Packard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last in 1958.

History[link]

1899–1905[link]

Packard was founded by James Ward Packard (Lehigh University Class of 1884), his brother William Doud Packard and their partner, George Lewis Weiss, in the city of Warren, Ohio. James Ward Packard believed that they could build a better horseless carriage than the Winton cars owned by Weiss (an important Winton stockholder) and, being himself a mechanical engineer, had some ideas for improvement on the designs of current automobiles.

Packard was not completely satisfied with the Winton car he had recently purchased. He wrote Alexander Winton with his complaints and suggestions; however Mr. Winton, offended by Packard's criticism, challenged Packard to build a better car. Packard responded by doing so, his marque outlasting Winton's by many decades. Packard runs his first automobile in Warren, Ohio on November 6, 1899.^[1]

In September, 1900, the Ohio Automobile Company was founded as the manufacturer, while the cars were always sold as Packards. Since these automobiles quickly gained an excellent reputation, and there were more automobile makers that produced — or at least planned to — under the label "Ohio", the name was changed soon: On October 13, 1902, it became the Packard Motor Car Company.

From the very beginning, Packard automobiles introduced a number of innovations in its designs, including the modern steering wheel and, years later, the first production 12-cylinder engine and the first air-conditioning in a passenger car. All Packards had a single-cylinder engine until 1903.^[1]

While the Cole 30^[2] and Cole Runabout were US$1,500,^[3] the high-volume Oldsmobile Runabout went for $650,^[4] Western's Gale Model A roadster was $500,^[5] and the Black went as low as $375,^[6] the Packards concentrated on cars with prices starting at $2,600. Packard automobiles developed a following among wealthy purchasers both in the United States and abroad.

Henry Bourne Joy, a member of one of Detroit's oldest and wealthiest families, bought a Packard. Impressed by its reliability, he visited the Packards and soon enlisted a group of investors—including Truman Handy Newberry and Russell A. Alger Jr. On October 2, 1902, this group refinanced and renamed the New York and Ohio Automobile Company as "Packard Motor Car Company", with James as president. Alger later served as vice-president.^[7] Packard moved its automobile operation to Detroit soon after, and Joy became general manager, later to be chairman of the board. An original Packard, reputedly the first manufactured, was donated by a grateful James Packard to his alma mater, Lehigh University, and is preserved there in the Packard Laboratory.^[8] Another is on display at the Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio.^[9]

The 3,500,000-square-foot (330,000 m²) Packard plant on East Grand Boulevard in Detroit is located on over 35 acres (0.14 km²) of land. It was designed by Albert Kahn, and included the first use of reinforced concrete for industrial construction in Detroit. When opened in 1903, it was considered the most modern automobile manufacturing facility in the world, and its skilled craftsmen practised over eighty trades. The dilapidated plant still stands,^[10][11] despite repeated fires.^[12] Architect Kahn also designed the Packard Proving Grounds at Utica, Michigan.

1906-1930[link]

Packard First Series Twin-Six Touring 1-35, 1916

Packard Fourth Series Six Model 426 Runabout (Roadster), 1927

From this beginning, through and beyond the 1930s, Packard-built vehicles were perceived as highly competitive among high-priced luxury American automobiles. The company was commonly referred to as being one of the "Three P's" of American motordom royalty, along with Pierce-Arrow of Buffalo, New York and Peerless of Cleveland, Ohio.^{[citation needed]}For most of its history, Packard was guided by its President and General Manager Alvan Macauley who also served as President of the National Automobile Manufacturers Association. Inducted into the Automobile Hall of Fame, Macauley made Packard the number one designer and producer of luxury automobiles in the United States. The marque was also highly competitive abroad, with markets in sixty-one countries. Gross income for the company was $21,889,000 in 1928. Macauley was also responsible for the iconic Packard slogan, "Ask the Man Who Owns One."

In addition to excellent luxury cars, Packard built trucks as well. A Packard truck carrying a three-ton load, drove from New York City to San Francisco between 8 July and 24 August 1912. The same year, Packard had service depots in 104 cities.^[13]

1931–1936[link]

1930 Packard Deluxe Eight roadster

Packard Ninth Series De Luxe Eight 904 sedan limousine, 1932

Packard Eleventh Series Eight 1101 convertible sedan, 1934

Entering into the 1930s, Packard attempted to beat the stock market crash and subsequent Great Depression by manufacturing ever more opulent and expensive cars than it had prior to October 1929. The Packard Twin Six (designed by Jesse Vincent)^[14] was introduced for 1932 and renamed the Packard Twelve for the remainder of its run (through 1939). For one year only, 1932, Packard tried fielding an upper-medium-priced car called the Light Eight.

1931 Packard 840 9th w/ series Grill

As an independent automaker, Packard did not have the luxury of a larger corporate structure absorbing its losses, as Cadillac did with GM and Lincoln with Ford. However, Packard did have a better cash position than other independent luxury marques. Peerless fell under receivership in 1929 and ceased production in 1932. By 1938, Franklin, Marmon, Ruxton, Stearns-Knight, Stutz, Duesenberg, and Pierce-Arrow had all closed.

Packard also had one other advantage that some other luxury automakers did not: a single production line. By maintaining a single line and interchangeability between models, Packard was able to keep its costs down. Packard did not change cars as often as other manufacturers did at the time. Rather than introducing new models annually, Packard began using its own "Series" formula for differentiating its model changeovers in 1923. New model series did not debut on a strictly annual basis, with some series lasting nearly two years, and others lasting as short a time as seven months. In the long run, though, Packard did average approximately one new series per year. By 1930, Packard automobiles were considered part of its Seventh Series. By 1942, Packard was in its Twentieth Series. The "Thirteenth Series" was omitted.

To address the Depression, Packard started producing more affordable cars in the medium-price range. In 1935, it introduced its first sub-$1,000 car, the Packard 120. Car production more than tripled that year and doubled again in 1936. In order to produce the 120, Packard built and equipped an entirely separate factory. By 1936, Packard's labor force was divided nearly evenly between the high-priced "Senior" lines (Twelve, Super Eight, and Eight) and the medium-priced "Junior" models, although more than ten times more Juniors were produced than Seniors. This was because the 120 models were built using thoroughly modern mass production techniques, while the Senior Packards used a great deal more hand labor and traditional craftsmanship. The Junior models were very fine cars; they were just not in the same quality league as the Seniors. Although Packard most certainly could not have survived the Depression without the highly successful Junior models, the Juniors did have the effect of diminishing the Senior models' stellar and exclusive image among those few who could still afford an expensive luxury car. Adding insult to injury, the 120 models were more modern in basic design than the Senior models. For example, the 1935 Packard 120 featured independent front suspension and hydraulic brakes, both features that would not appear on the Senior Packards until 1937.

1937–1942[link]

1941 Packard Custom Super Eight One-Eighty Formal sedan; 19th series, Model 1907

1939 Packard Packard Twelve, 17th series

Prior to 1937, Packard was still the premier luxury automobile, even though the lion's share of cars being built were the 120 and Super Eight model ranges. Hoping to catch still more of the market, Packard decided to issue the Packard 115C in 1937, which was powered by Packard's first six-cylinder engine since the Fifth Series cars in 1928. While the move to introduce the Six was at once brilliant—the car arrived just in time for the 1938 recession—it also tagged Packards as something less exclusive than they had been in the public's mind, and in the long run, the Six hurt Packard's reputation of building some of America's finest luxury cars. The Six, designated "110" in 1940–41, continued for three years after the war, with many serving as taxicabs.

During World War II, Packard again built airplane engines, licensing the Merlin engine from Rolls-Royce as the V-1650, which powered the famous P-51 Mustang fighter, ironically known as the "Cadillac of the Skies" by GIs in WWII. It was one of the fastest piston-powered fighters ever and could fly higher than many of its contemporaries, allowing pilots a greater degree of survivability in combat situations. They also built 1350-, 1400-, and 1500 hp V-12 marine engines for American PT boats (each boat used three) and some of Britain's patrol boats.

