Vice President Al Gore and was the Second Lady of the United States from 1993 until 2001. ...

Zappa put some excerpts from the PMRC hearings to music in his composition "Porn Wars" from the 1985 album Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention. Zappa is heard interacting with Senators Fritz Hollings, Slade Gorton, Al Gore (who admitted to being a Zappa fan), and, most notably, an exchange with Florida Senator Paula Hawkins over what toys the Zappa children played with. Zappa would also go on to argue with PMRC representatives on the CNN's Crossfire in 1986 and 1987.^[41] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention is a 1985 album by Frank Zappa. ... Ernest Frederick Fritz Hollings (born January 1, 1922) was a Democratic United States Senator from South Carolina from 1966 to January 3, 2005. ... Slade Gorton Thomas Slade Gorton III (born January 8, 1928) is an American politician. ... This article is about the former Vice President of the United States. ... Paula Hawkins (born January 24, 1927) is an American politician from Florida. ... The Cable News Network, commonly known as CNN, is a major cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. ... December 6, 2004 edition of Crossfire. ...

The album Jazz From Hell, released in 1986, brought Zappa his first Grammy Award in 1988 for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Except for one live guitar solo, the album exclusively featured compositions brought to life by the synclavier. Although an instrumental album, Meyer Music Markets sold Jazz from Hell featuring an "explicit lyrics" sticker (a warning label introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America in an agreement with the PMRC).^[42] Cover of Jazz From Hell (1986) Jazz From Hell is a jazz-rock instrumental album from Frank Zappa. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance has been awarded since 1980. ... Synclavier I The Synclavier System was an early digital synthesizer and sampler, manufactured by New England Digital. ... RIAA redirects here. ...

His last tour in a "rock band format" took place in 1988 with a 12-piece group which was reported to have a repertoire of over 200 (mostly Zappa) compositions, but which split in acrimonious circumstances before the tour was completed. The tour was documented on the albums Broadway The Hard Way (new material featuring songs with strong political emphasis), The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life (Zappa "standards" and an eclectic collection of cover tunes, ranging from Maurice Ravel's "Boléro" to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven"), and Make a Jazz Noise Here (mostly instrumental and experimental music). Parts are also found on You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vols. 4 and 6. This article is about the type of musical group. ... Cover of Broadway The Hard Way (1989) Broadway The Hard Way is a live Frank Zappa double-album recorded at various performances along his 1988 world tour. ... The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life is a double disc live album by Frank Zappa, released in 1991 (see 1991 in music). ... Maurice Ravel. ... BolÃ©ro is a one-movement orchestral piece by Maurice Ravel. ... For the bands 1969 eponymous debut album, see Led Zeppelin (album). ... For other uses of Stairway to Heaven, see Stairway to Heaven (disambiguation). ... Make a Jazz Noise Here is a live double album by Frank Zappa. ... An instrumental is, in contrast to a song, a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments. ... For experimental rock music, see experimental rock. ... You Cant Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. ... You Cant Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. ...

In the late 1980s Zappa's passion for American politics was becoming a bigger part of his life. Throughout the 1988 tour, he regularly encouraged his young fans to register to vote, and even had voter registration booths at his concerts. He was also considered as a nominee for President of the United States on the Libertarian ticket.^[43] Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas US Government Portal For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... The Libertarian Party is a United States political party created in 1971. ...

During this period, Zappa was also simultaneously undertaking a comprehensive re-release program of his earlier recordings. He personally oversaw the remastering of all his classic 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s albums for the new compact disc medium. Certain aspects of these re-issues were, however, criticised by some fans as being unfaithful to the original recordings.^[44] CD redirects here. ...

1990s

In early 1990, Zappa visited Czechoslovakia at the request of President Václav Havel, a lifelong fan, and was asked by Havel to serve as consultant for the government on trade, cultural matters and tourism. Zappa enthusiastically agreed and began meeting with corporate officials interested in investing in Czechoslovakia. Within a few weeks, however, the US administration put pressure on the Czech government to withdraw the appointment. Havel made Zappa an unofficial cultural attaché instead.^[45] Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Ensemble Modern is a chamber ensemble dedicated to the music of modern composers. ... The Alte Oper circa 1900 The Alte Oper (Old Opera) is a major concert hall and former opera house in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. ... VÃ¡clav Havel, GCB, CC, (IPA: ) (born October 5, 1936 in Prague) is a Czech writer and dramatist. ... A cultural attachÃ© is a diplomat with special responsibility for promoting the culture of his or her homeland. ...

