The Peculiar Frank Zappa Essay, Research Paper

Frank Zappa was an American singer, composer, arranger,

guitarist, bandleader, and all around musician who was one of the

greatest iconoclastic musicians of the 20th Century. He also produced

over 60 albums in 30 years. Some considered him to have demonstrated a

mastery of pop idioms ranging from jazz to rock of every conceivable

variety. As astute an entrepreneur as he was a musician, he was

impatient with any division between popular and high art; he combined

scatological humor with political wit, required of his players an

intimidating skill, and displayed consistent innovation in

instrumental and studio technology. ?I knew there was a big thing here

that was unique, because the beat matched the great rhythm of the

human body.? (Frank Zappa, The New Rock; p.1)

He was born in 1940 in Baltimore where his Sicilian-born,

Greek-Arab meteorologist father was employed by an arsenal that

manufactured poison gas during World War II. The eldest of four

children of a guitar-playing government scientist, Frank Zappa moved

with his family at age ten to California. At the age of twelve Zappa

became interested in drums, learning orchestral percussion. By 1956 he

was playing drums in a local R&B band called the Ramblers. ?I was

extremely suspect of any rock music played by white people. The

sincerity and emotional intensity of their performances, when they

sang about boyfriends and girlfriends and breaking up, etc., was

nowhere when I compared it to my high school Negro R&B heroes like

Johnny Otis, Howlin? Wolf and Willie Mae Thornton.? (Frank Zappa, The

New Rock; p.1). Early exposure to a record of Ionisation by avant

garde classical composer Edgard Varese instilled an interest in

advanced rhythmic experimentation, which lead to the fascination of

the electric guitar. ?Enlightenment is , to a certain extent,

attributable to the evolution of rock and vice versa.? (Frank Zappa,

The New Rock; p.1).

In 1963 Mr. Zappa wrote a score for a Western called Run Home

Slow and with the money built a studio in Cucamonga, California. But

along with success come some misfortune in which Zappa was charged for

conspiracy to commit pornography by the San Bernardino Vice Squad

after an undercover policeman requested some sex ?party? tapes. Zappa

delivered tapes of faked grunting, and served ten days of a six-month

jail sentence. In 1964, Zappa joined a local R&B outfit, the Soul

Giants and started writing songs for them. Eager to gain a heavier

image Flo and Eddie joined up with Zappa for the film 200 Motels.

But once again misfortune struck Zappa. On December 4,1971 there

was a fire that destroyed the bands equipment and a crazy accident in

which Zappa was pushed off-stage at London?s Rainbow theatre. He

crushed his larynx (lowering his voice a third), and damaged his

spine, which kept him wheelchair-bound for the best part of a year.

Apostrophe (?) showcased Zappa?s talents as a story – teller in the

Lord Buckley tradition. I reached number 10 in the Billboard chart in

June 1974. In 1975 Captain Beefheart joined Zappa for a tour, Zappa

overdubbing most of the instruments himself. He was experimenting with

what he termed ?xenochronicity? (combining unrelated tracks to create

a piece of non-synchronous music) and produced intriguing results on

?Friendly Little Finger?. ?Through rock music, the audience is being

exposed to an assortment of advanced musical and electronic techniques

that five years ago might have sent them screaming into the street.?

(Frank Zappa, The New Rock; p.3).

In 1976, Zappa filed a lawsuit against Herb Cohen, which in 1977

severed ties with Warner Bros., moving to Mercury two years later.

There he set up Zappa Records and retired the Mothers name, calling

all later groups Zappa. In 1980 Zappa recorded a single, ?I Don?t

Wanna Get Drafted,? which Mercury refused to release, prompting him to

leave the label and eventually establish his own Barking Pumpkin

Label. In 1981 Zappa released his first Barking Pumpkin album, and

that year, some ex-Mothers, including Jimmy Carl Black, Don Preston,

and Bunk Gardner, united to form the Grandmothers. ?They did

everything they could to make sure their audience was moved

erotically.? (Frank Zappa, The New Rock; p.2).

In 1984 he was quite outrageously prolific: he unearthed the an

18th century composer named Francesco Zappa and recorded his work on a

synclavier. Two releases, Shut Up ?N Play Yer Guitar and Guitar,

proved that Zappa?s guitar playing was unique; Jazz From Hell

presented wordless compositions for synclavier that drew inspiration

from Conlon Nancarrow; Thing-Fish was a ?Broadway musical? about AIDS,

homophobia and racism.

In November of 1991, in New York on the eve of a tribute concert

entitled ?Zappa?s Universe,? Moon Unit and Dweezil Zappa announced

that their father had been diagnosed with cancer of the prostate. A

lifelong teetotaler and abstainer from drugs (Zappa, however, smoked

cigarettes and drank coffee incessantly), the composer continued a

rigorous work schedule. And in May 1993 Zappa, clearly weak from

intensive chemotherapy, announced that he was fast losing the battle

as it had spread into his bones. At the age of 52, shortly before his

53rd birthday, at his Los Angeles home Zappa succumbed to the disease.

Zappa?s career in perspective shows a musical perfectionist using

only the highest standards of musicianship and the finest recording

quality. ?It has been discovered and revealed that song can capture

the fancy of the American public efficiently.? (Frank Zappa, The New

Rock; p.2). History will certainly recognize Zappa as a sophisticated,

serious composer and a highly accomplished master of music. Zappa was

one of the most exotic, original and complex figures to have emerged

from rock culture. Guitar hero, satirist, and political commentator,

Zappa managed to avoid being easily categorized for over three

decades. And to show their appreciation the Critics elected Zappa

into the Down Beat Hall of Fame.

?It?s not important to even be remembered,? he said, ?I mean, the

people who worry about being remembered are guys like Reagan, Bush?. I

don?t care.?

Bibliography

?Frank Zappa-Biography.? Yahoo. Online.

Yahoo Online. 7 April, 2000

?Frank Zappa.? Yahoo. Online.

Yahoo Online. 7 April, 2000

?Frank Zappa Tribute.? Yahoo. Online.

Yahoo Online. 7 April, 2000

?The New Rock..? Yahoo. Online.

Yahoo Online. 7 April, 2000

?Zappa BR Home Page.? Yahoo. Online.

Yahoo Online. 7 April, 2000