Frank Zappa

Frank Vincent Zappa (21 December 1940 – 4 December 1993) was an American composer, guitarist, satirist, and bandleader born in Baltimore, Maryland, whose output of more than sixty albums defied genre throughout a thirty-year career. His 1966 debut with the Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, was a key influence on the development of the concept album, and his later work ranged from orchestral composition to Synclavier-based electronic music. He testified before the US Senate in 1985 in opposition to music censorship legislation, and his Grammy-winning album Jazz from Hell (1986) was realised almost entirely on the Synclavier. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.