Led Zeppelin Crashed Here
Zappa, Frank December 21, 1940–December 4, 1993 Westwood Memorial Park 1218 Glendon Avenue Los Angeles, California 310-474-1579 Plot: Section D, 100 [unmarked] Legendary guitarist Frank Zappa was also a studio wizard whose early work with his band The Mothers of Invention displayed exceptional musical knowledge and a biting sense of humor. His radical work earned him a devout cult following, though he did have several hits over the years (including the novelty song “Valley Girl”). After dozens of solo albums, including Weasels Ripped My Flesh, Apostrophe and Shut Up ‘N Play Yer Guitar, Zappa went from being an underground rock star to being a highly regarded composer. With just a high-school education, Zappa was essentially self-taught in music. Funny, literate, and extremely articulate, Zappa always occupied his own unique niche in music. A legendary workaholic, he created hundreds of recorded and written musical works, spread over some 60 music albums released during his lifetime (plus several posthumous releases). Almost all his compositions were original or collaborative efforts and there is no doubt that he would have produced hundreds more had he lived longer. In addition to his many music albums, Frank Zappa also crafted feature-length and short films, long-format music videos, music video clips, graphic art, album covers, books, and many other works. A true renaissance man in every sense, Frank Zappa died of cancer in 1993. He was 53 years old.
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