Frank Vincent Zappa was an American musician, composer, songwriter, 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 musicians of his generation.
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger Universal Music Group.
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.
Absolutely Free is the second studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on May 26, 1967, by Verve Records. Much like their 1966 debut Freak Out!, the album is a display of complex musical composition with political and social satire. The band had been augmented since Freak Out! by the addition of woodwinds player Bunk Gardner, keyboardist Don Preston, rhythm guitarist Jim Fielder, and drummer Billy Mundi; Fielder quit the group before the album was released, and his name was removed from the album credits.
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.
Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa is an American musician and writer, and trustee of the Zappa Family Trust.
Fillmore East – June 1971 is a live album by The Mothers, released in 1971. It is the twelfth album in Frank Zappa's discography, and was produced by Zappa and mixed by Toby Foster.
Pamela Des Barres is a rock and roll groupie, writer, musician, and actress. She is best known for her bestselling 1987 memoir, I'm with the Band, which details her experiences in the Los Angeles rock music scene of the 1960s and 1970s. She is also a former member of the experimental Frank Zappa-produced music group the GTOs.
Frank Zappa (1940–1993) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, recording engineer, record producer and film director.
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.
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar, a project consisting of Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar, Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar Some More and Return of the Son of Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar, is a series of albums by Frank Zappa. Released as separate albums in May 1981 on Barking Pumpkin Records, it was subsequently reissued as a triple album box set in 1982.
Zappa Plays Zappa is an American tribute act led by Dweezil Zappa, the eldest son of late American composer and musician Frank Zappa, devoted to performing the music of Frank Zappa.
"Montana" is a song composed by Frank Zappa for his 1973 LP Over-Nite Sensation. The last track on the album is one of Zappa's most famous and renowned compositions. It features backing vocals by Tina Turner and the Ikettes throughout the entire track, notably on the middle and ending sections.
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.
Adelaide Gail Zappa was the wife of musician and composer Frank Zappa and the trustee of the Zappa Family Trust. They met in Los Angeles in 1966 and married while she was pregnant with their first child, Moon, followed by Dweezil, Ahmet and Diva. Gail was also the aunt of model and actress Lala Sloatman.
Pachygnatha is a genus of long-jawed orb-weavers that was first described by Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1823.
Zappa confluentus, the New Guinea slender mudskipper, is a mudskipper endemic to New Guinea, where it is only known from the lower parts of the Fly, Ramu and Bintuni Rivers. It is found on mudflats adjacent to turbid rivers. This species can reach a length of 4.4 centimetres (1.7 in) SL.
Phialella zappai is a species of cnidarian in the family Phialellidae. It was named for musician Frank Zappa by Ferdinando "Nando" Boero, a jellyfish expert from Genova, Italy who wrote to Zappa hoping to meet the musician whom he admired. Zappa replied saying "there is nothing I would like better than having a jellyfish with my name", leading to a meeting and eventually a friendly acquaintance between the biologist and the musician.
Scaptia beyonceae is a species of horse fly found in the Atherton Tablelands in north-east Queensland, Australia. Discovered in 1981 but not scientifically described until 2011, the fly is named after American recording artist and actress Beyoncé.
