Frank Zappa performed music.
Frank Zappa . In a career spanning more than 30 years , Zappa composed rock , pop , jazz , jazz fusion , orchestral and musique concrète works , and produced almost all of the 60-plus albums that he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist . He is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse rock musicians of his generation . As a self-taught composer and performer , Zappa 's diverse musical influences led him to create music that was sometimes difficult to categorize . The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by The Recording Academy to `` performers who , during their lifetimes , have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording . ''