Frank Zappa Quotations
Frank Vincent Zappa, wanted to be known, first and foremost, as an American composer, for which he excelled in both pop and classical music mediums, producing over 60 albums by his band, ‘The Mothers of Invention’. He was also a vocalist, guitarist, conductor, film director, bandleader and a stellar example of entrepreneurial success. The musical genres he wrote in and performed with included rock groups, jazz ensembles, symphony orchestras, modern music ensembles, synthesizers, musique concrete, and pieces utilizing sampled sources. He also worked in visual mediums creating short and feature-length films, music videos as well as album covers for his music. He toured extensively and enjoyed extraordinary notoriety in Eastern Europe, all the while merchandising his albums.
Despite what many assumed by his appearance, Zappa was a strong spokesperson for capitalism and business, did not use recreational drugs and strongly spoke out against their use. He unfortunately died too young from prostate cancer.
He is survived by his wife Adelaide Gail Sloatman and their four children: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen. Several of their adult children perform their father’s as well as their own music.
Image: Musician Frank Zappa on stage playing guitar
“A composer is a guy who goes around forcing his will on unsuspecting air molecules, often with the assistance of unsuspecting musicians.”
“All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff.”
“Communism doesn’t work because people like to own stuff.”
“Everybody believes in something and everybody, by virtue of the fact that they believe in something, uses that something to support their own existence.”
“It isn’t necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice. There are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia.”
“Most rock journalism is people who can’t write, interviewing people who can’t talk, for people who can’t read.”
“Music, in performance, is a type of sculpture. The air in the performance is sculpted into something.”
“Music is always a commentary on society.”
– Frank Zappa(1940-1993)
