Frank Zappa facts for kids

Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
	Zappa in 1977
Background information
Birth name	Frank Vincent Zappa
Born	December 21, 1940; Baltimore, Maryland, US
Died	December 4, 1993 (aged 52); Los Angeles, California, US
Genres	Progressive rock, jazz, experimental rock, alternative rock, classical
Occupation(s)	Musician, producer
Instruments	Guitar, voice, bass, keyboards
Years active	1950s–1993

Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 - December 4, 1993) was an American musician and composer. He was known for his strange style of music, which was often weird and funny. He made various types of music and many albums. Zappa worked with many other musicans, most notably his 1960s group The Mothers of Invention and his friend and blues singer Captain Beefheart.

Zappa was born in Baltimore, Maryland, but spent most of his life in Southern California. He grew up in Baltimore, in Florida, and in Monterey, Claremont and El Cajon, California. His mother was of French and Italian descent; his father was an immigrant from Sicily. Zappa had four children with his wife Gail. They gave them all very unusual names: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet, and Diva.

Zappa was openly against drugs, Televangelism, and censoring music. He often tried to see what he could get away with.

Zappa died from prostate cancer in Los Angeles, California.

Images for kids

Zappa's senior yearbook photo, 1958
Zappa with the Mothers of Invention, Theatre de Clichy, Paris, 1971
Frank Zappa in Paris, early 1970s
Zappa with the Mothers, 1971
Zappa with Captain Beefheart, seated left, during a 1975 concert
Zappa in Toronto, 1977
Zappa performing at the Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York, 1980. The concert was released in 2007 as Buffalo.
Performing in 1973
Zappa with Václav Havel, 1990
Frank Zappa in 1977
Frank Zappa bust by Vaclav Cesak in Bad Doberan, Germany
Frank Zappa monument in Vilnius, Lithuania
Frank-Zappa-Straße in Berlin