75 years ago today, Frank Zappa was born in Baltimore, MD and would have been 75 today. Zappa died on 12/4/93 but had an unparalleled career as a musician, songwriter, composer, record producer, actor and filmmaker. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist and there still is a flow of archival material being released. The list of artists influenced by Zappa is endless as he laid the foundation for satire, humor in rock and was a proponent of free speech and non commercialism – ensuring that music remain an art form that should not be influenced by business decisions. Watch Zappa’s full performance from 10/13/1978 at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ. This night is notable not only for containing two of the most memorable performances of the 1978 World Tour, but this concert was also bass player Patrick O’hearn’s debut gig with Zappa.
