American composer Frank Vincent Zappa (1940-1993).
Composer, guitarist, singer, film director, and satirist. In his 33-year musical career, Zappa proved to be one of the most prolific musician-composers of his era, releasing over 60 albums during his lifetime, almost all of which consisted of original compositions. He was also a renowned electric guitarist and a gifted producer-engineer who self-produced almost every recording he made after his 1966 debut. His work spanned virtually every contemporary musical genre (including avant-garde, big band, blues, contemporary classical, doo-wop, electronic music, funk, hard rock, jazz, jazz fusion, country, musique concrète, pop, progressive rock, proto-rap, reggae, rock, ska, and world music), and was often noted for its blend of high art, rock opera, absurdity, scatological humor, and for its caustic satire.