1946–1956[link]

By the end of WWII, Packard was in excellent financial condition but several management mistakes became ever more visible as time went on. Like other US auto companies, Packard resumed civilian car production in late 1945 as '46 models modestly updating their 1942 models. As only tooling for the Clipper was at hand and depending on the story you believe, the Senior-series cars were not rescheduled. There are those who believe that the Senior dies were left out in the elements to rust and were no longer usable. Others believe the long-rumored tale of Roosevelt giving Stalin the dies to the Senior series, from which the Russians produced their own version for state limousines.^{[citation needed]}

Although the postwar Packards sold well, the ability to distinguish expensive models from lower-priced models disappeared as all Packards, whether sixes or eights, became virtually alike in styling. Further, amidst a booming seller's market, management had decided to direct the company more to volume middle-class models, thus concentrating on selling lower-priced cars instead of more expensive — and more profitable — models. Worse, they also tried to enter the taxi cab and fleet car market. The idea was to gain volume for the years ahead, but that target was missed: Packard simply was not big enough to offer a real challenge to the Big Three, and more to the point, they lacked the deep pockets a parent company could shelter them from as well as the model lineup to spread the pricing through.

Instead, Packard's image as a luxury brand was further diluted. So, Packard lost buyers of expensive cars and couldn't find enough prospects for the lesser models to compensate. Of course, the shortage of raw materials immediately after the war - which was felt by all manufacturers – hurt Packard more with its volume business than it would have when it had focused on the luxury specialty car market.

1949 Packard Convertible Coupé

1950 Packard Eight 4-Door Sedan

The Clipper, although a graceful classic automobile, became outdated as the new envelope bodies started appearing led by Studebaker and Kaiser-Frazer. Had they been a European car maker, this would have meant nothing; they could have continued to offer the classic shape not so different from the later Rolls Royce with its vertical grill. But in America it was all about keeping up, style wise. So, in 1948, Packard presented its first postwar body — prior to its competition from the major firms (Cadillac, Lincoln, and Chrysler). Noerver, these cars were heavily facelifted Clippers. The design chosen was of the "bathtub" style, predicted during the war as the destined future of automobiles, and most fully realized by the 49/50 Nash. Six-cylinder cars were dropped for the home market, and a convertible was added.

The new design cleverly hid its relationship to the Clipper. Even that name was dropped — for a while. But it looked bulky, and a bulky nickname it got: the "pregnant elephant". When a new body style was added, Packard made the mistake of introducing a station wagon instead of a 2-door hardtop as buyers requested. Test driver for Modern Mechanix, Tom McCahill, referred to the newly designed Packard as "a goat".

Packard left the luxury car market silently through the back door, relinquishing the market to Cadillac. Although it shone again in the mighty Custom Clippers and Custom Eights, built in its old tradition with excellent craftsmanship and only the best materials, Cadillac now set the "Standard of the World", with bold styling and fins. Cadillac was among the earliest US makers to offer an automatic transmission (the Hydramatic in 1941), but Packard rapidly caught up with the Ultramatic,^[15] offered on top models in 1949 and all models from 1950 onward. Packard outsold Cadillac until about 1950; the problem was that most sales were the mid range lines, the volume models. A buyer of a Super Eight paying premium dollars did not enjoy seeing a lesser automobile with nearly all the Super Eight's features, with just slight distinction in exterior styling.

When Packard's president George T. Christopher announced that the "bathtub" would get another facelift for 1951, influential parts of the management revolted. Christopher was forced to resign and loyal Packard treasurer Hugh Ferry became president.

Although Packard did well during the early post-war period, supply soon caught up with demand and, by the early 1950s, the independent American manufacturers were left moribund as the "Big Three" – General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler – battled intensely for sales in the economy, medium-price, and luxury market.^[16] Those independents that remained alive in the early Fifties, merged. In 1953 Kaiser merged with Willys to become Kaiser-Willys. Nash and Hudson became American Motors (AMC). The strategy for these mergers included cutting costs and strengthening their sales organizations to meet the intense competition from the Big Three.^[17] Packard president James Nance, feeling that Packard could no longer survive alone, purchased Studebaker. However, George W. Mason, president of AMC, believed that the survival of America's remaining independent automakers depended on their joining in one multibrand company capable of challenging the "Big Three" as an equal. Mason held informal discussions with Nance to outline his strategic vision, and an agreement was reached for AMC to buy Packard's Ultramatic transmissions and V8 engines. However, SPC's Nance refused to consider merging with AMC unless he could take the top command position (Mason and Nance were former competitors as heads of the Kelvinator and Hotpoint appliance companies respectively). A week after the death of Mason, the new president of AMC, George W. Romney announced "there are no mergers under way either directly or indirectly."^[18] Nevertheless, Romney continued with Mason's commitment to buy components from SPC. Although Mason and Nance had previously agreed that SPC would purchase parts from AMC, it did not do so. Moreover Packard's engines and transmissions were comparatively expensive, so AMC began development of its own V8 engine.^[19]

Meanwhile, Nance appeared to have no awareness of Studebaker's serious financial woes, mostly dealing with their break−even production figures. Due diligence was not performed, and marriage was rushed. Studebaker's management was notorious for building the wrong car at the wrong time, while the cars people wanted were always in short supply, strangling the company financially as a result.

In 1951 Packard replaced the old "bathtub" models with a new and more modern body that resembled typical cars of the early 1950s. Sales were slower by 1953, despite Packard's push to recapture the luxury market with such limited edition luxury models as the Caribbean convertible and the Patrician 400 Sedan. In 1954, Packard stylist Richard Teague was called upon by Nance to redesign the 1955 model. To Teague's credit, the 1955 Packard was indeed a sensation when it appeared, gaining greater acceptance than anticipated. Not only was the body completely updated and modernized, but the suspension was totally new, with torsion bars front and rear, along with an electric load-leveler control that kept the car level regardless of load or road conditions. Crowning this stunning new design was Packard's first modern overhead-valve V8, displacing 352 cu in (5.8 l), replacing the old, heavy, cast-iron side valve straight-eight that had been used for decades. In addition, Packard offered the entire host of power comfort and convenience features, such as power steering and brakes, electric window lifts, and air conditioning (even in the Caribbean convertible), a Packard exclusive at the time. Packard, ever the innovator, was the originator of AC in automobiles in the 1930s, as well as the first car to use a steering wheel. For 1956, the Clipper became a separate make, with Clipper Custom and Deluxe models available. Now the Packard-Clipper business model was a mirror to Lincoln-Mercury. "Senior" Packards were built in four body styles. Each body style had a unique model name. Patrician was used for the four-door top of the line sedans, Four Hundred was used for the hardtop coupes, and Caribbean was used for the convertible and hardtop vinyl-roof two-door hardtop models. In the spring of 1956 the Executive was introduced. Coming in a four-door sedan, and a two-door hardtop, the Executive was aimed at the buyer who wanted a luxury car but could not justify Packard's pricing. It was an intermediate model using the Packard name but built on the Clipper wheelbase and using the Clipper tail end fender treatment. This was to some confusing and went against what James Nance had been attempting for several years to accomplish, the divorce of the Clipper line from Packard. But as late as the introduction was there was reasoning for in 1957 this car was to be continued, but then become a baseline Packard on the new 1957 Senior shell.

Despite the new 1955/56 design, Cadillac still led the luxury market, followed by Lincoln, Packard and Imperial. Reliability problems with the automatic transmission and all those electrical gadgets further eroded the public's opinion of Packard. Sales were good for 1955, very good compared to 1954. 1955 was also an industry banner year. Packard's sales slid in 1956 due to the fit and finish of the 1955's, and mechanical issues relating to the new engineering features. These defects cost Packard millions in recalls and tarnished a newly won image just in its infancy. Along with Studebaker sales dragging Packard down, things looked more terminal than ever for SPC.

