Ahmet zappa children
Frank Zappa
American musician (–)
"Zappa" redirects here. For other uses, see Zappa (disambiguation).
Frank Zappa | |
|---|---|
Zappa performing at Ekeberghallen in Oslo, Norway, in | |
| Born | Frank Vincent Zappa ()December 21, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | December 4, () (aged&#;52) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary |
| Occupations |
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| Years&#;active | – |
| Spouses |
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| Children | |
| Musical career | |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | |
| Discography | Frank Zappa discography |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | |
Musical artist | |
| Website | |
Frank Vincent Zappa[nb 1] (ZAP-ə; December 21, &#;– December 4, ) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader.
In a career spanning more than 30&#;years, Zappa composed rock, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and musique concrète works; he also produced almost all of the plus albums that he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist.[2] His work is characterized by nonconformity, improvisation[3] sound experimentation, musical virtuosity and satire of American culture.[4] 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.[5][6]
As a mostly self-taught composer and performer, Zappa had diverse musical influences that led him to create music that was sometimes difficult to categorize. While in his teens, he acquired a taste for 20th-century classical modernism, African-American rhythm and blues, and doo-wop music.[7] He began writing classical music in high school, while simultaneously playing drums in rhythm and blues bands, later switching to electric guitar.
His debut studio album with the Mothers of Invention, Freak Out! (), combined satirical but seemingly conventional rock and roll songs with extended sound collages. He continued this eclectic and experimental approach throughout his career.
Zappa's output is unified by a conceptual continuity he termed "Project/Object", with numerous musical phrases, ideas, and characters reappearing across his albums.[4] His lyrics reflected his iconoclastic views of established social and political processes, structures and movements, often humorously so, and he has been described as the "godfather" of comedy rock.[8] He was a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate for freedom of speech, self-education, political participation and the abolition of censorship.
Unlike many other rock musicians of his generation, he disapproved of recreational drug use, but supported decriminalization and regulation.
Zappa was a highly productive and prolific artist with a controversial critical standing; supporters of his music admired its compositional complexity, while detractors found it lacking emotional depth.[9] He had greater commercial success outside the US, particularly in Europe.
Though he worked as an independent artist, Zappa mostly relied on distribution agreements he had negotiated with the major record labels. He remains a major influence on musicians and composers. His many honors include his posthumous induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
– Early life and career
Childhood
Zappa was born on December 21, , in Baltimore, Maryland, to Rose Marie (née Colimore) and Francis Vincent Zappa. He was of Sicilian, Greek, Arab and French descent.[nb 2]
Frank, the eldest of four children, was raised in an Italian-American household where Italian was often spoken by his grandparents.[1]:&#;6&#;[10] The family moved often because his father, a chemist and mathematician, worked in the defense industry.
After a time in Florida in the s, the family returned to Maryland, where Zappa's father worked at the Edgewood Arsenalchemical warfare facility of the Aberdeen Proving Ground run by the U.S. Army. Due to their home's proximity to the arsenal, which stored mustard gas, gas masks were kept in the home in case of an accident.[1]:&#;20–23&#; This living arrangement had a profound effect on Zappa, and references to germs, germ warfare, ailments and the defense industry occur frequently throughout his work.[11]:&#;8–9&#;
Zappa's father often brought mercury-filled lab equipment home from his workplace and gave it to Zappa to play with.[1]:&#;19&#; Zappa said that as a child he "used to play with it all the time", often by putting liquid mercury on the floor and using a hammer to spray out mercury droplets in a circular pattern, eventually covering the entire floor of his bedroom with them.[12]
Zappa was often sick as a child, suffering from asthma, earaches and sinus problems.
A doctor treated his sinusitis by inserting a pellet of radium into each of Zappa's nostrils. At the time, little was known about the potential dangers of even small amounts of therapeutic radiation and mercury exposure.[11]:&#;10&#;
Nasal imagery and references appear in his music and lyrics, as well as in the collage album covers created by his long-time collaborator Cal Schenkel.
