The Mothers of Invention

The Mothers oflnvention were led bycomposer, guitarist, singer, andbandleader FrankZappa, a singular musical figure during a performingand recording career that lasted from the 1960s to the'9Os. Hisdisparate influences included doo wop music and avant-gardeclassical music; although the Mothers were called a rock & roll band formuch of their years together, Zappa used them to create a hybrid stylethat bordered on jazz and complicated, modern serious music. As if hismusic were not challenging enough, he overlayit with highly satiricaland sometimes abstractly humorous lyrics and song titles that markedhim as coming out of a provocative literary tradition that included Beatpoets like Allen Ginsberg and edgycomedians like Lenny Bruce,Nominally, he was a popular musician, but his recordings rarely earnedsignificant airplayor sales, yet he was able to gain control of hisrecorded work and issue it successfully through his own labels whilealso touring internationally, in part because of the respect he earnedfrom a dedicated cult of fans and manyserious musicians, and alsobecause he was an articulate spokesman who promoted himself into amedia star through extensive interviews he considered to be a part ofhis creative effort just like his music.