Bruce Fowler

Apostrophe (') is an album by Frank Zappa, released in April 1974, in both stereo and quadraphonic formats. Its opening track, "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow", was Zappa's first chart single, reaching position 86. The album reached number 10 on the Billboard charts in 1974, making it Zappa's highest charting album. Continuing from the commercial breakthrough of Over-Nite Sensation (1973), this album is a similar mix of short songs showcasing Zappa's humor and musical arrangements. The record's lyrical themes are often ...

Including:

• Apostrophe ' - Track listing
• Apostrophe ' - Album credits

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The album was comprised of three shows in the Roxy Auditorium in West Hollywood, LA, and featured tracks never before or thereafter released on any Zappa/Mothers album. The Roxy tracks were partially overdubbed, also in Hollywood. The other tracks came from the second show on Mothers Day 1974 in the Chicago Auditorium Theatre and the May 8th Show in Edinboro State College (also 1974). Some of the unused tracks from the Roxy shows are floating around in bootleg trading circles, as well as the entirity of the Chicago and Edinboro shows. ...

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Roxy & Elsewhere, Roxy & Elsewhere - Music, Roxy & Elsewhere - History, Roxy & Elsewhere - Track listing, Roxy & Elsewhere - Personnel

Read more here: » Roxy & Elsewhere: Encyclopedia II - Roxy & Elsewhere - History

Van Vliet demonstrated prodigious painting and sculpting talents at a young age — earning the praise of Augustinio Rodriguez — but claims his parents turned away several scholarship offers. His paintings, often reminiscent of Franz Kline's, were later featured on several of his own albums. While studying at Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster he met the teenage Frank Zappa. They began collaborating on pop song parodies and a movie script called Captain Beefheart vs. the Grunt People[2], the first appearance of the Beef ...

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Captain Beefheart, Captain Beefheart - History, Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica, Captain Beefheart - Later music, Captain Beefheart - Influence, Captain Beefheart - Studies, Captain Beefheart - Discography

Read more here: » Captain Beefheart: Encyclopedia II - Captain Beefheart - History

Disc one "Heavy Duty Judy" – 6:04 "Ring of Fire" (Merle Kilgore, June Carter) – 2:00 "Cosmik Debris" – 4:32 "Find Her Finer" – 2:42 "Who Needs the Peace Corps?" – 2:40 "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (George C. Cory, Jr., Douglas Cross) – :36 "Zomby Woof" – 5:41 "Bolero" (Maurice Ravel) – 5:19 "Zoot Allures" – 7:07 "Mr. Gre ...

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The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life, The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life - Track listing, The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life - Personnel

Read more here: » The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life: Encyclopedia II - The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life - Track listing

All songs by Zappa unless otherwise noted. You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Vol. 1 - Disc 1. "The Florida Airport Tape" (Kaylan, Volman, Zappa) – 1:03 "Once Upon a Time" – 4:37 "Sofa No. 1" – 2:53 "The Mammy Anthem" – 5:41 "You Didn't Try to Call Me" – 3:39 "Diseases of the Band" – 2:22 "Tryin' to Grow a Chin" – 3:44 "Let's Make the Water Black/Harry, You're a Beast/The Orange County" – 3:27 "The Groupie ...

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You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Vol. 1, You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Vol. 1 - Track listing, You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Vol. 1 - Disc 1, You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Vol. 1 - Disc 2, You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Vol. 1 - Personnel

Read more here: » You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Vol. 1: Encyclopedia II - You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Vol. 1 - Track listing

You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Vol. 6 - Disc one. "The M.O.I. Anti-Smut Loyalty Oath" – 3:01 "The Poodle Lecture" – 5:02 "Dirty Love" – 2:39 "Magic Fingers" – 2:21 "The Madison Panty-Sniffing Festival" – 2:44 "Honey, Don't You Want a Man Like Me?" – 4:01 "Father O'Blivion" – 2:21 "Is That Guy Kidding or What?" – 4:02 "I'm So Cute" – 1:39 "White Person" – 2:07 "Lonely Person Devices" – 3:13See also:

You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Vol. 6, You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Vol. 6 - Trank listing, You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Vol. 6 - Disc one, You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Vol. 6 - Disc two, You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Vol. 6 - Personnel

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Frank Zappa was born in Baltimore, Maryland on December 21st, 1940 to Francis Zappa (who was of Greek and Lebanese descent) and Rose Marie Colimore (who was of half Italian, 1/4 Sicilian and 1/4 French descent). He was the oldest of four children (two brothers and a sister). In January of 1951, his family relocated to the West Coast because of Frank's asthma. They settled in Monterey, California, about 100 miles south of San Francisco. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Pomona, then to El Cajon before moving a sho ...

