Frank Zappa performed music.
Frank Vincent Zappa ( December 21 , 1940 -- December 4 , 1993 ) was an American musician , activist and filmmaker . His work was characterized by nonconformity , free-form improvisation , sound experiments , musical virtuosity , and satire of American culture . 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 . As a self-taught composer and performer , Zappa 's diverse musical influences led him to create music that was sometimes difficult to categorize .