How much is Frank Zappa worth?
| Net Worth: | $40 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Singer |
| Date of Birth: | December 21, 1940 (aged 52) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.83 m |
About Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa, an American singer-songwriter, pioneering rock guitarist, modernist composer, multi-instrumentalist, humorist, film director, and bandleader, was born on December 21, 1940. His net worth is believed to be $40 million. The nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity, and contemporaneous criticism of American culture are hallmarks of Frank Vincent Zappa’s work. He had two marriages, had four children, and passed away from prostate cancer in Los Angeles on December 4, 1993.
Zappa’s musical legacy is perhaps best summarized by Zappa himself, in his song, “Packard Goose” from his 1979 rock opera, Joe’s Garage:
“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…”
In sheer numbers alone, Zappa’s catalog is stunning:
• 91 albums, including 62 (solo and with The Mothers of Invention) during his lifetime, and 29 released since his death
• 22 singles
• 13 compilation albums
• 6 box sets and official releases of bootleg recording
As original as they come
If you were to choose 91 albums at random from Frank Zappa’s discography, you might hear rock, jazz, classical, experimental music, or a mix of various genres.
The list of activities Zappa engaged in during his career would be considerably broader than the range of musical genres. He was a guitarist and singer-songwriter who also produced and engineered albums and directed movies and music videos. He worked in advertising for a short while and created several of his own album covers.
Zappa was a mystery. He disapproved of drug users but spent most of his life smoking tobacco. When he performed, he had long hair, a long mustache, and dressed in a variety of tie-dye, plaid, and denim combinations. He appeared in a traditional business suit, short hair, a clean shave, and a perfectly trimmed mustache to testify before a Congressional committee about censorship.
He passionately embraced nonconformity because it was who he was, not just a pose. He was not particularly fond of organized religion or public education. He was a fervent supporter of political activism and free speech. The names of his children—Dweezil, Moon Unit, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan, and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen—clearly reflect his iconoclastic outlook on life.
He was a well-known inhabitant of Laurel Canyon, the 1960s and 1970s musical haven in Los Angeles, where he resided in a log house with a bowling alley in the basement.
Under a black cloud
Zappa was an unhealthy youngster. He had earaches, sinus issues, and asthma throughout his childhood. The incident that served as the inspiration for Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.” occurred when he was an adult when all of his band’s equipment burned in a fire sparked by an audience member during a show in Montreux, Switzerland. This unfortunate month was December 1971. A week later, at a concert in London, a different spectator pushed Frank Zappa off the stage and onto the concrete. He was incapacitated for about two years as a result of the injuries.
Zappa spent a lot of time in court in the second half of the 1970s, bringing and defending legal claims against his manager and record company.
Early in his career, he became acquainted with Don Van Vliet (a.k.a. Captain Beefheart), another iconoclastic artist, and the two worked together on projects, but they eventually fell out and split up.
Ultimately, Zappa’s lyrics reflected his thoughts on social and political issues as well as images and events from his entire life.
The end, and beyond
Zappa was found to have prostate cancer in 1990, which was too advanced to be adequately treated. Three years later, he passed away (or, as his family stated in their announcement, “left on his final tour”). At the time of his passing in 1993, Frank Zappa had a $40 million net worth.
From Alice Cooper to George Winston, from The Beatles to The Tubes, from Black Sabbath to “Weird Al” Yankovic, a lengthy number of musicians credit Frank Zappa as a key musical influence.
Through previously unreleased studio and live performances, the Zappa Family Trust, led by the artist’s widow Gail Zappa, has preserved his music after his passing.
Under the name Zappa Plays Zappa, Dweezil Zappa frequently performs the music of his late father.
