The Real Frank Zappa: A Book That Changed How I Saw the Man
I’ll start with a confession.
I’ve never been what you’d call a hardcore Frank Zappa fan.
I’ve always respected him. I knew the reputation: musical genius, provocateur, fearless satirist. But his music can be dense, strange, and sometimes deliberately abrasive. For a lot of listeners, it’s not exactly easy entry.
Then I read The Real Frank Zappa Book, the autobiography Zappa wrote with Peter Occhiogrosso in 1989. And I can honestly say it’s one of the most enjoyable music books I’ve ever read.
Not because it tries to mythologize him. Quite the opposite.