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This is a list of musicians who have performed on officially released Frank Zappa recordings. This list does not include musicians who have performed as guest musicians at Frank Zappa concerts unless they appear on official live recordings. Additionally, this list does not include musicians who have only appeared on the London Symphony Orchestra albums or bootleg recordings.
| Name | Year(s) | Appeared on | Instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murray Adler | 1978, 1996 | Studio Tan, Läther | Violin |
| Phyllis Altenhaus | 1987 | Uncle Meat | Voice |
| Mike Altschul | 1972, 1978–1981, 1996, 2004, 2007, 2008 | Waka/Jawaka, The Grand Wazoo, Studio Tan, Orchestral Favorites, Tinseltown Rebellion, Läther, QuAUDIOPHILIAc, Wazoo, One Shot Deal | Woodwinds |
| Jay Anderson | 1983–1985 | The Man from Utopia, Thing-Fish, Cruising with Ruben & the Jets (1985 Remix) | Bass |
| Peter Arcaro | 1962, 1996 | The Lost Episodes | Trumpet, Conductor |
| Harold Ayres | 1968 | Lumpy Gravy | Violin |
| Name | Year(s) | Appeared on | Instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elliot Ingber | 1966, 1968, 1992, 1996 | Freak Out!, Lumpy Gravy, You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5, The Lost Episodes | Guitar |
| Barbara Issak | 1979 | Joe's Garage | Vocals |
| Name | Year(s) | Appeared on | Instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Jackson, Jr. | 1972 | The Grand Wazoo | Woodwinds |
| Jules Jacob | 1968 | Lumpy Gravy | Woodwinds |
| Janschi | 1985, 1996 | The Lost Episodes | Bass |
| Eddie Jobson | 1976–1978, 1981, 1992, 1996, 1997 | Zappa in New York, Studio Tan, Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar, You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6, Läther, Have I Offended Someone? | Keyboards, Violin, Vocals |
| John Johnson | 1966 | Freak Out! | Tuba |
| Plas Johnson | 1966 | Freak Out! | Saxophone |
| Pete Jolly | 1968 | Lumpy Gravy | Keyboards |
| Name | Year(s) | Appeared on | Instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ted Nash | 1968 | Lumpy Gravy | Woodwinds |
| Lou Anne Neill | 1976, 1978–1981, 1996, 2004, 2008 | Zoot Allures, Zappa in New York, Studio Tan, Orchestral Favorites, Tinseltown Rebellion, Läther, QuAUDIOPHILIAc, Joe's Domage, One Shot Deal | Harp |
| Name | Year(s) | Appeared on | Instrument |
|---|---|---|---|
| James "Bird Legs" Youman | 1975, 1978, 1979, 1996 | One Size Fits All, Studio Tan, Sleep Dirt, Läther | Bass, Guitar |
| Graham Young | 1978, 1996 | Studio Tan, Läther | Trumpet |
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experimentation, 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 musicians of his generation.
Dweezil Zappa is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Dweezil developed a strong affinity for playing the guitar and producing music. Able to learn directly from guitarists such as Steve Vai and Eddie Van Halen, Dweezil released his first single at the age of 12.
Lawrence Wayne "Wild Man" Fischer was an American street performer known for offering erratic, a cappella performances of "new kinds of songs" for a dime on the beaches and the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. Most of his life was spent homeless or institutionalized, and he later became regarded as "the godfather of outsider music".
Warren Bruce Cuccurullo is an American musician, singer-songwriter, restaurant owner and former body builder who first worked with Frank Zappa during the 1970s. He was also a founding member of Missing Persons in the 1980s. In 1986 Cuccurullo joined Duran Duran, becoming a long-term member of the band until 2001. In 2022, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Duran Duran.
Freak Out! is the debut studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on June 27, 1966, by Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, it is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa's perception of American pop culture and the nascent freak scene of Los Angeles. It was also one of the earliest double albums in rock music, as well as the first two-record debut album. In the UK, the album was originally released as an edited single disc.
James Inkanish, Jr., known professionally as Jimmy Carl Black, was a drummer and vocalist for The Mothers of Invention.
Uncle Meat is the fifth studio album by the Mothers of Invention, released as a double album in 1969. Uncle Meat was originally developed as a part of No Commercial Potential, a project which spawned three other albums sharing a conceptual connection: We're Only in It for the Money, Lumpy Gravy and Cruising with Ruben & the Jets.
Hot Rats is the second solo album by Frank Zappa, released in October 1969. It was Zappa's first recording project after the dissolution of the original version of the Mothers of Invention. Five of the six songs are instrumental; while "Willie the Pimp", features vocals by Captain Beefheart. In his original sleeve notes, Zappa described the album as "a movie for your ears".
Them or Us is an album by American musician Frank Zappa, released in October 1984 by Barking Pumpkin Records.
Lumpy Gravy is the debut solo album by Frank Zappa, written by Zappa and performed by a group of session players he dubbed the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra. Zappa conducted the orchestra but did not perform on the album. It is his third album overall: his previous releases had been under the name of his group, the Mothers of Invention.
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.
Napoleon Murphy Brock is an American singer, saxophonist and flute player who is best known for his work with Frank Zappa in the 1970s, including the albums Apostrophe ('), Roxy & Elsewhere, One Size Fits All, and Bongo Fury. He contributed notable vocal performances to the Zappa songs "Village of the Sun," "Cheepnis," and "Florentine Pogen."
Läther is the sixty-fifth official album by Frank Zappa. It was released posthumously as a three-CD set on Rykodisc in 1996. The album's title is derived from bits of comic dialog that link the songs. Zappa also explained that the name is a joke, based on "common bastardized pronunciation of Germanic syllables by the Swiss."
Does Humor Belong in Music? is a live album by Frank Zappa.
Chad Wackerman is an American jazz, jazz fusion and rock drummer, who has played with Frank Zappa and Allan Holdsworth. He has worked as a band member, session musician, sideman, and leader of his own ensembles. He is the older brother of drummers John Wackerman and Brooks Wackerman.
Ruth Underwood is an American musician best known for playing xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, and other percussion instruments in Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. She collaborated with the Mothers of Invention from 1968 to 1977.
Jeffrey Lael Simmons is an American rock musician, best known as a former member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention.
Arthur Dyer Tripp III is an American retired musician who is best known for his work as a percussionist with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band during the 1960s and 1970s. Tripp retired from music in the 1980s and works as a chiropractor in Mississippi.
Jim "Motorhead" Sherwood was an American rock musician notable for playing soprano, tenor and baritone saxophone, tambourine, vocals and vocal sound effects in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. He appeared on all the albums of the original Mothers line-up and the 'posthumous' releases Burnt Weeny Sandwich and Weasels Ripped My Flesh, as well as certain subsequent Zappa albums. He also appeared in the films 200 Motels, Video from Hell and Uncle Meat.
Finer Moments is a compilation album by Frank Zappa. It was compiled and mastered by Zappa in 1972 and released posthumously in 2012.