Zappa believed his childhood diseases might have been due to exposure to mustard gas, released by the nearby chemical warfare facility, and his health worsened when he lived in Baltimore.[1]:&#;20–23&#;[11]:&#;10&#; In , his family relocated for reasons of health to Monterey, California, where his father taught metallurgy at the Naval Postgraduate School.[1]:&#;22&#; They soon moved to the San Diego neighborhood of Clairemont,[13]:&#;46&#; and then to the nearby city of El Cajon, before finally returning to San Diego.[14]
First musical interests
Since I didn't have any kind of formal training, it didn't make any difference to me if I was listening to Lightnin' Slim, or a vocal group called the Jewels&#;, or Webern, or Varèse, or Stravinsky.
To me it was all good music.
— Frank Zappa, [1]:&#;34&#;
Zappa started at the age of 12, learning drum rudiments at a summer school group course in Monterey, California with a teacher named Keith McKillop. Frank said "Instead of drums, he had us practicing on wooden planks."[1]:&#;13&#; Zappa joined his first band at Mission Bay High School in San Diego as a drummer.[1]:&#;29&#; At about the same time, his parents bought a phonograph, which allowed him to develop his interest in music, and to begin building his record collection.[11]:&#;22&#; According to The Rough Guide to Rock (), "as a teenager Zappa was simultaneously enthralled by black R&B (Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, Guitar Slim), doo-wop (The Channels, The Velvets), and modern composers, such as Igor Stravinsky, Anton Webern and Edgard Varèse."[7]
R&B singles were early purchases for Zappa, starting a large collection he kept for the rest of his life.[11]:&#;36&#; He was interested in sounds for their own sake, particularly the sounds of drums and other percussion instruments.
By age twelve, he had obtained a snare drum and began learning the basics of orchestral percussion.[1]:&#;29&#; Zappa's deep interest in modern classical music began[15] when he read a LOOK magazine article about 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.[1]:&#;30–33&#; The article described Varèse's percussion composition Ionisation, produced by EMS Recordings, as "a weird jumble of drums and other unpleasant sounds".
Zappa decided to seek out Varèse's music.
After searching for over a year, Zappa found a copy (he noticed the LP because of the "mad scientist" looking photo of Varèse on the cover). Not having enough money with him, he persuaded the salesman to sell him the record at a discount.[1]:&#;30–33&#; Thus began his lifelong passion for Varèse's music and that of other modern classical composers.
He also liked the Italian classical music listened to by his grandparents, especially Puccini's opera arias.
By , the Zappa family had moved to Lancaster, a small aerospace and farming town in the Antelope Valley of the Mojave Desert close to Edwards Air Force Base; he would later refer to Sun Village (a town close to Lancaster) in the track "Village of the Sun".[16] Zappa's mother encouraged him in his musical interests.
Although she disliked Varèse's music, she was indulgent enough to give her son a long-distance call to the New York composer as a fifteenth birthday present.[1]:&#;30–33&#; Unfortunately, Varèse was in Europe at the time, so Zappa spoke to the composer's wife and she suggested he call back later.
In a letter, Varèse thanked him for his interest, and told him about a composition he was working on called "Déserts". Living in the desert town of Lancaster, Zappa found this very exciting. Varèse invited him to visit if he ever came to New York.
He remains relieved that it is no longer his daily burden to wrestle with the needs of the estate. She was four years his junior and pregnant with Moon. But as a husband and father? He would put a hot dog on a fork and roast it over the gas stove.The meeting never took place (Varèse died in ), but Zappa framed the letter and kept it on display for the rest of his life.[15][nb 3]
At Antelope Valley High School, Zappa met Don Glen Vliet (who later changed his name to Don Van Vliet and adopted the stage name Captain Beefheart).
Zappa and Vliet became close friends, sharing an interest in R&B records and influencing each other musically throughout their careers.[13]:&#;29–30&#; Around the same time, Zappa started playing drums in a local band, the Blackouts.[18]:&#;13&#; The band was racially diverse and included Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood who later became a member of the Mothers of Invention.
Zappa's interest in the guitar grew, and in he was given his first instrument. Among his early influences were Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Howlin' Wolf and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown.
Frank zappa wife: But money undeniably made things worse, as Ahmet stepped into the role of estate trustee and the family businessman. Chicago's 4th of July weekend shows at the Hollywood Bowl will be a celebration of the band's legacy. The Greatest Albums of All Time. They included longtime Zappa bassist Roy Estrada, who was later twice convicted on charges of child molestation.