For 1956, Teague kept the basic 1955 design, and added more garish touches to the body such as then−fashionable three toning. Headlamps hooded in a more radical style in the front fenders and a slight shuffling of chrome distinguished the 5656. "Electronic Push-button Ultramatic," which located transmission push buttons on a stalk off of the steering column, proved to be trouble-prone, adding to the car's negative reputation, possibly soon to become an orphan. Model series remained the same, but the V8 was now enlarged to 374 cu in (6.1 l) for Senior series, the largest in the industry. In the top-of-the-line Caribbean, that engine produced 310 hp (230 kW). Clippers continued to use the 352 engine. There were plans for an all−new 1957 line of Senior Packards based on the showcar Predictor. Clippers and Studebakers would also share many inner and outer body panels. These models were in many ways far advanced from what would be produced by any automaker at the time, save Chrysler, which would soon feel public wrath for its own poor quality issues after rushing its all−new 1957 lines into production. James Nance had the dubious destiny to go over to Ford after Packard's dismissal and head the new MEL (Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln) division, and quickly buried another brand, the Edsel. Although Nance tried everything, but the company failed to secure funding for new retooling, forcing sharing of body parts (Studebaker's) but not as they had been envisioned. SPC's fate was thus sealed, the large Packard with all its newfound hope and promise was effectively dead: an executive decision had killed "the car we could not afford to lose".

1957–1958[link]

1958 Packard

In 1957, no more Packards were built in Detroit and the Clipper disappeared as a separate brand name. Instead, a Studebaker President-based car bearing the Packard Clipper nameplate appeared on the market, but sales were slow. Available in just two body styles, Town Sedan (4-door sedan) and Country Sedan (4-door station wagon), they were powered by Studebaker's 289 cu in (4.7 l) V8 with McCulloch supercharger, delivering the same 275 hp (205 kW) as the 1956 Clipper Custom, although at higher revolutions.

While the 1957 Packard Clipper was less Packard, it was a very good Studebaker. The cars sold in limited numbers, which was attributed to Packard dealers dropping their franchises and consumers fearful of buying a car that could soon be an orphaned make. It was tried with design cues from the 1956 Clipper (visual in the grille and dash). Wheel-covers, tail-lamps and dials were stock 1956 parts, as was the Packard cormorant hood mascot and trunk chrome trim from 1955 senior Packards.

The 1958 models were launched with no series name, simply as "Packard". More styles were added, a 2-door hardtop and 4-door sedan, and as the premier model, a Packard Hawk that was a Studebaker Golden Hawk with a new front, a spare wheel moulded in the trunk lid reminiscent of the concurrent Imperial, and Packard styling cues.

These cars were the first in the industry to be "facelifted" with plastic parts. The housing for the new dual headlights and the complete fins were fibreglass parts grafted on Studebaker bodies. There was very little chrome on the low front clip. Designer Duncan McCrae managed to include the 1956 Clipper tail lights for one last time, this time in a fin, and under a canted fin. A bizarre combination and poorly executed. In fact Dodge did something similar, however the effect was less jarring. Added with the pods for the dual headlights and the new 58 Packard was a real hodgepodge of late-1950s styling ques. The public reaction was predictable and though there were more models in the Packard lineup, sales were almost non-existent. Had Studebaker's been built in Detroit on a Packard chassis, the outcome might have been positive. Why it was decided to go into a plant more aged than the Detroit plant, with higher production requirements, added to dipping sales is a connundrum. SPC was a trainwreck, thankfully the Lark was only a year away. All 1958 Packards were given 14 in (36 cm) wheels to lower the profile.

Predictably, some Packard devotees were disappointed by the marque's loss of exclusivity and what they perceived as a reduction in quality. They joined competitors and media critics in christening the new models as Packardbakers. They failed to sell in sufficient numbers to keep the marque afloat. However, with the market flooded by inexpensive cars, none of the minor automakers was able to sell vehicles at loss leader prices to keep up with Ford and GM.^[20] There was also a general decline in demand for large cars which heralded an industry switch to compact cars like the Studebaker Lark. Several makes were discontinued around this timeframe. Not since the 30's had so many makes disappeared: Packard, Edsel, Hudson, Nash, DeSoto, and Kaiser.

Concept Packards[link]

1956 Predictor concept, at the Studebaker National Museum

During the 1950s, a number of "dream cars" were built by Packard in an attempt to keep the marque alive in the imaginations of the American car-buying public. Included in this category are the 1952 Pan American that led to the production Caribbean and the Panther (also known as Daytona), based on a 1954 platform. Shortly after the introduction of the Caribbean, Packard showed a prototype hardtop called the Balboa. It featured a reverse slant rear window that could be lowered, a gadget introduced in a production car by Mercury in 1957 and still in production in 1966. The Request was based on the '55 Four Hundred hardtop, but featured a classic upright Packard fluted grille reminiscent of the prewar models. In addition, the 1957 engineering mule "Black Bess" was built to test new features for a future car. This car had a surprising resemblance to the 1958 Edsel, though far more refined and attractive. It featured Packard's return to a vertical grill. This grill was very narrow with the familiar ox yoke shape that had graced nearly every Packard ever made, and with front fenders showing off the dual headlights resembling Chrysler products from that era. It is very interesting to surmise what effect the luxury 1957 Packard's resemblance to the later Edsel might have had on that vehicle which would take another year to come to market; also, knowing the story in hindsight, what the effect the Edsel's tremendous failure might have had on Packard's fortunes. The engineering mule Black Bess was destroyed by the company shortly after the Packard plant was shuttered. Of the ten Requests built only four were sold off the showroom floor. One of these was found in Yakima, Washington and restored by a group from Pasco, Washington. It was recently sold to a buyer in California. Best known of these show cars is the Predictor. This hardtop coupe's design followed the lines of the planned 1957 cars. It had many unusual features, among them a roof section that opened either by opening a door or activating a switch, well ahead of later T-Tops. The car had seats that rotated out allowing the passenger easy access, a feature later used on some Chrysler products. The Predictor also had the opera windows, or portholes, found on concurrent Thunderbirds. Other novel ideas were overhead switches—these were in the production Avanti—and a dash design that followed the hood profile, centering dials in the center console area. This feature has only recently been used on production cars. The Predictor survives and is on display at the Studebaker National Museum section of the Center for History in South Bend, Indiana.

Astral[link]

There was one very unusual prototype, the Studebaker-Packard Astral, made in 1957 and first unvieled at the South Bend Art Centre on January 12, 1958 and then at the March 1958 Geneva Motor Show.^[21] It had at single gyroscopic balanced wheel and the publicity data suggested it could be nuclear powered or have what the designers descibed as an ionic engine. No working prototype was ever made nor was it likely that one was ever intended.^[22][23]

The Astral was designed by Edward E Herrmann, Studebaker-Packards director of interior design, as a project to give his team experience in working with glass reinforced plastic. It was put on show at various Studebaker dealerships before being put into storage. Rediscovered 30 years later by George Hamlin, the car was restored and put on display by the Studebaker museum.

The end[link]

Studebaker-Packard pulled the Packard nameplate from the marketplace in 1959. It kept its name until 1962 when "Packard" was dropped off the corporation's name at a time when it was introducing the all new Avanti, and a less anachronistic image was being sought, thus finishing the story of the great American Packard marque. Ironically, it was considered that the Packard name might be used for the new fiberglass sports car, as well as Pierce-Arrow, the make Studebaker controlled in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

In the late 1950s, Studebaker-Packard was approached by enthusiasts to rebadge the French car maker Facel-Vega's Excellence suicide door, 4-door hardtop as a 'Packard' for sale in North America, using stock Packard V8s, and identifying trim including red hexagon wheel covers, cormorant hood ornament, and classic vertical ox yoke grille. The proposition was rejected when Daimler-Benz threatened to pull out of its 1957 marketing and distribution agreement, which would have cost Studebaker-Packard more in revenue than they could have made from the badge-engineered Packard. Daimler-Benz had little of its own dealer network at the time and used this agreement to enter and become more established in the American market thru SPC's dealer network, and felt this car was a threat to their models. By acquiescing, SPC did themselves no favors and may have accelerated their exit from automobiles, and Mercedes-Benz protecting their own turf, helped ensure their future.

