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For many devoted
followers of Frank Zappa’s music and iconoclastic personality, the
thought of Frank “enjoying” the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is dubious.
Frank Zappa might have placed his induction
in Cleveland’s Rock Hall in the same category as other tributes
by rock
journalists, record executives, and radio station programmers
that came very late in his career. Zappa fought these guys for years
just to stay in the business and he knew they never really understood
what he was up to musically.

“For
each type of music,” he once said, “there are listeners who think
the reviewers don’t know what they’re talking about. These listeners,
when excited about a certain group or style of music, will fight for
it in their hometowns. These are the people who have made it possible
for me to stay in music through the years — and I thank them for
it.”

To
some, Zappa remains an experimenter, a “fringe artist,” or worse (as
recently dismissed by a work friend as “60’s drug music.”) Zappa’s
mentor, the classical composer, Edgar
Varese, summed it up when he disapproved of all the “isms,” and
called himself “One-all alone.” Zappa certainly was that — an individual.

Frank
admired and promoted Varese throughout his career. Varese’s quote
— “The modern-day composer refuses to die” — was a motif on Zappa’s
record covers. Frank used that idea repeatedly in his interviews
and publicity. (For a complete understanding of Edgar Varese —
and, specifically, why Zappa thought of him as his own musical hero
— listen to “The Complete Works” by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra,
Asko Ensemble, conducted by Riccardo Chailly, on London) or visit Edgard
Varese: his Life and Works)

I was 13 when
Zappa’s first record –The Mother’s of Invention’s FREAK
OUT — was released in 1966 . I bought it on the merits of its
bizarre cover art alone. I knew nothing about this “group” and had
never heard any of their music. I loved it at first listen. I immediately
thought I understood Zappa. He was telling me that it was somehow
OK to be me, to be human.

Beneath the outlandish schtick, disparate chordal structure, and
poly-rhythms, there was a humanist here — cutting through the pop
culture with cutting-edge songs like “Who
Are The Brain Police?” and “Trouble Coming Every Day.” I was
“hooked on Zappa” from the beginning.

For quite awhile
I felt alone in my appreciation for these outrageous characters,
as my parents really hated the “Mothers” and most of my friends
were into the ultra-hip music of the 60’s, not the retro “do-wop”
of “Go Cry On Somebody Else’s Shoulders” or the strange, seemingly
unorganized sounds of “Return of Monster Magnet.”

However, I
was notalone and have since personally met a wide array of
folks — from a Swedish scientist visiting Georgetown University
(who was an even bigger fan than me) to a fireworks vendor in North
Carolina’s “Outer Banks” (who had a bigger “live tape” collection)
who agreed with me that Frank Zappa was one of the 20th Century’s
greatest musicians.

Of course,
the sold-out crowds at Zappa’s concerts spoke for his popularity
— but “greatest musician?” Isn’t that stretching the Zappa hype
beyond support?

Here are a
few quotes from others who share my opinion of Frank Zappa — a
truly “one of a kind” artist, and, yes folks, a musical genius.

“I
was surprised that someone could be so multi-talented, such a good
writer, and so articulate a composer. Moreover, he was a virtuoso
technician on guitar and had an incredible sense of humor. He had
all those skills and the ability to conceive, write, and
orchestrate very complex orchestral scores.

— Kent Nagano, music director of the Opera de Lyon. Paris.

“It was
important that Frank be shown to the world not as a rock star, but
as a serious composer.”

— Dr. Dieter
Rexroth, director of the Frankfurth Festival

“My first
reaction was that I couldn’t believe it. When I learned that Frank
Zappa was a composer of serious classical music, I told my partners,
“Okay, there’s some of these pop stars who try to do this kind of
stuff, but I am sure that he is just a beginner.” I was really surprised
when I saw the high quality of compositions like “Mo ‘N Herb’s Vacation.”

— Andreas
Molich-Zebhauser, director of the Deutsche Ensemble Academy

“Frank was
always respectful and very straightforward. If some problem came
up, he’d ask what I thought could be done about it, because he didn’t
want to put any ideas in my head. He wanted to know what my thoughts were.”

— Aynsley
Dunbar, former Zappa drummer, 1970-3

“Americans
are really suspicious of anything cerebral, and Zappa didn’t disguise
his intelligence well enough. In addition to being a man of wide-ranging
talent, one amazing thing that always struck me about Frank was
his melodic dimension…..Frank Zappa was my Elvis.”

— Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons

“Never stop
until your good becomes better, and your better becomes the best.” — Frank Zappa

I have continued to enthusiastically follow Zappa’s career through
60-plus commercial releases over a 34 -year span. I had the advantage
and pleasure of seeing Zappa perform at:

Atlantic City
NJ — Atlantic City Race Track — August 3, 1969 (w/
Ray Collins, Roy Estrada, Jimmy Carl Black, Billy Mundi, Ian Underwood,
Don Preston, Bunk Gardner, Motorhead Sherwood)

Baltimore MD
— Lyric Theatre —October
17, 1971 (w/ Mark Volman, Howard Kaylan, Jeff
Simmons, Aynsley Dunbar, Ian Underwood, George Duke)

Washington DC
— DAR Constitution Hall — November 11, 1972 (w/ Tony Duran, Jerry Kessler, Dave Parlato, Jim Gordon, Tom Raney,
Ruth Underwood, Ian Underwood, Bruce Fowler, Malcolm McNabb, Tom
Malone, Earle Dumler, Glenn Ferris, Sal Marquez, Ken Shroyer, Mike
Altschul, Joanne McNabb, Jay Migliori, Ray Reed, Charles Owens)

Anapolis,
MD — Carr’s Beach — Summer, 1973 ( w/ Jean
Luc Ponty, Tom Fowler, Ralph Humphrey, Ruth Underwood, Ian Underwood,
George Duke, Bruce Fowler, Sal Marquez, Kin Vassey) Recently
I received a tape recording of this concert from Bruce Bubier, along
with some great notes, which I will post here in the near future.
Thanks Bruce. (Contact me at SMooore@aol.com for info on how to
obtain a copy of this concert)

College Park
MD — Ritchie Coliseum, University Of Maryland — April 3, 1974

Washington
DC — Constitution Hall — May 4, 1974 (w/
Jeff Simmons, Tom Fowler, Chester Thompson, Ralph Humphrey, Napoleon
Murphy Brock, Don Preston, George Duke, Bruce Fowler, Walt Fowler)

Largo MD —
Capitol Center — November 4, 1976 (w/
FZ, Roy Estrada, Terry Bozzio, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Andre Lewis,
Norma Bell)

College Park
MD — University Of Maryland, Cole Fieldhouse — October 29, 1978 (w/
Patrick O’Hearn, , Denny Walley, Warren Cucurullo. L. Shankar ,
Arthur Barrow, Vinnie Colaiuta, Ed Mann, Tommy Mars, Peter Wolf)

Washington
DC — Warner Theatre — February
8, 1988 (w/
Ike Willis, Mike Keneally, Scott Thunes, Chad Wackerman, Ed Mann,
Bobby Martin, Bruce Fowler, Walt Fowler, Paul Carman, Albert Wing,
Kurt McGettrick)

Highlights:
At the 1969 Atlantic City Pop Festival (“King Kong”) and in concerts
at Baltimore’s Lyric Theatre (“Mud Shark” and “Billy the Mountain”
in one afternoon), Washington, DC’s Constitution Hall midnight show
with the Grand Wazoo orchestral line-up), at Carr’s beach near Annapolis
(where Frank sang a long, probably ad-libbed song about Godzilla
roaming his birthplace, Baltimore), and at my alma matter, Maryland
University in 1974– where I finally got a chance to talk to the
man backstage and tell him how much I admired him.

On that occasion,
Frank and Don
Preston — one of the original Mothers of Invention, who toured
with Frank in the 70’s — were drinking a beer in the arena locker
room after the show. I went backstage and introduced myself as a
fan. He listened to my gushing for about three minutes, shook my
hand, and told me to get out and vote. It doesn’t sound like much
of a meeting of the minds, but it was enough for me. (For a “REAL”
story about meeting Frank, please check Zappa expert Lewis Saul’s adventure)

The last time
I saw Frank in person was in 1988 at the small Warner Theatre, a
few blocks from the White House. Frank played three nights with
what would be his last group — and last tour. He called it the
“best band you NEVER heard” because the group disbanded early into
the tour, falling short of it’s cross-country US goal.

Thankfully,
that last show was the best I ever saw Frank perform. He was relaxed
and in a great, talkative mood — and very funny. His wife, Gail, was “in the house” that night, although I couldn’t spot her. Frank
performed a fantastic “Zoot Allures” which is my favorite guitar
instrumental in his catalog. He played the “Congressional” medley on his synclavier,
and the band did two covers, “I Am The Walrus,” and “Stairway to
Heaven.” Zappa and Ike
Willis shared vocals with guitarist, Mike
Keneally. Just outstanding all the way down the line. (Just
recently saw Frank’s Barcelona, Spain video which includes “Walrus.”
What’s missing is the audience participation I recall at the Warner
theatre. There, everyone was singing the chorus and the “coo coo
cachoobs”)

Over the years
I have become completely convinced that Frank Zappa’s musical genius
was beyond genuine. Again, I am certainly not alone. I began playing
guitar (also in 1966) and the deeper I get into the instrument,
the more astonished I am at Zappa’s unique, yet amazingly concentrated
guitar riffing. Zappa is the only musical composer you can name that covered his bawdy, pseudo-porn “comedy” music
(“Half a Dozen Provocative Squats” comes to mind) with the same
dedication that he showered on his classical compositions (e.g.,
anything on “The
Yellow Shark.”)