{"artistName":"Frank Zappa","artistId":1378,"artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/f5f/f5fdc12d7ebd590e0297031b869a8acf_xl.jpg","srcset":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/f5f/f5fdc12d7ebd590e0297031b869a8acf_sm.jpg 50w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/f5f/f5fdc12d7ebd590e0297031b869a8acf_md.jpg 80w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/f5f/f5fdc12d7ebd590e0297031b869a8acf_lg.jpg 200w,https://artist99.cdn107.com/f5f/f5fdc12d7ebd590e0297031b869a8acf_xl.jpg 340w","artistBio":"\u003cp\u003eFrank Vincent Zappa (pronounced /ˈzæpə/; December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer, and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral, and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band The Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile in his teens, he acquired a taste for percussion-based avant-garde composers such as Edgard Varèse and 1950s rhythm and blues music. He began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands—he later switched to electric guitar. He was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often impossible to categorize. His 1966 debut album with the Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. His later albums shared this eclectic and experimental approach, irrespective of whether the fundamental format was one of rock, jazz or classical. He wrote the lyrics to all his songs, which—often humorously—reflected his iconoclastic view of established social and political processes, structures and movements. He was a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate for freedom of speech, self-education and the abolition of censorship.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eZappa was a highly productive and prolific artist and gained widespread critical acclaim. Many of his albums are considered essential in rock and jazz history. He is regarded as one of the most original guitarists and composers of his time. He also remains a major influence on musicians and composers. He had some commercial success, particularly in Europe, and for most of his career was able to work as an independent artist. Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eZappa was married to Kathryn J. \"Kay\" Sherman from 1960 to 1964. In 1967, he married Adelaide Gail Sloatman, with whom he remained until his death from prostate cancer in 1993. They had four children: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen. Gail Zappa manages the businesses of her late husband under the name the Zappa Family Trust.\u003c/p\u003e","musicPath":"/music/Frank+Zappa","playStationPath":"/stations/113285197/play","stationId":113285197,"bioPath":"/music/Frank+Zappa/_full_bio","similars":[{"musicPath":"/music/Nucleus","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/f8a/f8ac54592d2fea1b342dd1cb0ef2853d_md.jpg","artistName":"Nucleus","artistId":130029,"station_id":285078614},{"musicPath":"/music/Chris+Squire","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/1cc/1ccd6e43b4bc6ce595d213d22ae7ab50_md.jpg","artistName":"Chris Squire","artistId":94667,"station_id":287828075},{"musicPath":"/music/Procol+Harum","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/45f/45f5882139fe6b31294222fb53d435fe_md.jpg","artistName":"Procol Harum","artistId":6648,"station_id":113344394},{"musicPath":"/music/Rick+Wakeman","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/5f6/5f696921299d3e152c9a2f3523f517f3_md.jpg","artistName":"Rick Wakeman","artistId":12399,"station_id":113282717},{"musicPath":"/music/Deep+Purple","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/6e5/6e5d82b92097804a844741c7c16e57db_md.jpg","artistName":"Deep Purple","artistId":6015,"station_id":113272104},{"musicPath":"/music/The+Flower+Kings","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/a05/a0585591daee92a15480acbf3beaf3be_md.jpg","artistName":"The Flower Kings","artistId":56794,"station_id":260083628},{"musicPath":"/music/The+Mars+Volta","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/5e0/5e03b67e9c7c33a771414616bf60caf1_md.jpg","artistName":"The Mars Volta","artistId":2327,"station_id":113313273},{"musicPath":"/music/Led+Zeppelin","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/a95/a95aade3e0a87d7bca89b86855aa9395_md.jpg","artistName":"Led Zeppelin","artistId":496,"station_id":113261811},{"musicPath":"/music/Steven+Wilson","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/2ca/2ca158de734de247dbc4def1568e014d_md.jpg","artistName":"Steven Wilson","artistId":98123,"station_id":276674738},{"musicPath":"/music/Faust","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/f92/f92d7b9ad57e54811642d9a97e5a227f_md.jpg","artistName":"Faust","artistId":12315,"station_id":113746220},{"musicPath":"/music/The+Claypool+Lennon+Delirium","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/0f7/0f7061e4d73b3fe8aab8cc49fe78c48e_md.jpg","artistName":"The Claypool Lennon Delirium","artistId":310129,"station_id":397821382},{"musicPath":"/music/The+Aristocrats","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/d79/d79b194a1cf94e9d7859ad260b6620f5_md.jpg","artistName":"The Aristocrats","artistId":463981,"station_id":401377147},{"musicPath":"/music/The+Alan+Parsons+Project","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/c4a/c4a0f2a4a1770b2bcbd2dfceb45cabce_md.jpg","artistName":"The Alan Parsons Project","artistId":1207,"station_id":113262357},{"musicPath":"/music/Roger+Waters","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/b0b/b0b9467425c108888d792545b0c26de0_md.jpg","artistName":"Roger Waters","artistId":1827,"station_id":113274279},{"musicPath":"/music/Eloy","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/4cb/4cb67e7d8ed762cb5e919606c54fa294_md.jpg","artistName":"Eloy","artistId":12791,"station_id":113579727},{"musicPath":"/music/Steve+Hillage","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/512/512c16d34cf6b9ff5a20c2d69f1c8152_md.jpg","artistName":"Steve Hillage","artistId":101854,"station_id":280763953},{"musicPath":"/music/Jeff+Beck","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/105/105f937d353d468e487939d56499b288_md.jpg","artistName":"Jeff Beck","artistId":4710,"station_id":113296645},{"musicPath":"/music/Amon+Duul+II","artistDefaultImage":"https://artist99.cdn107.com/b3c/b3cae04d26d426911991007c0197b42f_md.jpg","artistName":"Amon Düül II","artistId":71,"station_id":113275454}]}