Packard automobile engines[link]

Packard's engineering staff designed and built excellent, reliable engines. Packard offered a 12-cylinder engine—the "Twin Six"—as well as a low-compression straight eight, but never a 16-cylinder engine. After WWII, Packard continued with their successful straight-eight-cylinder flathead engines. While as fast as the new GM and Chrysler OHV V8s, they were perceived as obsolete by buyers. By waiting until 1955, Packard was the last U.S. automaker to introduce a high-compression V8 engine. The design was physically large and entirely conventional, copying many of the first generation Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Studebaker Kettering features. It was produced in 320 cu in (5.2 L) and 352 cu in (5.8 L) displacements. The Caribbean version had two 4-barrel carburetors and produced 275 hp (205 kW). For 1956, a 374" version was used in the senior cars and the Caribbean 2x4-barrel produced 305 hp (227 kW).

In-house designed and built, their "Ultramatic" automatic transmission featured a lockup torque converter with two speeds. The early Ultramatics normally operated only in "high" with "low" having to be selected manually. Beginning with late 1954, the transmission could be set to operate only in "high" or to start in "low" and automatically shift into "high". Packard's last major development was the Bill Allison-invented "Torsion-Level" suspension, an electronically controlled four-wheel torsion-bar suspension that balanced the car's height front to rear and side to side, having electric motors to compensate each spring independently. Contemporary American competitors had serious difficulties with this suspension concept, trying to accomplish the same with air-bag springs before dropping the idea.

Packard also made large aeronautical and marine engines. Chief engineer Jesse Vincent developed a V12 airplane engine called the "Liberty engine" that was used widely in entente air corps during World War I. Packard powered boats and airplanes set several records during the 1920s. For Packard's production of military and navy engines, see the Merlin engine and PT Boats which contributed to the Allied victory in World War II. Packard also developed a jet propulsion engine for the US Air Force, one of the reasons for the Curtiss-Wright take-over in 1956, as they wanted to sell their own jet.^[24]

Resurrection of Packard name[link]

Packard Motor Car Company, a registered Arizona Corporation, is the registered owner of the Packard Name Trademark for automobiles and parts. The Company uses the trademark by licensing various companies to use the Packard name, and the Company also manufactures and markets Packard branded automobile parts.^[25]

The Company answers e-mails and phone calls on a daily basis from people wanting information about Packard, past and present. The Company assists people and companies world wide, requesting specific Packard parts and puts them in touch with suppliers.^[25] In 1995, Roy and Barbara Gullickson purchased the rights to the Packard name and, subsequently, had the company design and build a new V12-powered luxury sedan, hoping to attract support for short-run manufacturing. The enterprise has been promoted on a website^[25] which details the prototype, featuring an overhead-valve, fuel-injected 525 cu in (8.6 L) all-aluminum V12 engine. The car was shown at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2003. The 1998 prototype and Company, such that it was, were put up for sale in 2008. As with the Avanti Motor Corporation around the same time, there were interested parties, but no eventual takers. Both remain in limbo, the last great remains of a distilled empire, Studebaker-Packard Corporation, once the 75th largest corporation in the United States.

Packard automobile models[link]

1907 Packard - The New York Times, November 6, 1907

• Packard Single-Cylinder models:
  • Packard Model A (1899–1900)
  • Packard Model B (1900)
  • Packard Model C (1901)
  • Packard Model E (1901)
  • Packard Model F (1901–1903)
  • Packard Model M (1904)

• Packard Twin-Cylinder model:
  • Packard Model G (1902)

• Packard Four-Cylinder models:
  • Packard Model K (1903)
  • Packard Gray Wolf (1903)
  • Packard Model L (1904)
  • Packard Model N (1905)
  • Packard Model 24 (Series S) (1906)
  • Packard Model 18 (Series NA-NC) (1905–1907)
  • Packard Model 30 (Series U) (1907–1912)

• Packard Six-Cylinder models:
  • Packard Dominant Six (1912–1915)
  • Packard Single Six (1921–1924)
  • Packard Six (1925–1929)
  • Packard 110
  • Packard 115 (1937)
  • Packard Six (1937–1949)

• Packard Eight
  • Packard Single Eight & Eight (1924-)
  • Packard Custom Eight
  • Packard Light Eight
  • Packard 120 (1935–1942)
  • Packard 160
  • Packard 180
  • Packard Super Eight

• Packard V-12:
  • Packard Twin Six (1916–1923)
  • Packard 905 (1916–1923)
  • Packard Twin Six (1932)
  • Packard Twelve (1932–1939)

• Post War Packards (including Clipper)
  • Packard 400, see Packard Four Hundred
  • Packard Caribbean
  • Packard Cavalier
  • Packard Clipper
  • Packard 200
  • Packard 250, see Packard 200
  • Packard 300
  • Packard Executive
  • Packard Four Hundred
  • Packard Hawk (1958)
  • Packard Mayfair
  • Packard Pacific
  • Packard Patrician (including Patrician 400)
  • Packard Single Six & Six (1921-1929)
  • Packard Station Sedan (1949–1950)
  • 1957 and 1958 Packards

Packard show cars[link]

• Packard Phantom (1944; also called Brown Bomber and Macauley's Folly)
• Packard Pan-American (1951; also called Macauley Speedster after Packard design executive Edward Macauley)
• Packard Pan-American (1952) and Panther-Daytona
• Packard Balboa (1953)
• Packard Panther (1954–1955)
• Packard Request (1955)
• Packard Predictor (1956)
• Packard Black Bess (1957; not an official name, it was a driveable design proposal)

Body styles/misc. by tradename[link]

• Packard Clipper Constellation
• Packard Super Panama
• Ultramatic, Packard's self-developed automatic transmission (1949–1953; Gear-Start Ultramatic 1954, Twin Ultramatic 1955-1956)
• Thunderbolt, a line of Packard Straight Eights after WW2
• Torsion Level Ride, Packard's torsion bar suspension with integrated levelizer (1955–1956)
• Easamatic, Packard's name for the Bendix TreadleVac power brakes available after 1952.

Electromatic, Packard's name for its electrically controlled, vacuum operated automatic clutch.

• Twin Traction, Packard's optional limited-slip rear axle; the first on a production car worldwide (1956–1958)
• Touch Button, Packard's electric panel to control 1956 win Ultramatic

Advertisements[link]

1910 Packard Advertisement - Indianapolis Star, May 22, 1910

1910 Packard Advertisement - Indianapolis Star, May 22, 1910

1912 Packard Advertisement - Syracuse Herald, March 14, 1912 The Packard advertising song on television had the words: Ride ride ride ride ride along in your Packard, in your Packard. In a Packard you've got the world on a string. In a Packard car you feel like a king. Ride ride ride ride ride along in your Packard, what fun! And ask the man, just ask the man the lucky man who owns one!

See also[link]

• Studebaker
• List of defunct United States automobile manufacturers
• America's Packard Museum
• Toronto Transportation Commission
• Packard 1A-1500
• Packard 1A-2500
• The Martha Wright Show, also known as The Packard Showroom (1954)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Packard vehicles

• The Packard Club
• National Packard Museum
• America's Packard Museum
• Packard Info: Free online library of Packard information
• Free online library.
• Packard aero-engines at enginehistory.org
• 4M-2500 at pt-boat.com
• James Ward Packard article Lehigh University
• The Packard Motor Car Foundation
• abandonedamerica.us - Photos of the Packard Plant Ruins
• Article: Packard Motor Car Company – 'Ask the Man Who Owns One'

v t e Packard 1899–1958 (Category) Cars Packard 200 • Packard 300 • Packard Caribbean • Packard Cavalier • Packard Clipper • Packard Clipper Constellation • Packard Eight • Packard Light Eight • Packard Super Eight • Packard Executive • Packard Four Hundred • Packard Hawk • Packard One-Eighty • Packard One-Ten • Packard One-Twenty • Packard Patrician • Packard Six • Packard Twin Six/Twelve • Packard Station Sedan • Studebaker based Packards Corporate Clipper • Packard • Studebaker-Packard Corporation People Howard Darrin • Werner Gubitz • James J. Nance • James Ward Packard • William Dowd Packard • Richard A. Teague • Jesse Vincent • John Reinhart

Frank Zappa
Zappa performing in Ekeberghallen, Oslo, on January 16, 1977
Background information
Birth name	Frank Vincent Zappa
Born	(1940-12-21)December 21, 1940 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Died	December 4, 1993(1993-12-04) (aged 52) Los Angeles, California, U.S. due to prostate cancer
Genres	Rock, experimental, jazz, classical
Occupations	Composer, musician, conductor, producer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, synclavier, bicycle, drums
Years active	1955–1993
Labels	Verve, Bizarre, Straight, DiscReet, Zappa, Barking Pumpkin
Associated acts	The Mothers of Invention Captain Beefheart Steve Vai
Website	zappa.com
Notable instruments
Hagström Viking Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster Gibson SG Gibson Les Paul Fender Stratocaster Synclavier

Frank Vincent Zappa^[1] (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, recording engineer, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band The Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. While in his teens, he acquired a taste for percussion-based avant-garde composers such as Edgard Varèse and 1950s rhythm and blues music. He began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands; he later switched to electric guitar.