In the s/s, he invited Watson to perform on several albums. Zappa considered soloing the equivalent of forming "air sculptures",[19] and developed an eclectic, innovative and highly personal style.[20] He was also influenced by Egyptian composer Halim El-Dabh.[21]
Zappa's interest in composing and arranging flourished in his last high school years.
By his final year, he was writing, arranging and conducting avant-garde performance pieces for the school orchestra.[11]:&#;40&#; He graduated from Antelope Valley High School in , and later acknowledged two of his music teachers on the sleeve of the album Freak Out![22]:&#;23&#; Due to his family's frequent moves, Zappa attended at least six different high schools, and as a student he was often bored and given to distracting the rest of the class with juvenile antics.[11]:&#;48&#; In , he attended Chaffey College but left after one semester, and maintained thereafter a disdain for formal education, taking his children out of school at age 15 and refusing to pay for their college.[11]:&#;&#; While in college, Zappa met Terry Kirkman and played gigs at local coffee houses with him.[23]
Zappa left home in , and moved into a small apartment in Echo Park, Los Angeles.
After he met Kathryn J. "Kay" Sherman during his short period of private composition study with Prof.
Frank zappas children names The oldest son, perhaps best known to the public as an MTV VJ in the s, is the most musically focused of the four kids. A second documentary, also sanctioned by Gail, is in the works, directed by Alex Winter. Story by Geoff Edgers. It's brother and sister against brother and sister in bitter fight over control of Frank Zappa's legacy.Karl Kohn of Pomona College, they moved in together in Ontario, and were married December 28, [11]:&#;58&#; Zappa worked for a short period in advertising as a copywriter. His sojourn in the commercial world was brief, but gave him valuable insights into its workings.[1]:&#;40&#;[24] Throughout his career, he took a keen interest in the visual presentation of his work, designing some of his album covers and directing his own films and videos.
Studio Z
Zappa attempted to earn a living as a musician and composer, and played different nightclub gigs, some with a new version of the Blackouts.[11]:&#;59&#; Zappa's earliest professional recordings, two soundtracks for the low-budget films The World's Greatest Sinner () and Run Home, Slow () were more financially rewarding.
The former score was commissioned by actor-producer Timothy Carey and recorded in It contains many themes that appeared on later Zappa records.[11]:&#;63&#; The latter soundtrack was recorded in after the film was completed, but it was commissioned by one of Zappa's former high school teachers in and Zappa may have worked on it before the film was shot.[11]:&#;55&#; Excerpts from the soundtrack can be heard on the posthumous album The Lost Episodes ().
During the early s, Zappa wrote and produced songs for other local artists, often working with singer-songwriter Ray Collins and producer Paul Buff. Their "Memories of El Monte" was recorded by the Penguins, although only Cleve Duncan of the original group was featured.[25] Buff owned the small Pal Recording Studio in Cucamonga, which included a unique five-track tape recorder he had built.
At that time, only a handful of the most sophisticated commercial studios had multi-track facilities; the industry standard for smaller studios was still mono or two-track.[1]:&#;42&#; Although none of the recordings from the period achieved major commercial success, Zappa earned enough money to allow him in to stage a concert of his orchestral music and to broadcast and record it.[11]:&#;74&#; In March of that same year Zappa appeared on Steve Allen's syndicated late night show playing a bicycle as a musical instrument[26][27]:&#;35–36&#;—&#;using drum sticks and a bow borrowed from the band's bass player he proceeded to pluck, bang, and bow the spokes of the bike, producing strange, comical sounds from his newfound instrument.
With Captain Beefheart, Zappa recorded some songs under the name of the Soots. They were rejected by Dot Records. Later, the Mothers were also rejected by Columbia Records for having "no commercial potential", a verdict Zappa subsequently quoted on the sleeve of Freak Out![18]:&#;27&#;
In , after his marriage started to break up, he moved into the Pal studio and began routinely working 12&#;hours or more per day recording and experimenting with overdubbing and audio tape manipulation.
This established a work pattern that endured for most of his life.[1]:&#;43&#; Aided by his income from film composing, Zappa took over the studio from Paul Buff, who was now working with Art Laboe at Original Sound. It was renamed Studio Z.[11]:&#;80–81&#; Studio Z was rarely booked for recordings by other musicians.
