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Frank Zappa

1940-12-21 (84 years old) in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.

Frank Vincent Zappa  (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band The Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. While in his teens, he acquired a taste for percussion-based avant-garde composers such as Edgard Varèse and 1950s rhythm and blues music. He began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands; he later switched to electric guitar. He was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often impossible to categorize. His 1966 debut album with The Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. His later albums shared this eclectic and experimental approach, irrespective of whether the fundamental format was one of rock, jazz or classical. He wrote the lyrics to all his songs, which—often humorously—reflected his iconoclastic view of established social and political processes, structures and movements. 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. Zappa was a highly productive and prolific artist and gained widespread critical acclaim. Many of his albums are considered essential in rock and jazz history. He is regarded as one of the most original guitarists and composers of his time. He also remains a major influence on musicians and composers. He had some commercial success, particularly in Europe, and for most of his career was able to work as an independent artist. Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. Zappa was married to Kathryn J. "Kay" Sherman from 1960 to 1964. In 1967, he married Adelaide Gail Sloatman, with whom he remained until his death from prostate cancer in 1993. They had four children: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen. Gail Zappa manages the businesses of her late husband under the name the Zappa Family Trust. Description above from the Wikipedia article Frank Zappa, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.  

Movies

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Frank Zappa: Apostrophe (')
0 %|Oct 13, 2024
Music
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Live at Whisky a Go Go 1968
0 %|Jun 21, 2024
Music
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Over-Nite Sensation
0 %|Nov 17, 2023
Music
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Rock this Town
0 %|Mar 24, 2022
Documentary, Music
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Kalvøyafestivalen - 50 år siden første riff
0 %|Dec 13, 2021
Music, Documentary
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The Velvet Underground
68.09 %|Oct 15, 2021
Documentary, Music
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The Art of Dissent
0 %|Oct 5, 2021
Documentary
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Larry Flynt for President
52 %|Jun 12, 2021
Documentary
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Zappa
72 %|Nov 27, 2020
Music, Documentary
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Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
76 %|Sep 6, 2019
Documentary
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Manson: Music From an Unsound Mind
67 %|Aug 13, 2019
Documentary
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Echo in the Canyon
67 %|May 24, 2019
Documentary, Music
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Marian Briozzo
0 %|Apr 19, 2018
Music, Animation
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Take Your Pills
65.67 %|Mar 9, 2018
Documentary
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Uncle Howard
65 %|Mar 10, 2017
Documentary
poster
Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words
74 %|May 3, 2016
Music, Documentary
actor
Zapped: Frank Zappa par Frank Zappa
0 %|Jan 1, 2016
Music, Documentary
poster
Roxy: The Movie
66 %|Sep 10, 2015
Music
poster
Feats First: The Life and Music of Lowell George
80 %|Mar 23, 2015
Music, Documentary
poster
Led Zeppelin Played Here
80 %|Oct 11, 2014
Documentary
poster
Frank Zappa - Summer '82: When Zappa Came to Sicily
78 %|Oct 5, 2014
Music, Documentary
poster
Made in Japan: The Rise of Deep Purple Mk II
74 %|Sep 12, 2014
Music, Documentary
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Cheepnis
0 %|Aug 17, 2014
Music
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Super Duper Alice Cooper
71 %|Apr 17, 2014
Documentary, Music
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From Straight to Bizarre
38 %|Feb 21, 2012
Documentary
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Frank Zappa: The Freak Out List
0 %|Apr 19, 2010
Documentary, Music
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Hart & Soul - The Hart Family Anthology
80 %|Apr 6, 2010
Documentary
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Frank Zappa - Live in Paris 1980
80 %|Jun 12, 2008
Music
poster
The Wrecking Crew
72.09 %|Mar 11, 2008
Music, Documentary
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Frank Zappa: Music In Review
0 %|Feb 5, 2008
Documentary, Music
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Frank Zappa: A Pioneer of the Future of Music
0 %|Apr 22, 2007
Music, Documentary
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Fuck
64 %|Nov 10, 2006
Documentary
actor
EAV Rarities
