Frank Zappa

1990:  Studio portrait of American rock and roll musician Frank Zappa (1940 - 1993) holding a cigarette.  (Photo by Nancy R. Schiff/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Nancy R. Schiff/Hulton Archive

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... Read More