He was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often impossible to categorize. His 1966 debut album with The Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. His later albums shared this eclectic and experimental approach, irrespective of whether the fundamental format was one of rock, jazz or classical. His lyrics—often humorously—reflected his iconoclastic view of established social and political processes, structures and movements. He was a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate for freedom of speech, self-education, political participation and the abolition of censorship.

Zappa was a highly productive and prolific artist and gained widespread critical acclaim. He had some commercial success, particularly in Europe, and for most of his career was able to work as an independent artist. He also remains a major influence on musicians and composers. Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. Zappa was married to Kathryn J. "Kay" Sherman from 1960 to 1964. In 1967, he married Adelaide Gail Sloatman, with whom he remained until his death from prostate cancer in 1993. They had four children: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen. Gail Zappa manages the businesses of her late husband under the name the Zappa Family Trust.

Early life[link]

Frank Zappa was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 21, 1940. His mother, Rose Marie Colimore, was of Italian and French ancestry; his father, Francesco Vincente Zappa, was an immigrant from Partinico, Sicily, and was of Greek and Arab ancestry.^[2] Zappa was the eldest of four children.^[3] The family moved often because his father, a chemist and mathematician, worked in the defense industry. After a time in Florida in the 1940s, the family returned to Maryland, where Zappa's father worked at the Edgewood Arsenal chemical warfare facility of the Aberdeen Proving Ground. Due to their home's proximity to the arsenal, which stored mustard gas, gas masks were kept in the home.^[4] This had a profound effect on Zappa, and references to germs, germ warfare and the defense industry occur throughout his work.^[5]

Zappa was often sick as a child, suffering from asthma, earaches and sinus problems. A doctor treated his sinusitis by inserting a pellet of radium into each of Zappa's nostrils; little was known about the potential dangers of even small amounts of therapeutic radiation.^[6] Nasal imagery and references appear in his music and lyrics, as well as in the collage album covers created by his long-time collaborator Cal Schenkel.

Many of Zappa's childhood diseases may have been due to exposure to mustard gas. His health worsened when he lived in Baltimore.^[4][6] In 1952, his family relocated for reasons of health.^[7] They moved, next, to Monterey, California, where his father taught metallurgy at the Naval Postgraduate School. They soon moved to Claremont, then to El Cajon, before finally settling in San Diego.^[8]

Musical influences[link]

Zappa joined his first band at Mission Bay High School in San Diego. He was the band's drummer.^[10] About the same time his parents bought a phonograph, which allowed him to develop his interest in music, and to begin building his record collection.^[11] R&B singles were early purchases, starting a large collection he kept for the rest of his life.^[12] He was interested in sounds for their own sake, particularly the sounds of drums and other percussion instruments. By age 12, he had obtained a snare drum and began learning the basics of orchestral percussion.^[10] Zappa's deep interest in modern classical music began^[13] when he read a LOOK magazine article about the Sam Goody record store chain that lauded its ability to sell an LP as obscure as The Complete Works of Edgard Varèse, Volume One.^[14] The article described Varèse's percussion composition Ionisation, produced by EMS Recordings, as "a weird jumble of drums and other unpleasant sounds". Zappa decided to seek out Varèse's music. After searching for over a year, Zappa found a copy (he noticed the LP because of the "mad scientist" looking photo of Varèse on the cover). Not having enough money with him, he persuaded the salesman to sell him the record at a discount.^[14] Thus began his lifelong passion for Varèse's music and that of other modern classical composers.

Zappa grew up influenced by avant-garde composers such as Varèse, Halim El-Dabh,^[16] Igor Stravinsky, and Anton Webern, R&B and doo-wop groups (including the Medallions^[15] and local pachuco groups), and modern jazz. His own heterogeneous ethnic background, and the diverse social and cultural mix in and around greater Los Angeles, were crucial in the formation of Zappa as a practitioner of underground music and of his later distrustful and openly critical attitude towards "mainstream" social, political and musical movements. He frequently lampooned musical fads like psychedelia, rock opera and disco.^[17][18] Television also exerted a strong influence, as demonstrated by quotations from show themes and advertising jingles found in his later works.^[19]

Youth and beginning of career (1955–1960)[link]

Zappa's senior yearbook photo, 1958.

By 1956, the Zappa family had moved to Lancaster, a small aerospace and farming town in the Antelope Valley of the Mojave Desert close to Edwards Air Force Base, in northern Los Angeles County. Zappa's mother encouraged him in his musical interests. Although she disliked Varèse's music, she was indulgent enough to give her son a long distance call to the composer as a 15th birthday present.^[14] Unfortunately, Varèse was in Europe at the time, so Zappa spoke to the composer's wife. He later received a letter from Varèse thanking him for his interest, and telling him about a composition he was working on called "Déserts". Living in the desert town of Lancaster, Zappa found this very exciting. Varèse invited him to visit if he ever came to New York. The meeting never took place (Varèse died in 1965), but Zappa framed the letter and kept it on display for the rest of his life.^[13][20]

At Antelope Valley High School, Zappa met Don Vliet (who later expanded his name to Don Van Vliet and adopted the stage name Captain Beefheart). Zappa and Vliet became close friends, sharing an interest in R&B records and influencing each other musically throughout their careers.^[21] Around the same time, Zappa started playing drums in a local band, The Blackouts.^[17] The band was racially diverse, and included Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood who later became a member of The Mothers of Invention. Zappa's interest in the guitar grew, and in 1957 he was given his first guitar. Among his early influences were Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Howlin' Wolf and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown.^[22] (In the 1970s and '80s, he invited Watson to perform on several albums.) Zappa considered soloing as the equivalent of forming "air sculptures",^[23] and developed an eclectic, innovative and highly personal style.

Zappa's interest in composing and arranging proliferated in his last high-school years. By his final year, he was writing, arranging and conducting avant-garde performance pieces for the school orchestra.^[24] He graduated from Antelope Valley High School in 1958, and later acknowledged two of his music teachers on the sleeve of the 1966 album Freak Out!^[25] Due to his family's frequent moves, Zappa attended at least six different high schools, and as a student he was often bored and given to distracting the rest of the class with juvenile antics.^[26] He left community college after one semester, and maintained thereafter a disdain for formal education, taking his children out of school at age 15 and refusing to pay for their college.^[27]

Zappa left home in 1959, and moved into a small apartment in Echo Park, Los Angeles. After meeting Kathryn J. "Kay" Sherman during his short stay at Pomona College, they moved in together in Ontario, and were married December 28, 1960.^[28] Zappa worked for a short period in advertising. His sojourn in the commercial world was brief, but gave him valuable insights into how it works.^[29] Throughout his career, he took a keen interest in the visual presentation of his work, designing some of his album covers and directing his own films and videos.

Early 1960s: Studio Z[link]

Zappa attempted to earn a living as a musician and composer, and played different nightclub gigs, some with a new version of The Blackouts.^[30] Financially more rewarding were Zappa's earliest professional recordings, two soundtracks for the low-budget films The World's Greatest Sinner (1962) and Run Home Slow (1965). The former score was commissioned by actor-producer Timothy Carey and recorded in 1961. It contains many themes that appeared on later Zappa records.^[31] The latter soundtrack was recorded in 1963 after the film was completed, but it was commissioned by one of Zappa's former high school teachers in 1959 and Zappa may have worked on it before the film was shot.^[32] Excerpts from the soundtrack can be heard on the posthumous album The Lost Episodes (1996).

During the early 1960s, Zappa wrote and produced songs for other local artists, often working with singer-songwriter Ray Collins and producer Paul Buff. Their "Memories of El Monte" was recorded by The Penguins, although only Cleve Duncan of the original group was featured.^[33] Buff owned the small Pal Recording Studio in Cucamonga, which included a unique five-track tape recorder he had built. At that time, only a handful of the most sophisticated commercial studios had multi-track facilities; the industry standard for smaller studios was still mono or two-track.^[34] Although none of the recordings from the period achieved major commercial success, Zappa earned enough money to allow him to stage a concert of his orchestral music in 1963 and to broadcast and record it.^[35] He appeared on Steve Allen's syndicated late night show the same year, in which he played a bicycle as a musical instrument.^[36] With Captain Beefheart, Zappa recorded some songs under the name of The Soots. They were rejected by Dot Records for having "no commercial potential", a verdict Zappa subsequently quoted on the sleeve of Freak Out!^[37]

In 1964, after his marriage started to break up, he moved into the Pal studio and began routinely working 12 hours or more per day recording and experimenting with overdubbing and audio tape manipulation. This set a work pattern that endured for most of his life.^[38] Aided by his income from film composing, Zappa took over the studio from Paul Buff, who was now working with Art Laboe at Original Sound. It was renamed Studio Z.^[39] Studio Z was rarely booked for recordings by other musicians. Instead, friends moved in, notably James "Motorhead" Sherwood.^[40] Zappa started performing as guitarist with a power trio, The Muthers, in local bars in order to support himself.^[41]

An article in the local press describing Zappa as "the Movie King of Cucamonga" prompted the local police to suspect that he was making pornographic films.^[42] In March 1965, Zappa was approached by a vice squad undercover officer, and accepted an offer of $100 to produce a suggestive audio tape for an alleged stag party. Zappa and a female friend recorded a faked erotic episode. When Zappa was about to hand over the tape, he was arrested, and the police stripped the studio of all recorded material.^[42] The press was tipped off beforehand, and next day's The Daily Report wrote that "Vice Squad investigators stilled the tape recorders of a free-swinging, a-go-go film and recording studio here Friday and arrested a self-styled movie producer".^[43] Zappa was charged with "conspiracy to commit pornography".^[44] This felony charge was reduced and he was sentenced to six months in jail on a misdemeanor, with all but ten days suspended.^[45] His brief imprisonment left a permanent mark, and was key in the formation of his anti-authoritarian stance.^[46] Zappa lost several recordings made at Studio Z in the process, as the police only returned 30 out of 80 hours of tape seized.^[47] Eventually, he could no longer afford to pay the rent on the studio and was evicted.^[48] Zappa managed to recover some of his possessions before the studio was torn down in 1966.^[49]

Late 1960s: The Mothers of Invention[link]

In 1965, Zappa was approached by Ray Collins who asked him to take over as the guitarist in local R&B band The Soul Giants, following a fight between Collins and the group's original guitarist.^[3] Zappa accepted, and soon he assumed leadership and the role as co-lead singer (even though he never considered himself a singer^[50]). He convinced the other members that they should play his music to increase the chances of getting a record contract.^[51] The band was renamed The Mothers, coincidentally on Mother's Day.^[52] The group increased their bookings after beginning an association with manager Herb Cohen, while they gradually gained attention on the burgeoning Los Angeles underground music scene.^[53] In early 1966, they were spotted by leading record producer Tom Wilson when playing "Trouble Every Day", a song about the Watts Riots.^[54] Wilson had earned acclaim as the producer for singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and the folk-rock act Simon & Garfunkel, and was notable as one of the few African Americans working as a major label pop music producer at this time.

Wilson signed The Mothers to the Verve Records division of MGM Records, which had built up a strong reputation in the music industry for its releases of modern jazz recordings in the 1940s and 1950s, but was attempting to diversify into pop and rock audiences. Verve insisted that the band officially rename themselves because "Mother", in slang terminology, was short for "motherfucker" — a term that apart from its profane meanings can denote a skilled musician.^[55] The label suggested the name "The Mothers Auxiliary", which prompted Zappa to come up with the name "The Mothers of Invention."

[edit] Debut album: Freak Out! (1966)

With Wilson credited as producer, The Mothers of Invention, augmented by a studio orchestra, recorded the groundbreaking Freak Out! (1966) which, preceded by Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde, was the second rock double album ever released. It mixed R&B, doo-wop, musique concrète,^[56] and experimental sound collages that captured the "freak" subculture of Los Angeles at that time.^[57] Although he was dissatisfied with the final product—in a late '60s radio interview (included in the posthumous MOFO Project/Object compilation) Zappa recounted that the side-long closing track "Return of the Son of Monster Magnet" was intended to be the basic track for a much more complex work which Verve did not allow him to complete—Freak Out immediately established Zappa as a radical new voice in rock music, providing an antidote to the "relentless consumer culture of America".^[58] The sound was raw, but the arrangements were sophisticated. While recording in the studio, some of the additional session musicians were shocked that they were expected to read the notes on sheet music from charts with Zappa conducting them, since it was not standard when recording rock music.^[59] The lyrics praised non-conformity, disparaged authorities, and had dadaist elements. Yet, there was a place for seemingly conventional love songs.^[60] Most compositions are Zappa's, which set a precedent for the rest of his recording career. He had full control over the arrangements and musical decisions and did most overdubs. Wilson provided the industry clout and connections to get the group the financial resources needed.^[61]

	"Hungry Freaks Daddy" noicon The opening track on Freak Out!. The album has "consistently been voted as one of top 100 greatest albums ever made".[58]
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During the recording of Freak Out!, Zappa moved into a house in Laurel Canyon with friend Pamela Zarubica, who appeared on the album.^[59] The house became a meeting (and living) place for many LA musicians and groupies of the time, despite Zappa's disapproval of their illicit drug use.^[62] He labeled people on drugs "assholes in action", and he tried cannabis only a few times, but without any pleasure.^[63] He was a regular tobacco smoker for most of his life, and strongly critical of anti-tobacco campaigns.^[64] After a short promotional tour following the release of Freak Out!, Zappa met Adelaide Gail Sloatman. He fell in love within "a couple of minutes", and she moved into the house over the summer.^[51] They married in 1967, had four children and remained together until Zappa's death.

Wilson nominally produced The Mothers' second album Absolutely Free (1967), which was recorded in November 1966, and later mixed in New York, although by this time Zappa was in de facto control of most facets of the production. It featured extended playing by The Mothers of Invention and focused on songs that defined Zappa's compositional style of introducing abrupt, rhythmical changes into songs that were built from diverse elements.^[65] Examples are "Plastic People" and "Brown Shoes Don't Make It", which contained lyrics critical of the hypocrisy and conformity of American society, but also of the counterculture of the 1960s.^[66] As Zappa put it, "[W]e're satirists, and we are out to satirize everything."^[67] At the same time, Zappa had recorded material for a album of orchestral works to be released under his own name, Lumpy Gravy, released by Capitol Records in 1967. Due to contractual problems, the album was pulled. Zappa took the opportunity to radically restructure the contents, adding newly recorded, improvised dialogue. After the contractual problems were resolved, the album was reissued by Verve in 1968.^[68] It is an "incredible ambitious musical project",^[69] a "monument to John Cage",^[70] which intertwines orchestral themes, spoken words and electronic noises through radical audio editing techniques.^[71][72]

New York period (1966–1968)[link]

The Mothers of Invention played in New York in late 1966 and were offered a contract at the Garrick Theater during Easter 1967. This proved successful and Herb Cohen extended the booking, which eventually lasted half a year.^[73] As a result, Zappa and his wife, along with The Mothers of Invention, moved to New York.^[68] Their shows became a combination of improvised acts showcasing individual talents of the band as well as tight performances of Zappa's music. Everything was directed by Zappa's famous hand signals.^[74] Guest performers and audience participation became a regular part of the Garrick Theater shows. One evening, Zappa managed to entice some U.S. Marines from the audience onto the stage, where they proceeded to dismember a big baby doll, having been told by Zappa to pretend that it was a "gook baby".^[75]

Situated in New York, and only interrupted by the band's first European tour, The Mothers of Invention recorded the album widely regarded as the peak of the group's late 1960s work, We're Only in It for the Money (released 1968).^[76] It was produced by Zappa, with Wilson credited as executive producer. From then on, Zappa produced all albums released by The Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. We're Only in It for the Money featured some of the most creative audio editing and production yet heard in pop music, and the songs ruthlessly satirized the hippie and flower power phenomena.^[77] The cover photo parodied that of The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.^[78] The cover art was provided by Cal Schenkel whom Zappa met in New York. This initiated a life-long collaboration in which Schenkel designed covers for numerous Zappa and Mothers albums.^[79]

Reflecting Zappa's eclectic approach to music, the next album, Cruising with Ruben & the Jets (1968), was very different. It represented a collection of doo-wop songs; listeners and critics were not sure whether the album was a satire or a tribute.^[80] Zappa has noted that the album was conceived in the way Stravinsky's compositions were in his neo-classical period: "If he could take the forms and clichés of the classical era and pervert them, why not do the same ... to doo-wop in the fifties?"^[81] A theme from Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is heard during one song.

In New York, Zappa increasingly used tape editing as a compositional tool.^[82] A prime example is found on the double album Uncle Meat (1969),^[83] where the track "King Kong" is edited from various studio and live performances. Zappa had begun regularly recording concerts,^[84] and because of his insistence on precise tuning and timing, he was able to augment his studio productions with excerpts from live shows, and vice versa.^[85] Later, he combined recordings of different compositions into new pieces, irrespective of the tempo or meter of the sources. He dubbed this process "xenochrony" (strange synchronizations^[86]) — reflecting the Greek "xeno" (alien or strange) and "chrono" (time).^[85] Zappa also evolved a compositional approach which he called "conceptual continuity," meaning that any project or album was part of a larger project. Everything was connected, and musical themes and lyrics reappeared in different form on later albums. Conceptual continuity clues are found throughout Zappa's entire œuvre.^[19][82]

During the late 1960s, Zappa continued to develop the business sides of his career. He and Herb Cohen formed the Bizarre Records and Straight Records labels, distributed by Warner Bros. Records, as ventures to aid the funding of projects and to increase creative control. Zappa produced the double album Trout Mask Replica for Captain Beefheart, and releases by Alice Cooper, Wild Man Fischer, and The GTOs, as well as Lenny Bruce's last live performance.^[87]

Disbanding the original Mothers of Invention (1969)[link]

	"Peaches En Regalia" noicon The opening track on Hot Rats is considered to be one of Zappa's most enduring compositions,[88][89] and has been covered by many artists.[90]
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Zappa and The Mothers of Invention returned to Los Angeles in the summer of 1968, and the Zappas moved into a house on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, only to move again to one on Woodrow Wilson Drive in the autumn.^[91] This was to be Zappa's home for the rest of his life. Despite being a success with fans in Europe, The Mothers of Invention were not faring well financially.^[92] Their first records were vocally oriented, but Zappa wrote more instrumental jazz and classical oriented music for the band's concerts, which confused audiences. Zappa felt that audiences failed to appreciate his "electrical chamber music".^[93][94]

Zappa with The Mothers of Invention, Theatre de Clichy, Paris, 1971

In 1969 there were nine band members and Zappa was supporting the group himself from his publishing royalties whether they played or not.^[92] 1969 was also the year Zappa, fed up with MGM's interference, left MGM Records for Warner Bros. Records' Reprise Records subsidiary where Zappa/Mothers recordings would bear the Bizarre Records imprint. In late 1969, Zappa broke up the band. He often cited the financial strain as the main reason,^[95] but also commented on the band members' lack of sufficient effort.^[96] Many band members were bitter about Zappa's decision, and some took it as a sign of Zappa's concern for perfection at the expense of human feeling.^[94] Others were irritated by 'his autocratic ways',^[61] exemplified by Zappa's never staying at the same hotel as the band members.^[97] Several members would, however, play for Zappa in years to come. Remaining recordings with the band from this period were collected on Weasels Ripped My Flesh and Burnt Weeny Sandwich (both released in 1970).

After he disbanded The Mothers of Invention, Zappa released the acclaimed solo album Hot Rats (1969).^[98][99] It features, for the first time on record, Zappa playing extended guitar solos and contains one of his most enduring compositions, "Peaches en Regalia", which reappeared several times on future recordings.^[88] It was backed by jazz, blues and R&B session players including violinist Don "Sugarcane" Harris, drummers John Guerin and Paul Humphrey, multi-instrumentalist and previous member of Mothers of Invention Ian Underwood, and multi-instrumentalist Shuggie Otis on bass, along with a guest appearance by Captain Beefheart (providing vocals to the only non-instrumental track, "Willie the Pimp"). It became a popular album in England,^[100] and had a major influence on the development of the jazz-rock fusion genre.^[88][99]

1970s: From The Mothers to Zappa[link]

In 1970 Zappa met conductor Zubin Mehta. They arranged a May 1970 concert where Mehta conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic augmented by a rock band. According to Zappa, the music was mostly written in motel rooms while on tour with The Mothers of Invention. Some of it was later featured in the movie 200 Motels.^[100] Although the concert was a success, Zappa's experience working with a symphony orchestra was not a happy one.^[81] His dissatisfaction became a recurring theme throughout his career; he often felt that the quality of performance of his material delivered by orchestras was not commensurate with the money he spent on orchestral concerts and recordings.^[101]

Rebirth of The Mothers and filmmaking (1970)[link]

Frank Zappa in Paris, early 1970s

Later in 1970, Zappa formed a new version of The Mothers (from then on, he mostly dropped the "of Invention"). It included British drummer Aynsley Dunbar, jazz keyboardist George Duke, Ian Underwood, Jeff Simmons (bass, rhythm guitar), and three members of The Turtles: bass player Jim Pons, and singers Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, who, due to persistent legal and contractual problems, adopted the stage name "The Phlorescent Leech and Eddie", or "Flo & Eddie".^[102]

This version of The Mothers debuted on Zappa's next solo album Chunga's Revenge (1970),^[103] which was followed by the double-album soundtrack to the movie 200 Motels (1971), featuring The Mothers, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ringo Starr, Theodore Bikel, and Keith Moon. Co-directed by Zappa and Tony Palmer, it was filmed in a week at Pinewood Studios outside London.^[104] Tensions between Zappa and several cast and crew members arose before and during shooting.^[104] The film deals loosely with life on the road as a rock musician.^[105] It was the first feature film photographed on videotape and transferred to 35 mm film, a process which allowed for novel visual effects.^[106] It was released to mixed reviews.^[107] The score relied extensively on orchestral music, and Zappa's dissatisfaction with the classical music world intensified when a concert, scheduled at the Royal Albert Hall after filming, was canceled because a representative of the venue found some of the lyrics obscene. In 1975, he lost a lawsuit against the Royal Albert Hall for breach of contract.^[108]

After 200 Motels, the band went on tour, which resulted in two live albums, Fillmore East - June 1971 and Just Another Band From L.A.; the latter included the 20-minute track "Billy the Mountain", Zappa's satire on rock opera set in Southern California. This track was representative of the band's theatrical performances in which songs were used to build up sketches based on 200 Motels scenes as well as new situations often portraying the band members' sexual encounters on the road.^[109][110]

Accident, attack and their aftermath (1971–1972)[link]

	"Waka/Jawaka" noicon The closing track on Waka/Jawaka, one of Zappa's jazz-oriented albums.
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In December 1971, there were two serious setbacks. While performing at Casino de Montreux in Switzerland, The Mothers' equipment was destroyed when a flare set off by an audience member started a fire that burned down the casino.^[111] Immortalized in Deep Purple's song "Smoke on the Water", the event and immediate aftermath can be heard on the bootleg album Swiss Cheese/Fire, released legally as part of Zappa's Beat the Boots II compilation. After a week's break, The Mothers played at the Rainbow Theatre, London, with rented gear. During the encore, an audience member pushed Zappa off the stage and into the concrete-floored orchestra pit. The band thought Zappa had been killed—he had suffered serious fractures, head trauma and injuries to his back, leg, and neck, as well as a crushed larynx, which ultimately caused his voice to drop a third after healing.^[111] This accident resulted in him using a wheelchair for an extended period, forcing him off the road for over half a year. Upon his return to the stage in September 1972, he was still wearing a leg brace, had a noticeable limp and could not stand for very long while on stage. Zappa noted that one leg healed "shorter than the other" (a reference later found in the lyrics of songs "Zomby Woof" and "Dancin' Fool"), resulting in chronic back pain.^[111] Meanwhile, The Mothers were left in limbo and eventually formed the core of Flo and Eddie's band as they set out on their own.