0 %|Feb 10, 2006
Music, Documentary
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Derailroaded
76 %|Mar 1, 2005
Documentary, Music
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Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s
0 %|Aug 30, 2002
Documentary
actor
Frank Zappa: Phase II - The Big Note
0 %|Jun 20, 2002
Documentary, Music
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The Artist Formerly Known As Captain Beefheart
0 %|Aug 19, 1997
Music, Documentary
actor
Porridge and kerosene
0 %|Mar 18, 1997
Documentary, Music
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Hey, Hey We're The Monkees
88 %|Jan 22, 1997
Documentary, TV Movie
actor
An American Dissident: un tributo a Frank Zappa
0 %|Jan 7, 1994
Documentary, Music
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The Revenge of the Dead Indians
0 %|Jan 1, 1993
Documentary
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The Yellow Shark
90 %|Sep 17, 1992
Music
actor
Tom Arnold: The Naked Truth
45 %|Apr 1, 1991
Documentary, Comedy
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Pražákům, těm je hej
80 %|Apr 1, 1991
Music, Documentary, Drama
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Frank Zappa: Peefeeyatko
0 %|Jan 1, 1991
Documentary, Music
actor
Your vote
0 %|Jan 1, 1991
Documentary
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Decade
70 %|Dec 9, 1989
Documentary, Music, History
actor
Služební cesta podporučíka Svěráka
60 %|Jan 1, 1989
Documentary
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Funny
0 %|Apr 1, 1988
Documentary
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The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels
75 %|Jan 1, 1988
Documentary, Comedy, Music
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Frank Zappa: Live in Barcelona
80 %|Jan 1, 1988
Music
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Video From Hell
65 %|Feb 28, 1987
Music
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The Amazing Mr. Bickford
57 %|Jan 1, 1987
Animation, Music
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Uncle Meat
57 %|Jan 1, 1987
Documentary
actor
Night Flight with Frank Zappa, Porn Wars
0 %|Sep 19, 1985
Documentary
poster
The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers
67 %|Sep 17, 1984
Horror, Fantasy, Family, TV Movie
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Cocaine Blues
0 %|Jan 2, 1983
poster
Frank Zappa: The Dub Room Special!
59 %|Jun 1, 1982
Music, Comedy
actor
The Rolling Stones - The First 20 Years
0 %|Jan 1, 1982
Music, Documentary
actor
Frank Zappa: New York and Elsewhere
0 %|Jun 1, 1980
Documentary, Music
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Baby Snakes
62 %|Dec 21, 1979
Music
actor
Yoko Ono: This Is Not Here
60 %|May 11, 1972
Documentary
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Deep Purple: Made In Japan
100 %|Apr 30, 1972
Music
actor
Frank Zappa filmt 200 Motels
0 %|Dec 23, 1971
Documentary
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200 Motels
52 %|Nov 10, 1971
Fantasy, Comedy, Music
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Frank Zappa
0 %|Feb 11, 1971
Documentary, Music
actor
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
0 %|Apr 30, 1969
Music
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Head
61 %|Nov 6, 1968
Comedy, Music
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All My Loving
65 %|Nov 3, 1968
Documentary, Music
actor
The Male Swagger
0 %|Invalid Date
poster
You Are What You Eat
36.88 %|Sep 24, 1968
Music, Documentary
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Mondo Hollywood
53 %|Jun 30, 1967
Documentary
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Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution
0 %|Apr 25, 1967
Documentary
actor
Sex in Today's World
0 %|Jan 11, 1967
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The Big T.N.T. Show
70 %|Dec 22, 1965
Music, Documentary

Series

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Laurel Canyon
80 %|May 31, 2020
Documentary
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Girls and Boys - Sex and British Pop
0 %|Oct 23, 2005
Documentary
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Classic Albums
77 %|Apr 14, 1997
Documentary
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The Ren & Stimpy Show
76 %|Aug 11, 1991
Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Comedy, Kids
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Miami Vice
75 %|Sep 16, 1984
Crime, Drama
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Faerie Tale Theatre
82 %|Sep 11, 1982
Drama, Family, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Comedy
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Saturday Night Live
69.36 %|Oct 11, 1975
Comedy, News
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Saturday Night Live
69.36 %|Oct 11, 1975
Comedy, News
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Omnibus
75 %|Oct 13, 1967
Documentary
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Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution
0 %|Apr 25, 1967
Documentary
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The Monkees
65 %|Sep 12, 1966
Comedy, Family
poster
Beat-Club
83 %|Sep 25, 1965
Reality
actor
Late Night Line-Up
60 %|Invalid Date