Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa原名Francis Vincent Zappa Jr.1940年生于巴爾地摩,是美國六十年代搖滾樂發(fā)展史上的先鋒人物之一。1960年出版了第一張唱片，不過是為一部電影做的插曲。隨后他又為電影配樂使得他有錢自己買了一間錄音棚。1964年他和與他公事的樂手組成了一支樂隊“Mothers”。1966年樂隊推出了雙專輯《Freak Out！》。體現(xiàn)了樂隊“嬉皮“的風(fēng)格，也使人們對他們有了更深的印象。再這張專輯中，Zappa在錄音方面比同時期的其他樂手到要先進。1966年出版專輯《Absoulately Free》和1967年出版專輯《We’re only in it for the money》。1969年Zappa出版了個人專輯《Hot Rats》。這張專輯使他獲得了“出色的爵士搖滾音樂家的”的稱號。在此后的多張專輯中他嘗試了多樣的主題和手法，使專輯呈現(xiàn)出不同的特色。1968年他與他的經(jīng)理人組建了自己唱片公司，并推出一些親手提拔的一些樂隊。在此后推出了一些個人專輯如1975年的《Bongo Fury》，1978的《Zappa in New》。此后，Zappa解除了同公司的合同并建立了自己的公司Zappa。1979年推出了經(jīng)典作品《Joe’s Garage Act 1》，《Joe’s Garage Act 2，3》。到了八十年代他幾乎每年都出一張專輯。并寫了一部音樂劇和一部卡通片。雖然也有失敗的地方但他依然被公認為是一位搖滾大師。1991年Zappa被查處患有癌癥，但他依然不停的出專輯直到他1993年12月去世。
 
by William Ruhlmann
 
Frank Zappa was one of the most accomplished composers of the rock era; his music combines an understanding of and appreciation for such contemporary classical figures as Stravinsky, Stockhausen, and Varèse with an affection for late-50s doo wop rock & roll and a facility for the guitar-heavy rock that dominated pop in the 70s. But Zappa was also a satirist whose reserves of scorn seemed bottomless and whose wicked sense of humor and absurdity have delighted his numerous fans, even when his lyrics crossed over the broadest bounds of taste. Finally, Zappa was perhaps the most prolific record-maker of his time, turning out massive amounts of music on his own Barking Pumpkin label and through distribution deals with Rykodisc and Rhino after long, unhappy associations with industry giants like Warner Brothers and the now-defunct MGM.
 
Zappa became interested in music early and pursued his studies in school, up through a six-month stint at Chaffey College in Alta Loma, CA. He scored a couple of low-budget films and used the money to buy a low-budget recording studio. In 1964, he joined a local band called the Soul Giants, which, over the course of the next two years, evolved into the Mothers, who played songs written by Zappa. The band was signed to the Verve division of MGM by producer Tom Wilson in 1966 and recorded its first album, a two-LP set called Freak Out!, which introduced Zappas interests in both serious music and pop as well as his scathing wit. (Verve insisted on adding of Invention to the bands name.)
 
Subsequent albums extended the musical and lyrical themes of the debut, and they came frequently. Three albums, for example, hit the charts in 1968: Were Only in It for the Money, a Mothers album that made fun of hippies and Sgt. Pepper; Lumpy Gravy, a Zappa solo album recorded with an orchestra; and Cruising With Ruben & the Jets, on which the Mothers played neo-doo wop. Toward the end of the 60s, Zappa expanded the Mothers lineup, turning more toward instrumental jazz-rock, much of which displayed his technically accomplished guitar playing. But by the end of the decade, he had broken up the band.
 
In 1970, however, Zappa reassembled a new edition of the Mothers, featuring former Turtles lead singers Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan as frontmen. The lineup moved the group more in the direction of X-rated comedy, notably on the album Fillmore East: June 1971, but it was short-lived: during a performance at the Rainbow Theatre in London, Zappa was pushed from the stage by a demented fan and seriously injured.
 
While he recovered, Zappa released several albums, then he re-formed the Mothers with himself as lead singer and made pop/rock albums such as Over-nite Sensation that were among his best-selling records ever. By the end of the 70s, Zappa was recording on his own labels, distributed in some cases by the majors, and he had attracted a consistent cult following for both his humor and his complex music. (Zappas band, in fact, became a training ground for high-quality rock musicians, much as Miles Davis was for jazz players.)
 
In the 80s, Zappa gained the rights to his old albums and began to reissue them, at first on his own and then through the pioneering Rykodisc CD label. He wrote his autobiography and embarked on a world tour in 1988. That was the end of his live performing, except for such isolated appearances as one in Czechoslovakia at the invitation of its post-Communist president, Zappa fan Vaclav Havel. In late 1991, it was confirmed that Zappa was seriously ill with cancer. Nevertheless, his schedule of album releases continued to be rapid. Zappa died in December of 1993, with a number of posthumous releases to follow.