The band Frank Zappa achieved his first mainstream success in was The Mothers of Invention. They were originally called "The Mothers" but the record label thought that was offensive, further proving that record labels are retarded.
Zappa was notorious for doing random, crazy things during his concerts. Stadium shows could end up with Zappa scaling giant speakers to reach the Organ in the overhead rooms, which he would proceed to play with the grace of a rhinocerous.
Zappa was a large supporter of Free Speech, and was opposed to censorship in any form. One of his songs, The Illinois Enema Bandit, a song about real life sex criminal Michael Kenyon, predictably, contained several sexual references. Critics didn't like this, and claimed to be offended by the song, resulting in Zappa ridiculing them by claiming to be a journalist on life, reporting things as he saw them.
"What do you make of a society that is so primitive that it clings to the belief that certain words in its language are so powerful that they could corrupt you the moment you hear them?" remarked Zappa on the topic of Censorship.
In 1971, the Swiss casino Zappa was playing at was burned to the ground by an overly enthusiastic fan who had gotten ahold of a flare. The fire destroyed the band's equipment. After a week off, The Mother's of Invention played a show in London with rented gear, where some asshat decided it would be a great idea to push Zappa off the stage onto the concrete pit in front of the stage, leading the rest of the band to believe Zappa had been killed. Zappa survived, thanks to the carpet on his upper lip that cushioned his fall, saving his life for the second time that year.
However, the fall left him wheelchair bound with several broken bones, and worst of all a crushed larynx which permanently damaged his voice.
Sometimes the best way to preserve the integrity of the art you love is MURDER
Mark David Chapman, pictured after trying to show his love for his hero.
Throughout his career, Zappa expanded his musical talent into different genres. He composed intricate and unique pieces for various genres, such as Peaches En Regalia, one of his most enduring compositions to be named about fruit.
In 1990, Zappa was invited to become a consultant on trade, cultural matters, and tourism for the Czechoslovakian government, and hastily accepted. But, the U.S. government stifled this appointment by pressuring the Czech government to cancel.
Shortly after, he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. He died in 1993, and was buried in an unmarked grave.
A day after his funeral, Zappa's family announced
"Composer Frank Zappa left for his final tour just before 6:00 pm on Saturday"
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Cracked Talk on | Frank Zappa
The burning of the place that Zappa played at is the event that inspired Deep Purple to write "Smoke On The Water".
That was a great article. I really enjoyed reading it. I didn't know about Zappa's almost dieing in London. Didn't Ryan Adams fall of stage in Europe also and need multiple surgeries on his hand? Clearly Europe Needs lower stages or bouncier floors.