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Frank Zappa, Frank Zappa - Early life and influences, Frank Zappa - The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa - 1970s, Frank Zappa - Läther, Frank Zappa - 1980s, Frank Zappa - 1990s, Frank Zappa - Other information, Frank Zappa - Note on his name, Frank Zappa - Samples, Frank Zappa - Discography, Frank Zappa - Filmography, Frank Zappa - Theatrical releases, Frank Zappa - Honker Home Video

Read more here: » Frank Zappa: Encyclopedia II - Frank Zappa - Early life and influences

All tracks by Frank Zappa, except where noted Broadway the Hard Way - Original LP. Side one "Elvis Has Just Left the Building" – 2:24 "Planet of the Baritone Women" – 2:48 "Any Kind of Pain" – 5:42 "Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk" – 9:15 Side two "Dickie's Such an Asshole" – 6:37 "When the Lie's So Big" – 3:38 "Rhymin' Man" – 3:51 "Promiscuous" – 2:03 "T ...

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Broadway the Hard Way, Broadway the Hard Way - Track listing, Broadway the Hard Way - Original LP, Broadway the Hard Way - CD version, Broadway the Hard Way - Personnel

Read more here: » Broadway the Hard Way: Encyclopedia II - Broadway the Hard Way - Track listing

Zappa was married twice, once to Kay Sherman (1959–1964; no children), and then to Gail (Sloatman) Zappa, with whom he remained until his death. They have four children: Moon Unit, Dweezil (born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa, (the names of his band members) because the hospital refused to put Dweezil on the birth certificate; Dweezil later legally changed his name to "Dweezil") ("Dweezil" is also the name Frank had given to one of Gail's toes), Ahmet Emuukha Rodan, and Diva Muffin. As a guest on The Tonight Show, chatting with gues ...

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Frank Zappa, Frank Zappa - Early life and influences, Frank Zappa - The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa - 1970s, Frank Zappa - Läther, Frank Zappa - 1980s, Frank Zappa - 1990s, Frank Zappa - Other information, Frank Zappa - Note on his name, Frank Zappa - Samples, Frank Zappa - Discography, Frank Zappa - Filmography, Frank Zappa - Theatrical releases, Frank Zappa - Honker Home Video

Read more here: » Frank Zappa: Encyclopedia II - Frank Zappa - Other information

In the early 1990s Zappa devoted almost all of his energy to modern orchestral and synclavier works. In 1991 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Although ill, in 1992 he appeared as a guest conductor with the Ensemble Modern in a series of concerts in Germany devoted to his compositions, recordings from which appeared on The Yellow Shark. During these years, he edited numerous CD collections of concert recordings made throughout his career. In 1993, he completed Civilization, Phaze III, a major synclavier work he had begun in the '80s. He stated in interviews that he was working on hundreds of synclavier piece ...

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Frank Zappa, Frank Zappa - Early life and influences, Frank Zappa - The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa - 1970s, Frank Zappa - Läther, Frank Zappa - 1980s, Frank Zappa - 1990s, Frank Zappa - Other information, Frank Zappa - Note on his name, Frank Zappa - Samples, Frank Zappa - Discography, Frank Zappa - Filmography, Frank Zappa - Theatrical releases, Frank Zappa - Honker Home Video

Read more here: » Frank Zappa: Encyclopedia II - Frank Zappa - 1990s

In 1980, Zappa helped former band members Warren Cuccurullo, Terry Bozzio and Patrick O'Hearn launch their new band, Missing Persons, by letting them record their 4-song demo EP in his brand new UMRK (Utility Muffin Research Kitchen) studios. In 1981, the double album You Are What You Is was released, featuring 19 songs, which included such complex instrumentals as "Theme from the 3rd Movement of Sinister Footwear", but mainly focused on rock songs with Zappa's sardonic social commentary. "Dumb All Over", is an example of this, being ...

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Frank Zappa, Frank Zappa - Early life and influences, Frank Zappa - The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa - 1970s, Frank Zappa - Läther, Frank Zappa - 1980s, Frank Zappa - 1990s, Frank Zappa - Other information, Frank Zappa - Note on his name, Frank Zappa - Samples, Frank Zappa - Discography, Frank Zappa - Filmography, Frank Zappa - Theatrical releases, Frank Zappa - Honker Home Video

Read more here: » Frank Zappa: Encyclopedia II - Frank Zappa - 1980s

After he disbanded the original Mothers, Zappa released the acclaimed solo instrumental album Hot Rats, featuring his jazz-inflected guitar playing backed by jazz, blues and R&B session players including violinist Don "Sugarcane" Harris, drummer John Guerin, multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood, and bassist Shuggie Otis. It remains one of his most popular and accessible recordings and inarguably had a major influence on the devel ...

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Frank Zappa, Frank Zappa - Early life and influences, Frank Zappa - The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa - 1970s, Frank Zappa - Läther, Frank Zappa - 1980s, Frank Zappa - 1990s, Frank Zappa - Other information, Frank Zappa - Note on his name, Frank Zappa - Samples, Frank Zappa - Discography, Frank Zappa - Filmography, Frank Zappa - Theatrical releases, Frank Zappa - Honker Home Video

Read more here: » Frank Zappa: Encyclopedia II - Frank Zappa - 1970s

Many bands (such as the Clash) have claimed a Beefheart influence, although few have truly been able to assimilate Van Vliet's idiosyncratic approach. Tom Waits's shift in artistic direction, starting with Swordfishtrombones, is said to be due to his wife introducing him to Beefheart's music. Punk rockers The Minutemen were great fans of Beefheart's music, and were arguably among the few to effectively synthesize his music with their own, especially in their early output, which featured disj ...

