December 21, 1940:
Francis Vincent Zappa, Jr. is born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, the first of four children born to Francis Vincent Zappa, Sr., an engineer and Italian immigrant.
June 13, 1958:
Frank Zappa (17) graduates from Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster, California.
June 24, 1965:
Frank Zappa (24) and the Mothers of Invention open for Lenny Bruce at the Fillmore Auditorium.
May 24, 1967:
An off-Broadway show called Absolutely Freeee opens in the Garrick Theatre on Bleecker Street in New York. It is essentially a live show by Frank Zappa (26) and the Mothers of Invention and will run through 5 September.
May 26, 1967:
Absolutely Freeee, the second album by Frank Zappa (26) and the Mothers of Invention, is released by Verve.
September 21, 1967:
Frank Zappa (26) marries Adelaide Gail Sloatman, daughter of a nuclear physicist, in New York. She is pregnant.
September 23, 1967:
Frank Zappa (26) and the Mothers of Invention play the Royal Albert Hall in London.
April 6, 1968:
The issue of Rolling Stone magazine dated today includes a review of We're Only in It For the Money, an album by the Mothers of Invention. Frank Zappa (27) is called "a supreme genius of American music today." (Kostelanetz, 20)
April 12, 1968:
Frank Zappa (27) and the Mothers of Invention perform at the awards dinner of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. During their time on stage, the Mothers dismember baby dolls and offer body parts to audience members.
October 28, 1968:
Frank Zappa (27) and the Mothers of Invention play Royal Festival Hall in London assisted by 14 members of the BBC Orchestra.
February 21, 1969:
Frank Zappa (28) gives his first lecture, at the New School for Social Research in New York. His talk is entitled "Pigs, Ponies And Rock & Roll."
August 20, 1969:
Frank Zappa (28) announces that he is disbanding the Mothers of Invention. He is $10,000 in debt.
October 10, 1969:
Hot Rats, an album by Frank Zappa (28), is released.
May 15, 1970:
Movements 1, 3, and 4 of 200 Motels is performed for the first time, by Frank Zappa (29), various rock musicians, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA.
December 4, 1971:
While Frank Zappa (30) and the Mothers of Invention are performing in Casino Montreux, the bulding catches fire. They escape with their lives.
December 10, 1971:
While performing with the Mothers of Invention at the Rainbow, London, Frank Zappa (30) is pushed into the orchestra pit by an audience member who has climbed on stage. Zappa suffers a broken leg, broken ankle, fractured skull, crushed larynx, and damaged spine. He will spend nine months in a wheel chair. The Mothers will disband. Appearing in court on 30 December, the assailant will explain that he did it because his girlfriend told him that she loved Frank.
July 5, 1972:
Frank Zappa (31) releases a solo album, Waka/Jawaka.
September 10, 1974:
Roxy & Elsewhere, a double live album by Frank Zappa (33), is released.
June 25, 1975:
One Size Fits All, an album by Frank Zappa (34) and the Mothers of Invention, is released.
September 17, 1975:
Frank Zappa (34) conducts a program of his symphonic compositions at Royce Hall, UCLA.
October 2, 1975:
Frank Zappa (34) and the Mothers of Invention release Bongo Fury featuring Captain Beefheart.
October 29, 1976:
Frank Zappa (35) and the Mothers of Invention release Zoot Allures on Warner Bros.
December 11, 1976:
Frank Zappa (35) performs on Saturday Night Live over NBC television originating in New York.
March 3, 1978:
The live album Zappa in New York is released by Frank Zappa (37).
March 3, 1979:
Frank Zappa's (38) album Sheik Yerbouti is released by Zappa Records.
May 4, 1979:
A recording of Frank Zappa's (38) symphonic music called Orchestral Favorites is released by Warner Bros.
September 17, 1979:
Frank Zappa (38) releases Act I of his opera Joe's Garage.
November 19, 1979:
Joe's Garage, Acts II & III is released as a two-record set by Frank Zappa (38).
December 21, 1979:
Frank Zappa's film Baby Snakes opens at the Victoria Theatre in Times Square, New York on his 39th birthday. It runs continuously 24 hours a day.
April 1, 1981:
Frank Zappa (40) hosts "A Tribute to Edgard Varese (†15)" by the Orchestra for Our Time in the Palladium, New York.
May 11, 1981:
Frank Zappa (40) releases four albums: Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar, Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar Some More, The Return of the Son of Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar, and the double album Tinsel Town Rebellion.
January 11, 1983:
The London Symphony Orchestra perform the music of Frank Zappa (42) at the Barbican Centre, London.
February 9, 1983:
Frank Zappa (42) conducts Ionisation at a concert commemorating the centennial of the birth of Edgard Varèse (†17), in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco.
June 9, 1983:
Zappa Vol.1 is relased containing recordings of Frank Zappa (42) with the London Symphony Orchestra.
January 9, 1984:
The Perfect Stranger for orchestra by Frank Zappa (43) is performed for the first time, in Théâtre de la Ville, Paris, directed by the commissioner, Pierre Boulez (58).
June 15, 1984:
Sinister Footwear for orchestra by Frank Zappa (43) is performed for the first time, in Zellerbach Auditorium, Berkeley, California.
October 18, 1984:
Them Or Us, an album by Frank Zappa (43), is released.
November 21, 1984:
Frank Zappa's (43) triple album Thing-Fish is released.
September 19, 1985:
Frank Zappa (44) appears before the Commerce, Technology, and Transportation Committee of the US Senate in opposition to the Parents' Music Resource Center and their demand for a rating system for recordings. He calls the proposed legislation "an ill-conceived piece of nonsense which fails to deliver any real benefits to children and promises to keep the courts busy for years, dealing with the interpretational and enforcemental problems inherent in the proposal's design." (Slonimsky, 952)
February 14, 1986:
Frank Zappa (45) testifies against censorship before a committee of the Senate of the State of Maryland, where he is a citizen.
November 15, 1986:
Frank Zappa's (45) album Jazz from Hell is released.
September 17, 1987:
Zappa Vol.2, another recording of Frank Zappa (46) with the London Symphony Orchestra, is released.
May 16, 1988:
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol.I by Frank Zappa (47) is released by Rykodisc.
October 1, 1988:
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol.2 by Frank Zappa (47) is released by Rykodisc.
November 13, 1989:
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol.3 by Frank Zappa (48) is released by Rykodisc.
September 17, 1992:
G-Spot Tornado for chamber ensemble by Frank Zappa (51) is performed for the first time, in the Alte Oper, Frankfurt.
December 4, 1993:
Francis Vincent Zappa dies of prostate cancer at his home in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, California, USA, aged 52 years, eleven months, and 13 days.
December 5, 1993:
The mortal remains of Frank Zappa are laid to rest in a private ceremony in Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles. His death will not be announced until tomorrow.
October 29, 1994:
Billboard reports that the entire Frank Zappa (†0) recording catalogue has been purchased from his widow and the Zappa Family Trust by Rykodisc.