Zappa: A Biography [Paperback]

Barry Miles (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2005

Ten years after his death, Frank Zappa continues to influence popular culture. With almost one hundred recordings still in print, Zappa remains a classic American icon. Scores of bands have been influenced by (and have shamelessly imitated) his music, and a talented roster of musicians passed through Zappa’s bands. Now comes the definitive biography of Zappa by Barry Miles, best-selling author of Hippie and Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now, who knew Zappa personally and was present at the recording of some of his most important albums. Miles follows Zappa from his sickly Italian-American childhood in the 1940s (his father worked for the military and was used to test the effectiveness of new biological warfare agents) to his youthful pursuit of what was a lifelong dream: becoming a classical composer. Zappa brings together the many different personalities of this music legend together for the first time: the self-taught musician and composer who gained fame with the “rock” band the Mothers of Invention; the political antagonist who mocked presidents while being invited by Vaclav Havel to represent Czechoslovakia’s cultural interests in the United States, and Zappa the family man who was married to the same woman for over thirty years.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pop culture biographer Miles (Paul McCartney; Ginsberg; etc.) paints an engrossing portrait of the troubled musical genius who died of prostate cancer in 1993 at age 52. Zappa endured a peripatetic youth and an early brush with the law that fueled his trademark anti-authoritarian strain; his musical brilliance eventually transformed him from class clown into one of rock's major icons, with such landmark records as We're Only in It for the Money and Joe's Garage. Miles skillfully weaves together the major beats and minor notes of Zappa's remarkable life, no small feat given the musician's many contradictions: he was a hard-rocking star, but also a meticulous, studious composer influenced by Varèse and Stravinsky; he despised drug use and the trappings of stardom, but he loved groupies (he partook of their favors freely, eventually marrying one and fathering...children). A virtuoso, a perfectionist and a shrewd businessman, Zappa alienated, sued or otherwise offended nearly everyone in his life at some point; he especially loved tormenting his audience. Miles hits the ups and downs of Zappa's life like a skilled composer in his own right, and he captures the contentious eras (from the late 1950s on) in which Zappa's genius emerged. The result is a penetrating look both at Zappa and at the social and political milieu in which popular rock music stepped to the fore.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Ten years after his death, Frank Zappa can be better appreciated than during the mercurial composer and performer's life, and Miles' attempt to do so is the most comprehensive biography to date. Zappa's early work, which he occasionally referred to as "comedy music," seemed to mock the music he had grown up with; political satire coexisted with R&B stylings in such songs as "Who Are the Brain Police?" in Zappa's first album, Freak Out, which also debuted his long-running band, the Mothers of Invention. Miles examines the mid-1960s L.A. milieu that spawned that album and how Zappa's first release stretched the limits of pop music, and he presents Zappa's earlier home and family life in more depth than anyone else has. Eventually Zappa became a target of Tipper Gore and friends' campaign for pop-music warning labels and Czech president Vaclav Havel's choice for his fledgling administration's U.S. trade representative. Well written and exceedingly well referenced, right down to the exhaustive discography. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (September 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080214215X
• ISBN-13: 978-0802142153
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,007,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars How Could I Be Such A Fool, November 22, 2004

By 

Lilting Banshee (Roseburg, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zappa: A Biography (Hardcover)

Too much of this book, especially the first two thirds, is simply a history of events, i.e., Frank did this and then he did that. Sometimes the facts are jumbled: he and his first wife are separated, then a few pages later Frank's parents move in with them. The biggest let down is the discovery that nothing in this book is the result of primary research. No one--no one!!!!--was interviewed by the author in this endeavor. So this reads kind of like a competent college research paper based on other research. Miles provides us with notes of his many sources, including some of his own interviews from 30 years ago, but its mostly all stuff that's been out there in other books and magazines and websites. When he finally gets around to drawing some actual conclusions of his own, its mostly to tell us Zappa's Catholic upbringing made him a pervert or Zappa was a fairly heartless capitalist without feelings for his bandmates or Zappa was a misogynist recluse or Zappa sabotaged his serious work with titles too pornagraphic for ears. Crimeny, you'll wonder why anybody would care about the guy. By the end of the book, however, Miles seems to be contradicting himself by reciting all of the accolades Zappa received throughout his career from everyone from the Chieftains to Eastern European statesmen. Let's see, he's a soulless capitalist taskmaster pervert but meanwhile he's courted by band directors, musicians, and statesmen. I'd like to have read more about the upside. I'd recommend that you skip this book, save your money and go buy another Zappa album instead.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Could my hero actually have any flaws? Say it aint so, Joe!, April 20, 2005

By 

Guitarrista "rasgueado" (Syracuse NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zappa: A Biography (Hardcover)

I enjoyed the book, and felt that it was successful in what it attempted to do, describing and analyzing Frank's life with its ups and downs. I'm a Zappa fan, and I learned a lot of new info.

Zappa's biggest fans, like fans of any highly-talented unique person, have fervent devotion. As such, it's completely predictable that even the smallest criticism will be categorically rejected by these fans. Just look at the Online Devotion Forums for any artist - as soon as anyone gets off the track of total adulation, others will swoop in and even start flaming until the worship gets back on track.

I like Frank's music very much. I've played some of his tunes in bands. He's hilarious, too. But having heard him interviewed on the radio, seen his bands several times, and having read his comments in print, I'm not shocked that he may be just a wee bit controlling, possibly a little self-centered, and may have preferred machines to humans. I have read and enjoyed Frank's autobiography a couple times and enjoyed it too. But could Frank be just a little low on introspection? Maybe. Do many autobiographers write in a self-serving manner? Just possibly.

I also noticed the oft-quoted time sequence problem in the book. Does this, in and of itself, nullify all the contents? No, it just means that the author and editor messed up. Nearly all the new books I read have loads of typos and other problems. It's clear that editors don't get the time they need to do the job all that well anymore. But that's a universal problem that's not specific to this book.

This is a biography. If we have nothing but praise, it would be a puff piece, or press release. Miles does attempt to analyze Zappa's motives, and takes a stab at finding clues to them in his background. Does he speculate? Yes, that's what biographers do. Short of analyzing the person's brain and seeing a word-for-word copy of everything that ever happened, nobody really knows anyone's motives. You can't even take the person's word for it in many cases. So you have to take a chance and speculate based on observation.

Miles lavishes praise on many things Zappa did. I guess a lot of people just didn't notice. Those who want their biographies to have blind adulation without questioning anything, and without any critical analysis - this is just the type of person that Frank strafed with his lyrics.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A cut and paste job, December 7, 2004

By 

D. Brenders (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zappa: A Biography (Hardcover)

The other reviewers have already said this in so many words, but the fault of this book is that there is nothing new in it. IT is a cut and paste job pure and simple. Even his opinions, such as that liberal comedians don't so much talk truth to power as they do mock their own liberal mores come from otherbooks. If you've read the other Zappa books and are well read generally you don't need to read this book -- you could have written it.