Instead, friends moved in, notably James "Motorhead" Sherwood.[11]:&#;82–83&#; Zappa started performing in local bars as a guitarist with a power trio, the Muthers, to support himself.[18]:&#;26&#;
An article in the local press describing Zappa as "the Movie King of Cucamonga" prompted the local police to suspect that he was making pornographic films.[11]:&#;85&#; In March , Zappa was approached by a vice squad undercover officer, and accepted an offer of $ (equivalent to $ in ) to produce a suggestive audio tape for an alleged bachelor party.
Zappa and a female friend recorded a faked erotic episode. When Zappa was about to hand over the tape, he was arrested, and the police stripped the studio of all recorded material.[11]:&#;85&#; The press was tipped off beforehand, and next day's The Daily Report wrote that "Vice Squad investigators stilled the tape recorders of a free-swinging, a-go-go film and recording studio here Friday and arrested a self-styled movie producer".[28] Zappa was charged with "conspiracy to commit pornography".[1]:&#;57&#; This felony charge was reduced and he was sentenced to six months in jail on a misdemeanor, with all but ten days suspended.[11]:&#;86–87&#; His brief imprisonment left a permanent mark, and was central to the formation of his anti-authoritarian stance.[11]:&#;xv&#; Zappa lost several recordings made at Studio Z in the process, as the police returned only 30 of 80 hours of tape seized.[11]:&#;87&#; Eventually, he could no longer afford to pay the rent on the studio and was evicted.[27]:&#;40&#; Zappa managed to recover some of his possessions before the studio was torn down in [11]:&#;90–91&#;
– The Mothers of Invention
Formation
By April , Ray Collins, one of Zappa's friends during the early Studio Z days, was the singer of an R&B band called the Soul Giants, based in Pomona, California.
That month, he asked Zappa to take over as guitarist in the Soul Giants, following a fight between Collins and the group's original guitarist.[10] Zappa accepted, and soon assumed leadership and the role as co-lead singer (even though he never considered himself a singer, then or later[29]).
He convinced the other members that they should play his music to increase the chances of getting a record contract.[1]:&#;65–66&#; The band - comprising Zappa, Collins, Roy Estrada, and Jimmy Carl Black - debuted at the Broadside Club and was renamed the Mothers since this gig took place on May 10, &#;&#; Mother's Day.[13]:&#;42&#; They increased their bookings after beginning an association with manager Herb Cohen, and gradually gained attention on the burgeoning Los Angeles underground music scene.[22]:&#;58&#; In early , they were spotted by leading record producer Tom Wilson when playing "Trouble Every Day", a song about the Watts riots.[11]:&#;&#; Wilson had earned acclaim as the producer for Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel, and was one of the few African-Americans working as a major label pop music producer at this time.
Wilson signed the Mothers to the Verve division of MGM, which had built up a strong reputation for its releases of modern jazz recordings in the s and s, but was attempting to diversify into pop and rock audiences. Verve insisted that the band officially rename themselves the Mothers of Invention as Mother was short for motherfucker—a term that, apart from its profane meanings, can denote a skilled musician.[30] Under Zappa's leadership, the Mothers' lineup would be ever-changing during their time together, with members including Collins, Estrada, Black, Elliot Ingber, brothers Bunk and Buzz Gardner, Don Preston, Billy Mundi, Jim Fielder, Jim "Motorhead" Sherwood, Ian Underwood, Art Tripp, and Lowell George.
Debut album: Freak Out!
See also: Freak Out!, Absolutely Free, and Lumpy Gravy
With Wilson credited as producer, the Mothers of Invention, augmented by a studio orchestra, recorded the groundbreaking Freak Out! (), which, after Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde, was the second rock double album ever released.
It mixed R&B, doo-wop, musique concrète,[31]:&#;25&#; and experimental sound collages that captured the "freak" subculture of Los Angeles at that time.[22]:&#;60–61&#; Although he was dissatisfied with the final product, Freak Out immediately established Zappa as a radical new voice in rock music, providing an antidote to the "relentless consumer culture of America".[11]:&#;&#; The sound was raw, but the arrangements were sophisticated.
While recording in the studio, some of the additional session musicians were shocked that they were expected to read the notes on sheet music from charts with Zappa conducting them, since it was not standard when recording rock music.[11]:&#;&#; The lyrics praised non-conformity, disparaged authorities, and had dadaist elements.
On a recent Monday, Ahmet calls Moon and asks her to go to a party. A second documentary, also sanctioned by Gail, is in the works, directed by Alex Winter. You might also like. Diva, the least public of the siblings, is an artist who reads tarot cards on Instagram and is knitting a mile-long scarf that she has named Emilio.Yet, there was a place for seemingly conventional love songs.[32]:&#;10–11&#; Most compositions are Zappa's, which set a precedent for the rest of his recording career. He had full control over the arrangements and musical decisions and did most overdubs. Wilson provided the industry clout and connections and was able to provide the group with the financial resources needed.[11]:&#;&#; Although Wilson was able to provide Zappa and the Mothers with an extraordinary degree of artistic freedom for the time, the recording did not go entirely as planned.
In a radio interview, Zappa explained that the album's outlandish minute closing track, "Return of the Son of Monster Magnet" was not finished. The track as it appears on the album was only a backing track for a much more complex piece, but MGM refused to allow the additional recording time needed for completion. Much to Zappa's chagrin, it was issued in its unfinished state.[33]
During the recording of Freak Out!, Zappa moved into a house in Laurel Canyon with friend Pamela Zarubica, who appeared on the album.[11]:&#;&#; The house became a meeting (and living) place for many LA musicians and groupies of the time, despite Zappa's disapproval of their illicit drug use.[11]:&#;&#; After a short promotional tour following the release of Freak Out!, Zappa met Adelaide Gail Sloatman.
He fell in love within "a couple of minutes", and she moved into the house over the summer.[1]:&#;65–66&#; They married in , had four children and remained together until Zappa's death.
Wilson nominally produced the Mothers' second album Absolutely Free (), which was recorded in November , and later mixed in New York, although by this time Zappa was in de facto control of most facets of the production.
It featured extended playing by the Mothers of Invention and focused on songs that defined Zappa's compositional style of introducing abrupt rhythm changes into songs that were built from diverse elements.[31]:&#;5&#; Examples are "Plastic People" and "Brown Shoes Don't Make It", which contained lyrics that lampooned the hypocrisy and conformity of American society, but also of the counterculture of the s.[31]:&#;38–43&#; As Zappa put it, "[W]e're satirists, and we are out to satirize everything."[11]:&#;–&#; At this time Zappa had also recorded material for an album of orchestral works to be released under his own name, Lumpy Gravy, to be released by Capitol Records in Due to contractual problems, the album was held back.
Zappa took the opportunity to radically restructure the material, adding newly recorded improvised dialogue. After the contractual problems were resolved, a new album of the same name was issued by Verve in [11]:&#;–&#; It is an "incredible ambitious musical project",[31]:&#;56&#; a "monument to John Cage",[22]:&#;86&#; which intertwines orchestral themes, spoken words and electronic noises through radical audio editing techniques.[31]:&#;56&#;[34][nb 4]
New York period (–)
See also: We're Only in It for the Money, Cruising with Ruben & the Jets, Uncle Meat, and Ahead of Their Time
The Mothers of Invention played in New York in late and were offered a contract at the Garrick Theater (at Bleecker Street, above the Cafe au Go Go) during Easter This proved successful and Herb Cohen extended the booking, which eventually lasted half a year.[35]:&#;62–69&#; As a result, Zappa and his wife Gail, along with the Mothers of Invention, moved to New York.[11]:&#;–&#; Their shows became a combination of improvised acts showcasing individual talents of the band as well as tight performances of Zappa's music.
Everything was directed by Zappa using hand signals.[11]:&#;&#; Guest performers and audience participation became a regular part of the Garrick Theater shows. One evening, Zappa managed to entice some U.S. Marines from the audience onto the stage, where they proceeded to dismember a big baby doll, having been told by Zappa to pretend that it was a "gook baby".[1]:&#;94&#;
In , filmmaker Ed Seeman paid Zappa $2, to produce music for a Luden's cough drops television commercial.[36] Zappa's music was matched with Seeman's animation and the advertisement won a Clio Award for "Best Use of Sound".[37][38] An alternate version of the soundtrack, called "The Big Squeeze", later appeared on Zappa's posthumous album The Lost Episodes.