Zappa's political work would come to a halt all too soon, however. In 1991, he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer.^[46] After his diagnosis, Zappa devoted most of his energy to modern orchestral and synclavier works. Synclavier I The Synclavier System was an early digital synthesizer and sampler, manufactured by New England Digital. ...

Although ill, in September 1992, he appeared as a guest conductor with the classical "Ensemble Modern" for several of a series of concerts in Germany and Austria devoted to his compositions, recordings from which appeared on The Yellow Shark. Ensemble Modern is a chamber ensemble dedicated to the music of modern composers. ... The Yellow Shark is an album of orchestral music by Frank Zappa, released in 1993, shortly before his death. ...

In 1993, prior to his death, he completed Civilization, Phaze III, a major synclavier work he had begun in the 1980s. He stated in interviews that he was working on hundreds of synclavier pieces, most of which remain unreleased. Civilization, Phaze III is a double CD by Frank Zappa. ...

Frank Zappa died on December 4, 1993, age 52, from prostate cancer. He was interred in an unmarked grave at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California.^[46] is the 338th day of the year (339th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Cemetery view looking South-East. ... High-rise buildings line Wilshire Boulevard through the Westwood area Another view of the Westwood skyline Westwood is a district in western Los Angeles, California, not to be confused with Westwood, California. ...

