Frank Zappa Complete Discography Filed Under: About Zappa: Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 ? December 4, 1993) was an American composer, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral, and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. In his teens, he acquired a taste for percussion-based avant-garde composers like Edgard Varèse and 1950s rhythm and blues music. He began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands?he later switched to electric guitar. He was a self-taught composer and performer and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often impossible to categorize. His 1966 debut album with the Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. His later albums shared this eclectic and experimental approach, irrespective of whether the fundamental format was one of rock, jazz or classical. He wrote the lyrics to all his songs, which?often humorously?reflected his iconoclastic view of established political processes, structures and movements. He was a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate for freedom of speech and the abolition of censorship. Zappa was a highly productive and prolific artist and he gained widespread critical acclaim. Many of his albums are considered essential in rock history, and he is regarded as one of the most original guitarists and composers of his time; he remains a major influence on musicians and composers. He had some commercial success, particularly in Europe, and for most of his career was able to work as an independent artist. Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. Zappa was married to Kathryn J. “Kay” Sherman from 1960 to 1964, and in 1967 he married Adelaide Gail Sloatman, with whom he remained until his death from prostate cancer in 1993. They had four children: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen. Gail Zappa manages the businesses of her late husband under the name the Zappa Family Trust. Discography Freak Out! June 1966 Absolutely Free June 1967 We’re Only In It For The Money March 1968 Lumpy Gravy May 1968 Cruising With Ruben & The Jets December 1968 Mothermania March 1969 Uncle Meat April 1969 Hot Rats October 1969 Burnt Weeny Sandwich February 1970 Weasels Ripped My Flesh August 1970 Chunga’s Revenge October 1970 Fillmore East, June 1971 August 1971 Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels October 1971 Just Another Band From L.A. March 1972 Waka/Jawaka July 1972 The Grand Wazoo November 1972 Over-Nite Sensation September 1973 Apostrophe (’) March 1974 Roxy & Elsewhere September 1974 One Size Fits All June 1975 Bongo Fury October 1975 Zoot Allures October 1976 Zappa In New York March 1978 Studio Tan September 1978 Sleep Dirt January 1979 Sheik Yerbouti March 1979 Orchestral Favorites May 1979 Joe’s Garage Act I September 1979 Joe’s Garage Acts II & III November 1979 Tinsel Town Rebellion May 1981 Shut Up ‘N Play Yer Guitar May 1981 Shut Up ‘N Play Yer Guitar Some More May 1981 Return Of The Son Of Shut Up ‘N Play Yer Guitar May 1981 You Are What You Is September 1981 Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch May 1982 The Man From Utopia March 1983 Baby Snakes March 1983 London Symphony Orchestra Vol. I June 1983 Boulez conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger August 1984 Them Or Us October 1984 Thing-Fish November 1984 Francesco Zappa November 1984 The Old Masters Box One April 1985 Frank Zappa Meets The Mothers Of Prevention November 1985 Does Humor Belong In Music? January 1986 The Old Masters Box Two November 1986 Jazz From Hell November 1986 London Symphony Orchestra Vol. II September 1987 The Old Masters Box Three December 1987 Guitar April 1988 You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 1 May 1988 You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 2 October 1988 Broadway The Hard Way October 1988 You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 3 November 1989 The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life April 1991 Make A Jazz Noise Here June 1991 You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 4 June 1991 You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 5 July 1992 You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 6 July 1992 Playground Psychotics October 1992 Ahead Of Their Time April 1993 The Yellow Shark November 1993 Civilization Phaze III December 1994 The Lost Episodes February 1996 Läther September 1996 Frank Zappa Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa, a memorial tribute October 1996 Have I Offended Someone? April 1997 Mystery Disc September 1998 Everything Is Healing Nicely December 1999 FZ:OZ August 2002 Halloween February 2003