Biography of Frank Zappa
Coming from a firm R&B background, Zappa burst on the scene in the late '60s with his rock satire group, The Mothers of Invention. Lampooning the foibles of American society, the recording industry and the very audience the records were aimed at, Zappa stretched the boundaries in the rock world of both performance art and the concept album to great success. Numerous personnel changes and Zappa's crazy like a fox demeanor blurred the distinction between Mothers and Zappa solo albums for a while, but Zappa has since dabbled in everything from movies to savage satires to large "electronic rock" pieces for orchestras, all displaying his quirky, individual stamp to great effect. Some 25 years later, he remains unique and interesting, still challenging society's staid conventions through music. ~ Cub Koda