Discography

Notes and references

^ ^a ^b Until discovering his birth certificate as an adult, Zappa believed he had been christened "Francis," and he is credited as Francis on some of his early albums. His real name was "Frank", however, never "Francis." Cf. Zappa, Frank; with Peter Occhiogrosso (1989). The Real Frank Zappa Book. New York: Poseidon Press. ISBN 0-671-63870-X.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Frank Zappa". The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. (1993). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Inc. 0-684-81044-1.
^ The Immortals. Rolling Stone Issue 972. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
^ Pitts, Johnathan (2007-08-05). Zappa redux. The Baltimore Sun. baltimoresun.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
^ Ouellette, Dan. "Interview with Frank Zappa", Pulse! Magazine, August 1993. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
^ Miles, Barry (2004). Frank Zappa. London: Atlantic Books, pp. 113-122. ISBN 1 84354 092 4.
^ Zappa with Occhiogrosso, 1989, The Real Frank Zappa Book, p. 15.
^ ^a ^b ^c Zappa with Occhiogrosso, 1989, The Real Frank Zappa Book, pp. 20-23.
^ Miles, 2004, Frank Zappa, pp. 8-9.
^ Miles, 2004, Frank Zappa, p. 10.
^ Miles, 2004, Frank Zappa, p. 12.
^ Miles, 2004, Frank Zappa, p. 36
^ Zappa with Occhiogrosso, 1989, The Real Frank Zappa Book, p. 29.
^ ^a ^b ^c Zappa with Occhiogrosso, 1989, The Real Frank Zappa Book, p. 30-33.
^ Watson, Ben (1996). Frank Zappa: The Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312141246.
^ Among his many musical satires are the 1967 songs "Flower Punk" (which parodies the song "Hey Joe") and "Who Needs The Peace Corps?", which are withering critiques of the late-Sixties commercialisation of the hippie phenomenon.
^ Zappa, Frank. "Edgard Varese: The Idol of My Youth", Stereo Review, June 1971, pp. 61-62. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
^ On several of his earlier albums, Zappa paid tribute to Varèse by quoting his: "The present-day composer refuses to die."
^ Miles, 2004, Frank Zappa, p. 345.
^ A portion of this recording is included on the posthumous album The Lost Episodes (1996).
^ Zappa with Occhiogrosso, 1989, The Real Frank Zappa Book, p. 29.
^ Miles, 2004, Frank Zappa, p. 372.
^ Mike Douglas. (1976). The Mike Douglas Show [TV show]. You Tube. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
^ He is ranked 45th in "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time", Rolling Stone, August 27, 2003.
^ He is ranked 51st in "The 100 Wildest Guitar Heroes", Classic Rock, April 2007.
^ Nigel Leigh. Interview with Frank Zappa [BBC Late Show]. UMRK, Los Angeles, CA: BBC.
^ An old rumor states that at some point in the 1960s, Zappa once won a gross-out contest against Alice Cooper, by eating his own excrement on stage. Zappa denied the claim, stating, "For the record, folks; I never took a shit on stage and the closest I ever came to eating shit anywhere was at a Holiday Inn buffet in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1973." Cf. Zappa with Occhiogrosso, 1989, The Real Frank Zappa Book, p. 14.
^ To avoid a lawsuit, however, the album was released with the cover and back on the inside of the gatefold, while the actual cover and back were a picture of the group in a pose parodying the inside of the Beatles album.
^ Chris Michie (January 2003). We are the Mothers...and This Is What We Sound Like!. Mix. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.
^ Watson, Ben (2005). Frank Zappa. The Complete Guide to His Music. London: Omnibus Press, 47. ISBN 1-84449-865-4.
^ During the June 1971 Fillmore concerts Zappa was joined on stage by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. This historic performance was recorded and Lennon released excerpts on his album Some Time In New York City in 1972. Zappa later released his version of excerpts from the concert on Playground Psychotics in 1992, including the jam track "Scumbag" and an extended avant garde vocal piece by Yoko (originally called "Au") which Zappa retitled "A Small Eternity with Yoko Ono".
^ Official recordings of this band would not emerge until more than 30 years later on Imaginary Diseases (2006).
^ Not all of the cast members and producers of SNL were happy with the Zappa shows, as they felt he often broke the implicit rule of not making faces to the camera. See Hill, Doug; Weingrad, Jeff (1986). Saturday Night. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-394-75053-5.
^ The other signature pieces are "Zoot Allures" and "Black Napkins" from Zoot Allures. See Zappa, Dweezil. "Greetings music lovers, Dweezil here", Liner Notes, Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute, 1996. .
^ Have I Offended Someone by Frank Zappa. Rykodisc (May 1997). Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
^ Groening, Matt & Menn, Don (1992), "The Mother of All Interviews. Act II: Matt Groening joins in on the scrutiny of the central decentralizer", in Menn, Don (ed.), Zappa! Guitar Player Presents., San Francisco, CA: Miller Freeman, p. p. 61, ISSN 1063-4533
^ Zappa, Frank. "Absolutely Frank. First Steps in Odd Meters", Guitar Player Magazine, November 1982, pp. 116.
^ Ocker, David. "The True Story of the LSO", Zappa & Other Music Resources Index, November 1994. Retrieved on 2007-04-27.
^ Carr, Paul & Hand, Richard J. (2007), "Frank Zappa and musical theatre: ugly ugly o'phan Annie and really deep, intense, thought-provoking Broadway symbolism", Studies in Musical Theatre 1 (1): 44-51, DOI:10.1386/smt.1.1.41_1, <http://www.atypon-link.com/INT/doi/abs/10.1386/smt.1.1.41_1>
^ See full transcript of Zappa's Senate Testimony.
^ CNN. (1986). Crossfire with Frank Zappa and John Lofton [TV debate]. You Tube. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
^ Nuzum, Eric. Censorship Incidents: 1980s. Parental Advisory: Music Censorship in America. Retrieved on 2007-07-23.
^ Nolan, David F. (January 1994). Libertarian Zappa dies. LP News Archive. Retrieved on 2007-11-15.
^ We're Only In It For The Money was particularly controversial because Zappa replaced some of the rhythm parts with new bass and drums recordings. Zappa's explanation was that the multitrack tapes of the album had deteriorated so badly that the original tracks were unusable. Nevertheless, he later released a second CD version of the album, this time prepared from the original two-track safety master.
^ Miles, 2004, Frank Zappa, pp. 357-361.
^ ^a ^b Freeth, Nick; Douse, Cliff (2001). Great Guitarists. UK: Bookmart Limited. ISBN 1 84044 093 7.

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According to the liner notes, Franks son Dweezil talked with his father shortly before Franks death about the songs Frank had written that he would consider to be his signature tunes. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 77th day of the year (78th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Matthew Abram Groening is an American cartoonist (Life in Hell) and the Emmy Award-winning creator of the animated series, The Simpsons and Futurama. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 219th day of the year (220th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 204th day of the year (205th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Contents

Biography

Early life and influences

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

Discography

Notes and references

Further reading

External links

Contents

Biography GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Early life and influences

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

Discography

Notes and references

Further reading

External links

Biography