He is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse musicians of his generation. As a mostly self-taught composer and performer, Zappa had diverse musical influences that led him to create music that was sometimes difficult to categorize. While in his teens, he acquired a taste for 20th-century classical modernism , African-American rhythm and blues , and doo-wop music.
His debut studio album with the Mothers of Invention, Freak Out! He continued this eclectic and experimental approach throughout his career. Unlike many other rock musicians of his generation, he disapproved of recreational drug use, but supported decriminalization and regulation.
Zappa was a highly productive and prolific musician with a controversial critical standing; supporters of his music admired its compositional complexity, while detractors found it lacking emotional depth.
Though he worked as an independent artist , Zappa mostly relied on distribution agreements he had negotiated with the major record labels.
He remains a major influence on musicians. He was of Sicilian, Greek, Arab and French descent. Frank, the eldest of four children, was raised in an Italian-American household where Italian was often spoken by his grandparents.
