Mother! : The Frank Zappa Story

by Gray, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780859653022
• ISBN10: 0859653021
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-07-01
• Publisher: Pub Group West

Summary

"When Frank Zappa died on December 4th, 1993, he was mourned not just by the music world but also by the international press, as one of the most popular and iconoclastic figures in the history of rock music. His band the Mothers of Invention was as much a formative part of the 1960s West Coast scene as the Grateful Dead, and his solo album Hot Rats influenced a generation of guitarists. His work as a classical composer was conducted - live and on record - by the distinguished conductors such as Pierre Boulez and Kent Nagano. But how much was actually known about this eccentric, yet multi-talented musician? Mother! The Frank Zappa Story reveals the tragically curtailed life and music of one of rock's most uncompromising personalities." "Here, using his inside knowledge and experience, Michael Gray traces the development of Zappa's life and career from his childhood in Maryland, his move to California and the formation of the Mothers of Invention, focusing on the pioneering work Zappa continued to do at the cutting edge of music technology." "A workaholic and perfectionist, Zappa never compromised. Until he was diagnosed with cancer in 1991, Frank Zappa continued to play to packed venues across the USA, Europe and the Far East. Mother! The Frank Zappa Story draws on a plethora of autobiographical material gleaned from the normally unco-operative but brutally articulate Zappa, to provide a timely reappraisal of one of the truly innovative talents of post-war popular music."--BOOK JACKET.

Table of Contents

Thankz	6	(1)
Introduction	7	(4)
Let's Make The Water Turn Black: Zappa's Childhood & Adolescence In Brown-Shoes-Don't-Make-It America	11	(25)
We Got This Car, When It Hits the Wall: Early Attempts At Self-Promotion, Selling Jingles & Earning Money From Music	36	(16)
Goodnight Ruben & the Jets: The Metamorphosis Into The Mothers Of Invention	52	(21)
Freak Out/Overnite Sensation: Into The International Rock Scene, Smelling Bad and Armed With Vegetables	73	(30)
What Will This Evening Bring Me This Morning?/Would you Go All the Way?: More Of The Frank Zappa & The Mothers Chronology	103	(33)
Revised Music For Guitar & Low-Budget Orchestra/The Duke Loses and Regains His Chops: The End Of The Frank Zappa & The Mothers Chronology	136	(35)
None Of The Above/The Ocean Is The Ultimate Solution: The S.S. Zappa Sails Alone	171	(17)
Pedro's Dowry/The March To Dupree's Paradise: Orchestral Favourites, Porn Wars & The End Of The Road	188	(23)
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore?: More Trouble Every Day, Bamboozled By Love	211	(30)
Dizcography	241