Mention the name Frank Zappa to a lot of people that lived through the 60s and 70s and you’ll like get a response that they were around when he was just getting popular and followed his career all the way up to the 90s when he passed away. Reading his bio it might seem that he didn’t really manage to stay as healthy as a person should from their younger years to middle age, as his family lived near a mustard gas manufacturer and Frank had a series of ailments growing up. Even when he was an adult he still had a few serious injuries that resulted from other incidents. One good example is the time when a jealous boyfriend who resented that his girlfriend loved Zappa so much tossed him off a stage onto a concrete floor. For as great as his legend was during his time Zappa dealt with a number of issues that stemmed from illness and injury, but he kept pushing forward all the same, right up until the end when he couldn’t perform as much as he used to.
Here are a few of his best songs from a long and lively career.
5. Black Napkins
Of all the things can be said about Frank, and there’s many no doubt, he was more than a little skilled at what he did and knew how to get the crowd to go along with him. He was something of a showman and knew how to keep the audience entertained and satisfied a lot of times. It was a different era, that’s for certain, and his acts didn’t always go in for the flash and pomp that so many people enjoyed throughout the years, but he had something else, a quality that adhered mostly to the music and played a quiet celebration to the soul of the tracks he laid down. That intrinsic feeling is what allowed a lot of people gravitate towards his music.
4. Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow
So the title of the track is something that a lot of people would no doubt snicker at back then and probably still do now. But while some people might not have taken the song or the artist seriously because of this the music is quite nice and offers a different kind of cadence that you don’t find in a lot of songs. Frank was kind of known for doing things his own way just like a lot of other people, but in this manner it was kind of hard to get into what he did. Those that enjoyed his music however were those that found the rhythm in songs like this and thoroughly enjoyed them. Once you get the beat it’s pretty easy.
3. Cosmik Debris
The use of instruments in his songs was absolutely phenomenal, as was the way in which he told a story throughout his tracks. This is was the era in which telling a story with the music was a bit different since some artists decided to use the music as more of a background. You don’t see that kind of thing as much anymore for some reason, but perhaps one of these days it will be a trend that might come around again. But back in this era Frank was one of the best on the mic and the most entertaining when it came to musicians. He was odd, there was no doubt, but he was one of the best at what he did.
2. Peaches en Regalia
When you look at the music of this era and then look at music now you can see some interesting differences but also some intriguing similarities. After all if you want to know where the music of today came from you’ve got to look at the past at times. Frank Zappa’s style isn’t really seen as much anymore but if you pay attention from time to time you can hear the influence that he and so many others are responsible for when it comes to modern music. Some might never want to admit it, but the music from this era was a big shift in the music industry since it was constantly evolving and become something that people hadn’t heard before but wanted to hear more of.
1. Bobby Brown Goes Down
The one thing about musicians is that they’re usually insanely popular so long as they can bring something that people want to hear. Frank Zappa wasn’t everyone’s favorite but as you can see from this video he had the attention of the ladies as this was the time when undergarments were still being tossed at performers to show their appreciation and possibly give them an invitation for later. But Frank was a showman, and he knew how to keep the attention of the people, as you can plainly see.
He was one of a kind, that’s for certain.
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