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.?
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Yahoo Online. 7 April, 2000
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Yahoo Online. 7 April, 2000
?Zappa BR Home Page.? Yahoo. Online.
Yahoo Online. 7 April, 2000