This version lacks Seeman's narration.
While living in New York City, and interrupted by the band's first European tour, the Mothers of Invention recorded the album widely regarded as the peak of the group's late s work, We're Only in It for the Money (released ).[39] It was produced by Zappa, with Wilson credited as executive producer.
From then on, Zappa produced all albums released by the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. We're Only in It for the Money featured some of the most creative audio editing and production yet heard in pop music, and the songs ruthlessly satirized the hippie and flower power phenomena.[22]:&#;90&#;[32]:&#;15&#; He sampled surf music from his Studio Z days in the audio collage Nasal Retentive Caliope Music.
The cover photo parodied that of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.[nb 5] The cover art was provided by Cal Schenkel whom Zappa met in New York. This initiated a lifelong collaboration in which Schenkel designed covers for numerous Zappa and Mothers albums.[18]:&#;88&#;
Reflecting Zappa's eclectic approach to music, the next album, Cruising with Ruben & the Jets (), was very different.
It represented a collection of doo-wop songs; listeners and critics were not sure whether the album was a satire or a tribute.[31]:&#;58&#; Zappa later remarked that the album was conceived like Stravinsky's compositions in his neo-classical period: "If he could take the forms and clichés of the classical era and pervert them, why not do the same&#; to doo-wop in the fifties?"[1]:&#;88&#; The opening theme from Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is sung in "Fountain of Love".
In and , Zappa made two appearances with the Monkees. The first appearance was on an episode of their TV series, "The Monkees Blow Their Minds", where Zappa, dressed up as Mike Nesmith, interviews Nesmith who is dressed up as Zappa. After the interview, Zappa destroys a car with a sledgehammer as the song "Mother People" plays. He later provided a cameo in the Monkees' movie Head where, leading a cow, he tells Davy Jones "the youth of America depends on you to show them the way." Zappa respected the Monkees and attempted to recruit Micky Dolenz to the Mothers but RCA/Columbia/Colgems would not release Dolenz from his contract.[11]:&#;–&#;
During the late s, Zappa continued to develop the business side of his career.
He and Herb Cohen formed the Bizarre and Straight labels to increase creative control and produce recordings by other artists. These labels were distributed in the US by Warner Bros. Records. Zappa/Mothers recordings appeared on Bizarre along with Wild Man Fischer and Lenny Bruce.[11]:&#;–&#; Straight released the double album Trout Mask Replica for Captain Beefheart, and releases by Alice Cooper, The Persuasions, and the GTOs.
The Mothers' first album on Bizarre was 's Uncle Meat, which Zappa described as "most of the music from the Mothers' movie of the same name which we haven't got enough money to finish yet". A version of the Uncle Meat film was released direct-to-video in Principal photography having never been completed, the VHS videocassette is a "making of" documentary showing rehearsals and background footage from and interviews with people involved with the uncompleted production.[40]
Zappa and the Mothers on stage in Hamburg, October
During the Mothers' second European tour in September/October they performed for the Internationale Essener Songtage at the Grugahalle in Essen, Germany; at the Tivoli in Copenhagen, Denmark; for TV programs in Germany (Beat-Club), France, and England; at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam; at the Royal Festival Hall in London; and at the Olympia in Paris.[41]
Disbandment
See also: Hot Rats, Burnt Weeny Sandwich, and Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Zappa and the Mothers of Invention returned to Los Angeles in mid, and the Zappas moved into a house on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, only to move again to Woodrow Wilson Drive.[11]:&#;&#; This was Zappa's home for the rest of his life.
Despite being successful in Europe, the Mothers of Invention were not doing well financially.[22]:&#;&#; Their first records were vocally oriented, but as Zappa wrote more instrumental jazz and classical style music for the band's concerts, audiences were confused. Zappa felt that audiences failed to appreciate his "electrical chamber music".[11]:&#;–&#;[13]:&#;–&#;
In , there were nine band members and Zappa was supporting the group from his publishing royalties whether they played or not.[22]:&#;&#; In late , Zappa broke up the band.
