Frank Vincent Zappa was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, film-maker, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity, and satire of American culture. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and musique concrète works, and produced almost all of the 60-plus albums that he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. Zappa also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. He is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse rock musicians of his era.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1950.
Adrian Belew is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, Belew is noted for his unusual, impressionistic approach to guitar playing, which, rather than relying on standard instrumental tones, often resembles sound effects or noises made by animals and machines.
The Mothers of Invention were an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows.
Thing-Fish is an album by Frank Zappa, originally released as a triple album box set on Barking Pumpkin Records in 1984. It was billed as a cast recording for a proposed musical of the same name, which was ultimately not produced by Zappa, but later performed partially in 2003, ten years after his death.
This is a list of albums by Frank Zappa, including all those credited to the Mothers of Invention. During his lifetime, Zappa released 62 albums. Since 1994, the Zappa Family Trust has released 54 posthumous albums as of July 2020, making a total of 116 albums/album sets. The current distributor of Zappa's recorded output is Universal Music Enterprises. A list of albums of Zappa's music by other artists is also included.
The Lost Episodes is a 1996 posthumous album by Frank Zappa which compiles previously unreleased material. Much of the material covered dates from early in his career, and as early as 1958, into the mid-1970s. Zappa had been working on these tracks in the years before his death in 1993.
Yvette Barbra Hontiveros Almalbis-Honasan, better known as Barbie Almalbis, is a Filipina singer-songwriter.
The World's Greatest Sinner is a 1962 American drama film written, directed, and produced by, and starring Timothy Carey. Narrated by voice actor Paul Frees, the film focuses on a frustrated atheist named Clarence Hilliard who rises from an insurance salesman to a powerful figure, but faces consequences from the real God of the Bible, as he alienates his family and friends with his increasing egomania and dictator-like presence.
As an icon of counterculture and underground rock the American rock musician and composer Frank Zappa has been featured and referenced in various different media.
Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 American psychological horror film written and directed by Roman Polanski, and starring Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans, Ralph Bellamy, Angela Dorian, Clay Tanner, and, in his feature film debut, Charles Grodin. The film follows a young, pregnant wife in Manhattan who comes to suspect that her elderly neighbors are members of a Satanic cult, and are grooming her in order to use her baby for their rituals. It is based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Ira Levin.
Ray Pilgrim was one of the most prolific big band singers, radio broadcasters, recording and session singers in Britain in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
The second season of the Theme Time Radio Hour began on September 19, 2007, and ended April 2, 2008.
Beat the Boots III is a set of digitally downloadable albums by Frank Zappa. It compiles bootleg recordings which were previously available illegally, released by Zappa Records in 2009 as part of the Zappas' campaign to dissuade Frank Zappa fans from buying illegal recordings of his concerts.
"Memories of El Monte" is a metasong released in 1963 by the Penguins featuring Cleve Duncan. It was written by Frank Zappa and Ray Collins before they were in the Mothers of Invention. The song was first released as Original Sound 27.
The Romancers were an American, Chicano rock band, from the Eastside of Los Angeles, California, United States, who were active in the 1960s. They were one of the first East L.A. bands to record and paved the way for acts such as the Premiers and Cannibal & the Headhunters. The Romancers made two albums on Del-Fi Records and a string of singles for Eddie Davis' Linda label. Max Uballez was the group's leader, chief songwriter, and rhythm guitarist. He was involved in songwriting and production the Romancers' records, as well as other top Eastside bands.
