FROM THE PAST

29 years ago Frank Zappa died: five curiosities about one of the best musicians of the twentieth century

Frank Vincent Zappa, composer, guitarist and singer, is considered one of the greatest artistic geniuses of the twentieth century, not only from a musical point of view.

It is impossible to fit his style into a single musical genre: Frank Zappa he tried any sound, from rock to blues to classical music and fusion also experimenting with totally new genres.

Zappa died on December 4, 1993, at the age of 52, from cancer. In 1995, the singer-songwriter was introduced to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in a moving ceremony presided over by his daughter Moon and Lou Reed, representing the Velvet Undergound.

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Almost 30 years have passed since FrankZappa 
Frank Vincent Zappa, composer, guitarist and singer of Italian origin, is considered one of the greatest artistic geniuses of the twentieth century, not only from a musical point of view. It is impossible to fit his style into a single musical genre: Frank Zappa has tried any sound,  from rock to blues to classical music and fusion, also experimenting totally new genres.Zappa died on December 4, 1993, at the age of 52, due to cancer.  In 1995, the singer-songwriter was introduced to  theRock and Roll Hall of Fame, in a moving ceremony presided over by his daughter Moon and Lou Reed, representing the  Velvet Undergound. 
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Before he died, Zappa wanted to run for president of the United States
Even shortly before his death Frank never lost his irony. Zappa announced that he wanted to run for President of the United States, being at odds with George H. W. Bush and former President Regan. In particular, the musician claimed that he could run because he could not have done worse than what Ronald Regan did.
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Zappa approached the world of music playing drums
Although Zappa is remembered as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, his first passion was percussion and drums. In particular, the singer debuted as a drummer in 1956 in a school R&B band called Ramblers.
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Smoke on the Water was born thanks to Frank Zappa
One of the most famous songs of the Deep Purple is inspired by an episode that really happened, which had as its protagonist the musician of Italian origins. In 1971, in fact, the Deep Purple were in a hotel on Lake Geneva, precisely in Montreux: from the windows of their hotel the members of the band noticed the burning casino. The fire was caused by a spectator who fired a signal rocket while he was attending the FrankZappa concert with the Mothers of Invention. 
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To Zappa are dedicated a bacterium, a mollusc and... one star!
The name Frank Zappa is also linked to biology. Scientists in fact named after him: a bacterium (P. Zappae), named for its unpredictable behavior (as well as that of Zappa), a fish and a jellyfish (Zappa confluentus and Phialella Zappai), a spider (Phialella Zappai), named for a black dot that resembles the mustache of the singer-songwriter, and finally an asteroid (3834 Zappafrank).
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As a young man Zappa was fond of explosives
Since he was a child Frank was passionate about explosive and pyrotechnic material, with which he loved to play. Once, as a child, while sitting in front of the garage at home, he was handling used fireworks tubes and loading them with explosives: however, the singer-songwriter did something wrong and the pipe exploded, causing a real crater on the floor!
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