He often cited the financial strain as the main reason,[1]:&#;&#; but also commented on the band members' lack of diligence.[13]:&#;&#; Many band members were bitter about Zappa's decision, and some took it as a sign of Zappa's perfectionism at the expense of human feeling.[11]:&#;–&#; Others were irritated by 'his autocratic ways',[11]:&#;&#; exemplified by Zappa's never staying at the same hotel as the band members.[11]:&#;&#; Several members would play with Zappa again in subsequent years, while Lowell George and Roy Estrada went on to form the band Little Feat.
Zappa assembled remaining unreleased recordings of the band on the albums Burnt Weeny Sandwich and Weasels Ripped My Flesh, both released in
After he disbanded the Mothers of Invention, Zappa released the acclaimed solo album Hot Rats ().[11]:&#;&#;[43] It features, for the first time on record, Zappa playing extended guitar solos and contains one of his most enduring compositions, "Peaches en Regalia", which reappeared several times on future recordings.[31]:&#;74&#; He was backed by jazz, blues and R&B session players including violinist Don "Sugarcane" Harris, drummers John Guerin and Paul Humphrey, multi-instrumentalist and former Mothers of Invention member Ian Underwood, and multi-instrumentalist Shuggie Otis on bass, along with a guest appearance by Captain Beefheart on the only vocal track, "Willie the Pimp".
It became a popular album in England,[1]:&#;&#; and had a major influence on the development of jazz-rock fusion.[11]:&#;&#;[31]:&#;74&#;
– A decade of highs and lows
Rebirth of the Mothers and filmmaking
See also: Chunga's Revenge, Fillmore East – June , Motels (soundtrack), Just Another Band from L.A., and Playground Psychotics
In , Zappa met conductor Zubin Mehta.
Diva zappa Measure advertising performance. For Subscribers. Log In. Most Read in Music.They arranged a May concert where Mehta conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic augmented by a rock band. According to Zappa, the music was mostly written in motel rooms while on tour with the Mothers of Invention. Some of it was later featured in the movie Motels.[1]:&#;&#; Although the concert was a success, Zappa's experience working with a symphony orchestra was not a happy one.[1]:&#;88&#; His dissatisfaction became a recurring theme throughout his career; he often felt that the quality of performance of his material delivered by orchestras was not commensurate with the money he spent on orchestral concerts and recordings.[1]:&#;–&#;
Later in , Zappa formed a new version of the Mothers (from then on, he mostly dropped the "of Invention").
Along with Ian Underwood, the new band also included British drummer Aynsley Dunbar, jazz keyboardist George Duke, bassist Jeff Simmons, and the two lead singers of the Turtles, Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, who, due to persistent legal and contractual problems, adopted the stage name "The Phlorescent Leech and Eddie" or "Flo & Eddie" for short.[11]:&#;&#; Another member of the Turtles, Jim Pons, would join on bass in February , following Simmons' departure the previous month and his brief replacement by Martin Lickert.
This version of the Mothers debuted on Zappa's next solo album Chunga's Revenge (),[11]:&#;&#; which was followed by the double-album soundtrack to the movie Motels (), featuring the Mothers, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ringo Starr, Theodore Bikel, and Keith Moon.
Co-directed by Zappa and Tony Palmer, it was filmed in a week at Pinewood Studios outside London.[18]:&#;&#; Tensions between Zappa and several cast and crew members arose before and during shooting.[18]:&#;&#; The film deals loosely with life on the road as a rock musician.[11]:&#;&#; It was the first feature film photographed on videotape and transferred to 35&#;mm film, a process that allowed for novel visual effects.[44] It was released to mixed reviews.[31]:&#;94&#; The score relied extensively on orchestral music, and Zappa's dissatisfaction with the classical music world intensified when a concert, scheduled at the Royal Albert Hall after filming, was canceled because a representative of the venue found some of the lyrics obscene.
In , he lost a lawsuit against the Royal Albert Hall for breach of contract.[1]:&#;–&#;
After Motels, the band went on tour, which resulted in two live albums, Fillmore East – June and Just Another Band from L.A.; the latter included the minute track "Billy the Mountain", Zappa's satire on rock opera set in Southern California.
