Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa was an American musician, activist and filmmaker. Like The Beatles, he played in just about every genre from not just rock, but also to 20th century classical and musique concrete. He was the face of all things free-thinker and individual. He's the kind of face dictators fear. 
He started out scoring for ultra low budget independent films in the early 60s before he was asked to take on guitar duties for San Diego band The Soul Giants in 1965. He then later took control of The Soul Giants, and saw them renamed The Mothers of Invention. He would also express a life long disregard for authority after 6 months in jail on bogus porn production charges. Zappa and the Mothers released Freak Out! in 1966, which besides being way ahead of it's time was also the second rock double album ever released (Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde being the first). The album featured sectioned songs over a year before the Moody Blues did on Days of Future Passed, which is one of the earliest Prog albums ever issued. 
Zappa disbanded The Mothers in 1969, but performed with two more incarnations of them between 1970 and 1975, one of which featured former Turtles members Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (Eddie and Flo) who you may know as the creators of Happy Together, one of the most well known pop songs of all time. 
Zappa released dozens upon dozens of material throughout the years (a lot of them being live recordings) until he was diagnosed with inoperable prostate cancer in 1990 and passed away in 1993.
He will forever be remembered as one of the great minds of the 20th century and a major enemy of censorship and narrow mindedness.
Category:People
Category:1960s
Category:1940s births