Whether putting his idiosyncratic stamp on progressive rock, jazz fusion, pop or classical, Frank Zappa was one of modern music's oddest and most unpredictable jesters. Much beloved by a following that firmly stands by his prolific and scattered catalog, his chameleon-like stylistic shifts and oddball sense of humor have made him an incomparable musical cult icon. Zappa was born in Baltimore in 1940, the son of a chemist at a chemical warfare facility. Due to the family's close proximity to the facility, Zappa was exposed to mustard gas as a little boy, leading to a wide array of diseases he developed throughout his childhood. A move to San Diego in his high school years allowed him to pursue his interest in music by drumming in a local band. His eccentric musical diet around this time included everything from doo-wop, to classical and avant-garde experiments, all of which would eventually find their way into his soon to blossom solo career. Freak Out!, his 1966 debut LP with his band, The Mothers of Invention, used progressive and experimental rock to announce the arrival of a new and unique songwriter--though it was only a hint of what was to follow. For the next 25 or so years, Zappa released unconventional albums, genre experiments, classical compositions, jazz fusion projects and skewered rock and roll, all to the love of some and the confusion of others. A polarizing musical figure if there ever was one, he remains an uncompromising staple of experimentation and an extremely influential artist within certain independent and forward-thinking music circles. Zappa died of prostate cancer in 1993 at the age of 52.