See also:

Captain Beefheart, Captain Beefheart - History, Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica, Captain Beefheart - Later music, Captain Beefheart - Influence, Captain Beefheart - Studies, Captain Beefheart - Discography

Read more here: » Captain Beefheart: Encyclopedia II - Captain Beefheart - Influence

Lick My Decals Off, Baby (1970) continued in a similar experimental vein — by then Art Tripp III had joined (from the Mothers of Invention). He played drums and marimba. The next two records, The Spotlight Kid and Clear Spot, both released in 1972, were much more conventional. In 1974, immediately after the recording of Unconditionally Guaranteed, The Magic Band, which had by then coalesced around the core of John French, Art Tripp III, Bill Karkleroad and Mark Boston, decided they could no longer work with Van Vliet, ...

See also:

Captain Beefheart, Captain Beefheart - History, Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica, Captain Beefheart - Later music, Captain Beefheart - Influence, Captain Beefheart - Studies, Captain Beefheart - Discography

Read more here: » Captain Beefheart: Encyclopedia II - Captain Beefheart - Later music

After a short career as a professional songwriter — his elegiac "Memories of El Monte" was recorded by The Penguins — in 1964 Zappa joined a local R&B band, The Soul Giants, as a guitarist. Soon he assumed leadership, renaming the band "The Mothers." The Mothers gradually began to gain attention on the burgeoning Los Angeles underground 'freak scene' and in 1965 they were spotted by leading record producer Tom Wilson, who had earned acclaim as the producer of the seminal Bob Dylan album Bringin' It All Back HomeSee also:

Frank Zappa, Frank Zappa - Early life and influences, Frank Zappa - The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa - 1970s, Frank Zappa - Läther, Frank Zappa - 1980s, Frank Zappa - 1990s, Frank Zappa - Other information, Frank Zappa - Note on his name, Frank Zappa - Samples, Frank Zappa - Discography, Frank Zappa - Filmography, Frank Zappa - Theatrical releases, Frank Zappa - Honker Home Video

Read more here: » Frank Zappa: Encyclopedia II - Frank Zappa - The Mothers of Invention

As his autobiography The Real Frank Zappa Book notes, his real name was "Frank", never "Francis". Until rediscovering his birth certificate as an adult, Zappa himself believed he had been christened Francis, and he is credited as Francis on some of his early albums. Some encyclopedias still incorrectly claim that his real name was "Francis". Zappa is Italian for hoe. ...

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Frank Zappa, Frank Zappa - Early life and influences, Frank Zappa - The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa - 1970s, Frank Zappa - Läther, Frank Zappa - 1980s, Frank Zappa - 1990s, Frank Zappa - Other information, Frank Zappa - Note on his name, Frank Zappa - Samples, Frank Zappa - Discography, Frank Zappa - Filmography, Frank Zappa - Theatrical releases, Frank Zappa - Honker Home Video

Read more here: » Frank Zappa: Encyclopedia II - Frank Zappa - Note on his name

Regarded by many fans as Van Vliet's masterpiece, and by many music critics as the ultimate Beefheart album, Trout Mask Replica was — and remains — one of the strangest, most difficult albums in rock music history. The group rehearsed Van Vliet's difficult compositions for eight months, living communally in conditions drummer John French described as cultlike. The 28 songs on Trout Mask Replica drew on blues music, Bo Diddley, free jazz, sea shanties and much more, but the relentless practice blended the music int ...

See also:

Captain Beefheart, Captain Beefheart - History, Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica, Captain Beefheart - Later music, Captain Beefheart - Influence, Captain Beefheart - Studies, Captain Beefheart - Discography

Read more here: » Captain Beefheart: Encyclopedia II - Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica

Frank Zappa - Theatrical releases. 200 Motels (1971) Baby Snakes (1979) Frank Zappa - Honker Home Video. The Dub Room Special (1984) Video from Hell (1985) Does Humor Belong in Music? (1985) The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels (1988) The Amazing Mr. Bickford (1987) Uncle Meat (1987) ...

See also:

Frank Zappa, Frank Zappa - Early life and influences, Frank Zappa - The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa - 1970s, Frank Zappa - Läther, Frank Zappa - 1980s, Frank Zappa - 1990s, Frank Zappa - Other information, Frank Zappa - Note on his name, Frank Zappa - Samples, Frank Zappa - Discography, Frank Zappa - Filmography, Frank Zappa - Theatrical releases, Frank Zappa - Honker Home Video

Read more here: » Frank Zappa: Encyclopedia II - Frank Zappa - Filmography