This track was representative of the band's theatrical performances—which used songs to build sketches based on Motels scenes, as well as new situations that often portrayed the band members' sexual encounters on the road.[11]:&#;–&#;[nb 6]
Accident, attack, and aftermath
On December 4, , Zappa suffered his first of two serious setbacks.
While performing at Casino de Montreux in Switzerland, the Mothers' equipment was destroyed when a flare set off by an audience member started a fire that burned down the casino.[1]:&#;–&#;Deep Purple were in the audience that night, and would immortalize the event on their classic song "Smoke on the Water".
A recording of the incident and immediate aftermath can be heard on the bootleg album Swiss Cheese/Fire, released legally as part of Zappa's Beat the Boots II box set. After losing $50, (equivalent to $, in ) worth of equipment and a week's break, the Mothers played at the Rainbow Theatre, London, with rented gear. During the encore, an audience member, jealous because of his girlfriend's infatuation with Zappa, pushed him off the stage and into the concrete-floored orchestra pit.[45] The band thought Zappa had been killed—he had suffered serious fractures, head trauma and injuries to his back, leg, and neck, as well as a crushed larynx, which ultimately caused his voice to drop a third after healing.[1]:&#;–&#; A recording of the whole concert, including the attack, was released on the posthumous album The Mothers in
After the attack Zappa needed to use a wheelchair for an extended period, making touring impossible for over half a year.
Upon return to the stage in September , Zappa was still wearing a leg brace, had a noticeable limp and could not stand for very long while on stage. Zappa noted that one leg healed "shorter than the other" (a reference later found in the lyrics of songs "Zomby Woof" and "Dancin' Fool"), resulting in chronic back pain.[1]:&#;–&#; 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.
Solo albums: Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo
See also: Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo
In , 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 line-ups of session players and Mothers alumni.[31]:&#;&#; Musically, the albums were akin to Hot Rats, in that they featured extended instrumental tracks with extended soloing.[11]:&#;–&#; Zappa began touring again in late [11]:&#;–&#; His first effort was a series of concerts in September with a piece big band referred to as the Grand Wazoo.
This was followed by a scaled-down version known as the Petit Wazoo that toured the U.S. for five weeks from October to December [46]
In December ,[47] David Walley published the first biography of Zappa, titled No Commercial Potential. Zappa was severely critical, calling it "a quickie, paperback, sensational book".
He said that it contained "gross inaccuracies", described the writing as "not quality workmanship" and claimed that Walley had "just slung together a bunch of quotes".[48] Despite Zappa's complaints, the book was later published in an updated edition in [22] and again in after Zappa's death.
Top 10 album: Apostrophe (')
See also: Over-Nite Sensation, Apostrophe ('), Roxy & Elsewhere, One Size Fits All (Frank Zappa album), and Bongo Fury
Zappa then formed and toured with smaller 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).
By , the Bizarre and Straight labels were discontinued. Zappa and Cohen then created DiscReet, also distributed by Warner.[11]:&#;&#; Zappa continued a high rate of production through the first half of the s, including the album Apostrophe (') (), which reached a career-high No.&#;10 on the Billboard pop album charts[49] helped by the No.&#;86 chart hit "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow".[50] Other albums from the period are Over-Nite Sensation (), which contained several future concert favourites such as "Dinah-Moe Humm" and "Montana", as well as Roxy & Elsewhere () and One Size Fits All (), which are notable for the tight renditions of highly difficult jazz fusion songs in such pieces as "Inca Roads", "Echidna's Arf (Of You)" and "Be-Bop Tango (Of the Old Jazzmen's Church)".[31]:&#;–&#; A live recording from , You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol.
2 (), captures "the full spirit and excellence of the – band".[31]:&#;–&#;
In April Zappa complained about ongoing contractual problems between DiscReet and Warner.[51] Zappa released Bongo Fury (), which featured a live recording at the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin from a tour the same year that reunited him with Captain Beefheart for a brief period.[11]:&#;&#; They later became estranged for a period of years, but were in contact at the end of Zappa's life.[11]:&#;&#;
Business breakups and touring
See also: Zoot Allures, Zappa in New York, Studio Tan, Sleep Dirt, and Orchestral Favorites
In , Zappa produced the album Good Singin', Good Playin' for Grand Funk Railroad