Frank Zappa

Latest about Frank Zappa

LEFT: Frank Zappa performs in 1980. RIGHT: David Bowie performs on the Serious Moonlight tour, Canada, 9th August 1983.
David Bowie poached Adrian Belew from right under Frank Zappa’s nose: “How’d you like to be in my band?”

By Phil Weller Published

After spotting the guitarist at the side of the stage, Bowie offered him a spot on his tour — much to Zappa’s displeasure.

Guitarists
Dweezil Zappa performs at the Zappa Plays Zappa concert at Emo's on May 1, 2015 in Austin
Dweezil Zappa on his new tour of Frank Zappa’s music and working with Eddie Van Halen: “I would have to show him certain licks” 

By Gary Graff Published

Dweezil recalls collaborating with Van Halen on his ambitious “What the Hell Was I Thinking?” project and discusses the latest edition of his long-running tour celebrating Frank Zappa’s music 

Guitarists
LEFT: Ian Anderson photographed in London, on July 1, 2013. RIGHT: Frank Zappa performs live on stage at Ahoy' Rotterdam, Netherlands, 16th September 1984.
Frank Zappa was dying and wanted to speak to Ian Anderson

By Phil Weller Published

Anderson was a huge Zappa fan, but the musician’s public attacks on Jethro Tull left him unsure how to respond when Zappa reached out in his final weeks

Guitarists
1990: Studio portrait of American rock musician Frank Zappa (1940-1993) smoking a cigarette.
Adrian Belew on the last time he saw Frank Zappa: “His voice was a whisper”

By Phil Weller Published

More than 30 years after Zappa’s death, Belew shares memories of visiting the ailing guitarist — and the unexpected phone call that gave him closure

Guitarists
LEFT: "One to One" Concert - 8/30/72 At the request of Geraldo Rivera, shortly after the release of his album "Sometime in New York CIty, agreed to headline two charity concerts to benefit the Willowbrook Home, a facility for learning disabled children. The event was called "One To One", both concerts were filmed and recorded, with excerpts broadcast on ABC. RIGHT: Frank Zappa in his studio 1974 in Los Angeles, California..
Frank Zappa said John Lennon took credit for one of his songs

By Phil Weller Published

Zappa accused Lennon of repackaging his song “King Kong” as if he and Yoko Ono had written it themselves

Guitarists
LEFT: Jimi Hendrix at Monterey Pop, June 17, 1967, Monterey, California, ZUMA Press, Inc. RIGHT: Alice Cooper, Sep-75, Copenhagen, Denmark
Famous shock rocker says one unexpected visitor changed his band’s fortunes overnight

By Phil Weller Published

The singer reveals how a chance encounter with a music legend led to an introduction that shaped his career for the next 55 years

Guitarists
1990: Studio portrait of American rock musician Frank Zappa (1940-1993) smoking a cigarette.
“His voice was a whisper.” Adrian Belew on the last time he saw Frank Zappa — and the memory he prefers to remember

By Phil Weller Published

More than 30 years after Zappa’s death, Belew shares memories of visiting the ailing guitarist — and the unexpected phone call that gave him closure

Guitarists
LEFT: Frank Zappa with Jimi Hendrix's burned and restored Stratocaster from the 1968 Miami Pop Festival, featured here on the cover of Guitar Player's January 1977 issue. RIGHT: Steve Vai with his Ibanez JEM 7 guitar, taken on June 15, 2009.
Steve Vai on the radical guitar mods he learned from Frank Zappa

By Phil Weller Published

Zappa was never a conservationist when it came to his guitars. That lit a fuse under a young Steve Vai

Guitarists
American musicians Steve Vai (left), on guitar, and Frank Zappa (1940 - 1993) perform on stage at the Palladium, New York, New York, October 31, 1981.
Steve Vai on Frank Zappa's prophetic words about his career

By Phil Weller Published

Vai had was a young, awestruck kid when he joined Zappa's band. Frank saw something else

Guitarists
LEFT: Frank Zappa plays his Baby Snakes SG onstage circa 1975 in Los Angeles, California. RIGHT: Zappa's Baby Snakes Gibson SG
Frank Zappa’s famous Baby Snakes SG is heading to auction. Here’s why it matters

By Phil Weller Published

The heavily modded SG copy was a mainstay in his arsenal and is expected to sell for half a million dollars

Electric Guitars
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