Born Frank Vincent Zappa, December 21, 1940 in Baltimore, Maryland. Died on December 4th, 1993. Frank Zappa was one of the most accomplished composers of the rock era. His music combines an understanding of and appreciation for such contemporary classical figures as Igor Stravinsky, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Edgard Varèse with an affection for late '50s doo-wop rock & roll and a facility for the guitar-heavy rock that dominated pop in the '70s. But Zappa was also a satirist whose reserves of scorn seemed bottomless and whose wicked sense of humor and absurdity have delighted his numerous fans, even when his lyrics crossed over the broadest bounds of taste. Finally, Zappa was a very prolific record-maker in his time, turning out massive amounts of music on his own Barking Pumpkin Records label and through distribution deals with Rykodisc and Rhino Entertainment Company after long, unhappy associations with industry giants like Warner Bros. Records and the now-defunct MGM. In the '80s, Zappa gained the rights to his old albums and began to reissue them, at first on his own and then through Rykodisc. He wrote his autobiography and embarked on a world tour in 1988. That was the end of his live performing. In late 1991, it was confirmed that Zappa was seriously ill with cancer. Nevertheless, his schedule of album releases continued to be rapid. The Zappa Family Trust continues to this day with posthumous releases and remasters of the old catalog.