This Day in Music
December 21st
Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not truth. Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. Music is THE BEST.
Remembering a Legend
1940: American composer, multi-instrumentalist, musical genius, and writer of the introductory poem above, Frank Zappa, is born in Baltimore, Maryland. The words “genius” and “legend” get thrown around all too lightly these days, but they absolutely apply in the case of “FZ.” [Editor: I’m guilty of using “legend” nearly everyday, but it’s a main theme of this blog.]
With a biography too extensive to summarize here, some of the facts about his incredible life are listed below:
First appeared on TV on the Steve Allen Show on March 4, 1963, where he played a bicycle like a musical instrument;
Founded The Mothers of Invention, Studio Z, Straight Records, Bizarre Records, DiscReet Records, Barking Pumpkin Records, Zappa Records, and Barfko Swill;
Avoided the draft into Vietnam in March of 1965 by earning a criminal record and spending nine days in county jail subsequent to being entrapped into making audio “pornography” by local police in Cucamonga, California;
Never used drugs and would not allow the members of his band to use drugs;
Stood up against government censorship, culminating in his excellent September 19, 1985 testimony to congress about the plans of the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Centre - a cabal of hideous congressional wives led by the odious Tipper Gore) to censor albums with parental warnings;
Appointed by the first president of the Czech Republic (now Czechia), Vaclav Havel, shortly after the Velvet Revolution of January, 1990, as Czechia’s Special Ambassador to the West on Trade, Culture, and Tourism, a role he took seriously until forced out by the U.S. Gov’t;
Released 62 original albums while alive;
Five albums he completed before his death were released posthumously;
Dozens more albums based on material stored in his vault have also been compiled, mixed, and released posthumously;
Married to Gail, with whom he had four children, Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet, and Diva;
Pioneered digital music through the adoption and use of the Synclavier, with which he made the digital-specific albums “Jazz from Hell” (except for the track St. Etienne [sic]) and “Francesco Zappa” (not Frank, but an actual 18th-century composer with the same name), along with its use integrated into dozens of other projects;
Directed 8 movies, including “200 Motels,” “Uncle Meat,” and “Baby Snakes;”
Influenced by composers Igor Stravinsky, Anton Webern, and Edgard Varese;
Influenced by blues artists “Screamin’” Jay Hawkins, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, and “Howlin’” Wolf;
Teenage friend of Don Van Vliet, known professionally as Captain Beefheart, for whom he produced the third Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band album, “Trout Mask Replica;”
His works were performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kent Nagano;
Posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995;
Won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1988 for “Jazz from Hell,” a second Grammy for Best Recording Package - Boxed for “Civilization Phase III” in 1996, and a final Grammy for Lifetime Achievement in 1998, along with several other nominations over the years;
The list of artists who cite FZ as an influence is too extensive to itemize fully, but includes Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Alice Cooper, Soft Machine, Phish, Les Claypool, Black Sabbath, Dream Theatre, Brian Eno, and “Weird Al” Yankovic;
An army of drummers and guitarists revere him;
Guest starred on Miami Vice on the episode “Payback,” aired March 14, 1986, in which he played drug dealer Mario Fuente, a role he accepted at the behest of his son Dweezil, who was a fan of the show;
Appeared on The Monkees TV show on March 11, 1968, wherein he played the role of Mike Nesmith, and played/destroyed a car as accompaniment to The Mothers of Invention song, “Mother People;”
Performed a cameo in The Monkees movie, “Head,” released November 6, 1968;
Acted and performed on Saturday Night Live on December 11, 1976 and October 21, 1978;
Frank Zappa died on December 4, 1993 at only 53 years old due to complications from prostate cancer. He is interred in an unmarked grave at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Actor and director, Alex Winter, famous for playing Bill in the “Bill & Ted” movies with Keanu Reeves, made a documentary movie about Zappa, released in 2020, titled simply, “Zappa.” It perfectly captures Zappa’s life and is recommended viewing.
Editor: On a personal note, Zappa is my favourite composer and musician.
Releases
1968: Country music troubadour Glen Campbell reaches No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with his now-classic LP, “Wichita Lineman.” The album spent 46 weeks on the chart.
1983: Los Angeles rockers Van Halen release the single “Jump,” the first from their forthcoming album, “1984.” It was the band’s most successful single, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and certified Gold. Though it achieved wide popularity, core fans of the group were disappointed with its softer, synth-based sound.
The Daily Elvis
1970: A stretch limousine pulls up to The White House. Inside, a bodyguard hands over a written request to the gate security agent. After a two-hour wait, Elvis walks into the Oval Office in full Elvis regalia, and gives President Richard Nixon a chrome-plated Colt .45 pistol. Elvis was there to offer his assistance to Nixon’s ill-conceived “war on drugs.” Nixon agrees to make Elvis a “federal agent-at-large” and gives him a Narcotics Bureau badge. The meeting remained confidential at Elvis’s request, until January 27, 1972, when The Washington Post broke the story. The incident was the inspiration for the Netflix animated series “Agent Elvis,” with Matthew McConaughey voicing The King. It’s a kitchy good show!
Pictured: 23-year old Frank Zappa teaching TV host Steve Allen how to play bicycle in 1963.
