"A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it's not open."
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, guitarist, singer, film director, and satirist. In his 33-year musical career, Zappa proved to be one of the most prolific musician-composers of his era, releasing over 60 albums during his lifetime, almost all of which consisted of original compositions. He was also a renowned electric guitarist and a gifted producer-engineer who self-produced almost every recording he made after his 1966 debut.
His work spanned virtually every contemporary musical genre (including avant-garde, rock, doo-wop, jazz, jazz fusion, reggae, ska, electronic music, contemporary classical, blues, funk, musique concrète, hard rock, big band, progressive rock, pop, proto-rap and world music), and was often noted for its blend of high art, rock opera, absurdity, scatological humor, and for its hilariously caustic social satire. He was also noted as a spotter of talent and his various groups included such musical luminaries as Adrian Belew, Lowell George, Jean-Luc Ponty, Ruth Underwood, George Duke, Vinnie Colaiuta, Mike Keneally and Steve Vai.
Zappa had a large and fiercely dedicated worldwide following throughout his varied career, throughout the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and the Scandinavian countries, in particular. His early albums were a strong influence on other groups (including The Beatles) and his critically acclaimed work garnered brief mainstream success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with hit singles: "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow", "Dancin' Fool" and "Valley Girl". Zappa, as demonstrated by his disparaging comments about the music business, never cared much for mainstream acclaim.
