Frank Zappa

Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, singer and satirist.

1970s

After he disbanded the original Mothers, Zappa released the acclaimed solo instrumental album Hot Rats, featuring his jazz-inflected guitar playing backed by jazz, blues and R&B session players including violinist Don "Sugarcane" Harris, drummer John Guerin, multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood, and bassist Shuggie Otis. It remains one of his most popular and accessible recordings and arguably had a major influence on the development of the jazz-rock fusion genre.

Related Topics:
Hot Rats - Jazz - Don "Sugarcane" Harris - John Guerin - Ian Underwood - Shuggie Otis - Jazz-rock fusion

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Around 1970, Zappa put together a new version of The Mothers that included British drummer Aynsley Dunbar, jazz keyboardist George Duke, previous Mothers member Ian Underwood, and no fewer than three members of The Turtles: bass player Jim Pons, who before joining The Turtles had been the lead singer of The Leaves (of "Hey Joe" fame); and singers Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, who due to persisting legal/contractual problems adopted the stage-monikers "The Phlorescent Leech and Eddie," or "Flo & Eddie" for short.

Related Topics:
Aynsley Dunbar - George Duke - The Turtles - Jim Pons - The Leaves - Mark Volman - Howard Kaylan - Flo & Eddie

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The new lineup debuted on Zappa's next solo LP Chunga's Revenge, which was followed by the sprawling soundtrack to the movie project 200 Motels, featuring both The Mothers and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. At the time George Duke was in the band and appears both in the film and on the sound track as a musician. He left the band to play with Cannonball Adderly and was replaced by Don Preston from the original Mothers, who acted in the film, but is not playing on the soundtrack. This double disc album was followed by two superb live sets, Fillmore East - June 1971 and Just Another Band From L.A., which included the 20-minute track Billy The Mountain, Zappa's satire on rock opera, set in Southern California. The former features hilariously low-concept cover art (similar to the bootleg albums that had recently become popular) just at the apex of the era of great rock "album cover artwork".

Related Topics:
Chunga's Revenge - 200 Motels - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Cannonball Adderly - Don Preston - Fillmore East - June 1971 - Just Another Band From L.A. - Bootleg

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In 1971 there were two serious setbacks. While performing in Montreux, Switzerland, the Mothers' equipment was destroyed when a flare set off by an audience member started a disastrous fire that burned down the casino where they were playing —an event immortalised in Deep Purple's classic song Smoke On The Water.

Related Topics:
Montreux - Switzerland - Deep Purple - Smoke On The Water

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Then in December 1971, Zappa was attacked on stage at the Rainbow Theatre, London. A jealous boyfriend of a female fan pushed Frank off the stage and into the orchestra pit. Zappa suffered serious fractures, head trauma and injuries to his back, leg, and neck, as well as a crushed larynx (which caused his voice to drop a third after it healed). This left him wheelchair bound for a time, forcing him off the road for over a year. (He was wearing a leg brace for a period thereafter, had a noticeable limp and couldn't stand for very long while onstage.) He said one leg healed "shorter than the other" (a reference found years later in the lyrics of Dancin' Fool). He employed tour bodyguard John Smothers, who was an accomplished martial artist, former military chauffeur and bodyguard for several big-name celebrities. 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.

Related Topics:
Rainbow Theatre - London - Larynx - Third - Bodyguard - Flo and Eddie

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In 1971-72 Zappa released two strongly jazz-oriented solo LPs, Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo, which were recorded during the layoff from live concert touring, using floating lineups of session players and Mothers alumni. He began touring again in late 1972, first with a Grand Wazoo 'big band' and with groups that variously included Ian Underwood on brass and reeds, Ruth Underwood on vibes, Sal Marquez (trumpet), Napoleon Murphy Brock (sax and vocals), Bruce Fowler (trombone), Tom Fowler (bass), Chester Thompson (drums), George Duke (keyboards, vocals) and Jean-Luc Ponty (violin).

Related Topics:
Waka/Jawaka - The Grand Wazoo - Ian Underwood - Ruth Underwood - Sal Marquez - Napoleon Murphy Brock - Bruce Fowler - Tom Fowler - Chester Thompson - Jean-Luc Ponty

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He continued a high rate of production through the early 1970s, including the excellent and accessible albums One Size Fits All and Apostrophe, Over-Nite Sensation and Roxy & Elsewhere featuring ever-changing versions of a band no longer called the Mothers.

Related Topics:
1970s - One Size Fits All - Apostrophe - Over-Nite Sensation - Roxy & Elsewhere

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Läther

In the mid 70's Zappa began recording material for Läther (pronounced "leather"), an ambitious called four-LP studio project extravaganza. Läther featured all aspects of Zappa's musical styles —rock tunes, theatrical works, complex instrumental compositions, and Zappa's own trademark tube distortion-drenched guitar solos were all recorded for the release. He had completed the recording for the album when Warner Brothers executives decided not to support the project. Zappa soon appeared on the influential Los Angeles radio station KROQ, allowing them to broadcast the whole album, and instructing listeners to make their own tape recordings. Soonafter, some of the material from Läther was officialy released on "Zappa in New York."

Related Topics:
Läther - Tube - Warner Brothers - KROQ

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After a legal battle with Warner, in order to satisfy his contract, Zappa allowed the label to release much of the music on three LPs instead of four, but he had little input beyond that. The records Studio Tan, Sleep Dirt, and Orchestral Favorites were dumped on the market with no promotion and only cheaply produced cover art. These albums nevertheless include some classic Zappa tunes like "Lemme Take You To The Beach," "The Adventures of Greggery Peccary," and "Sleep Dirt." Läther was finally re-constructed and released in its original form in 1996.

Related Topics:
Studio Tan - Sleep Dirt - Orchestral Favorites - Promotion - Cover art - 1996

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It was during the Läther period that Zappa recruited Ike Willis as a lead singer and backup guitarist. Zappa's 1970's period ended with the releases of the highly regarded Joe's Garage, which heavily featured Willis as voice of "Joe", and Sheik Yerbouti (1979), which featured Zappa classics such as Dancin' Fool, Bobby Brown (Goes Down), Flakes, Broken Hearts are for Assholes, as well as Jewish Princess, which received some controversial attention. Joe's Garage is considered to be definitive Zappa of the period, and Sheik Yerbouti is likewise considered a definitive original work, though many tracks were composed or largely live-recorded during the Läther period of 1977.

Related Topics:
Ike Willis - Joe's Garage - Sheik Yerbouti

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