During 1971–1972 Zappa released two strongly jazz-oriented solo LPs, Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo, which were recorded during the forced layoff from concert touring, using floating line-ups of session players and Mothers alumni.^[112] Musically, the albums were akin to Hot Rats.^[113] Zappa began touring again in late 1972.^[113] His first effort was a series of concerts in September 1972 with a 20-piece big band referred to as the Grand Wazoo. This was followed by a scaled-down version known as the Petit Wazoo that toured the U.S. for five weeks from October to December 1972.^[114]

Top 10 album (1973–1975)[link]

Zappa then formed and toured with smaller groups that variously included Ian Underwood (reeds, keyboards), Ruth Underwood (vibes, marimba), Sal Marquez (trumpet, vocals), Napoleon Murphy Brock (sax, flute and vocals), Bruce Fowler (trombone), Tom Fowler (bass), Chester Thompson (drums), Ralph Humphrey (drums), George Duke (keyboards, vocals), and Jean-Luc Ponty (violin).

Frank Zappa in concert, Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, May 1973

By 1973 the Bizarre and Straight labels were discontinued. In their place, Zappa and Cohen created DiscReet Records, also distributed by Warner Bros.^[115] Zappa continued a high rate of production through the first half of the 1970s, including the solo album Apostrophe (') (1974), which reached a career-high No. 10 on the Billboard pop album charts^[116] helped by the chart single "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow".^[117] Other albums from the period are Over-Nite Sensation (1973), which contained several future concert favorites, such as "Dinah-Moe Humm" and "Montana", and the albums Roxy & Elsewhere (1974) and One Size Fits All (1975) which feature ever-changing versions of a band still called The Mothers, and are notable for the tight renditions of highly difficult jazz fusion songs in such pieces as "Inca Roads", "Echidna's Arf (Of You)" and "Be-Bop Tango (Of the Old Jazzmen's Church)".^[118] A live recording from 1974, You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 (1988), captures "the full spirit and excellence of the 1973–75 band".^[118] Zappa released Bongo Fury (1975), which featured live recordings from a tour the same year that reunited him with Captain Beefheart for a brief period.^[119] They later became estranged for a period of years, but were in contact at the end of Zappa's life.^[120]

Business breakups and touring (1976–1979)[link]

Zappa with Captain Beefheart, seated left, during a 1975 concert

Zappa's relationship with long-time manager Herb Cohen ended in 1976. Zappa sued Cohen for skimming more than he was allocated from DiscReet Records, as well as for signing acts of which Zappa did not approve.^[121] Cohen filed a lawsuit against Zappa in return, which froze the money Zappa and Cohen had gained from an out-of-court settlement with MGM over the rights of the early Mothers of Invention recordings. It also prevented Zappa having access to any of his previously recorded material during the trials. Zappa therefore took his personal master copies of the rock-oriented Zoot Allures (1976) directly to Warner Bros., thereby bypassing DiscReet.^[122]

In the mid-1970s Zappa prepared material for Läther (pronounced "leather"), a four-LP project. Läther encapsulated all the aspects of Zappa's musical styles — rock tunes, orchestral works, complex instrumentals, and Zappa's own trademark distortion-drenched guitar solos. Wary of a quadruple-LP, Warner Bros. Records refused to release it.^[123] Zappa managed to get an agreement with Phonogram, and test pressings were made targeted at a Halloween 1977 release, but Warner Bros. prevented the release by claiming rights over the material.^[124] Zappa responded by appearing on the Pasadena, California radio station KROQ, allowing them to broadcast Läther and encouraging listeners to make their own tape recordings.^[125] A lawsuit between Zappa and Warner Bros. followed, during which no Zappa material was released for more than a year. Eventually, Warner Bros. issued different versions of much of the Läther material in 1978 and 1979 as four individual albums (five full length LPs) with limited promotion.^[126] The four individual albums were not included in the third Old Masters box set released in 1987.^[127] When the music was first released on CD in 1991, Zappa chose to release the four individual albums. Läther was released posthumously in 1996.^[128]

Although Zappa eventually gained the rights to all his material created under the MGM and Warner Bros. contracts,^[129] the various lawsuits meant that for a period Zappa's only income came from touring, which he therefore did extensively in 1975–1977 with relatively small, mainly rock-oriented, bands.^[124] Drummer Terry Bozzio became a regular band member, Napoleon Murphy Brock stayed on for a while, and original Mothers of Invention bassist Roy Estrada joined. Among other musicians were bassist Patrick O'Hearn, singer-guitarist Ray White and keyboardist Eddie Jobson. In December 1976, Zappa appeared as a featured musical guest on the NBC television show Saturday Night Live.^[130][131] The performances included an impromptu musical collaboration with cast member John Belushi during the instrumental piece "The Purple Lagoon". Belushi appeared as his Samurai Futaba character playing the tenor sax with Zappa conducting.^[132] Zappa's song, "I'm the Slime", was performed with a voice-over by SNL booth announcer Don Pardo, who also introduced "Peaches En Regalia" on the same airing.

Zappa in Toronto, 1977

Zappa's band at the time, with the additions of Ruth Underwood and a horn section (featuring Michael and Randy Brecker), performed during Christmas in New York, recordings of which appear on one of the albums Warner Bros. culled from the Läther project, Zappa in New York (1978). It mixes intense instrumentals such as "The Black Page" and humorous songs like "Titties and Beer".^[133] The former composition, written originally for drum kit but later developed for larger bands, is notorious for its complexity in rhythmic structure and short, densely arranged passages.^[134][135]

	"The Black Page Drum Solo/Black Page #1" noicon One of Zappa's complex, percussion-based compositions featured on Zappa in New York.
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Zappa in New York featured a song about sex criminal Michael H. Kenyon, "The Illinois Enema Bandit", which featured Don Pardo providing the opening narrative in the song. Like many songs on the album, it contained numerous sexual references,^[133] leading to many critics objecting and being offended by the content.^[136] Zappa dismissed the criticism by noting that he was a journalist reporting on life as he saw it.^[137] Predating his later fight against censorship, he remarked: "What do you make of a society that is so primitive that it clings to the belief that certain words in its language are so powerful that they could corrupt you the moment you hear them?"^[50] The remaining albums released by Warner Bros. Records without Zappa's consent were Studio Tan in 1978 and Sleep Dirt in 1979, which contained complex suites of instrumentally-based tunes recorded between 1973 and 1976, and whose release was overlooked in the midst of the legal problems.^[138] Also released by the label without the artist's consent was Orchestral Favorites in 1979, which featured recordings of a concert with orchestral music from 1975.

Zappa as an independent artist (1979)[link]

	"Bobby Brown" noicon The single became a hit in non-English speaking countries and helped Sheik Yerbouti become a best-seller.[139]
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Resolving the lawsuits successfully, Zappa ended the 1970s "stronger than ever",^[140] by releasing two of his most successful albums in 1979: the best selling album of his career, Sheik Yerbouti,^[141] and the "bona fide masterpiece",^[140] Joe's Garage.^[142] The double album Sheik Yerbouti was the first release on Zappa Records, and contained the Grammy-nominated single "Dancin' Fool", which reached No. 45 on the Billboard charts,^[143] and "Jewish Princess", which received attention when a Jewish group, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), attempted to prevent the song from receiving radio airplay due to its alleged anti-Semitic lyrics.^[137] Zappa vehemently denied any anti-Semitic sentiments and dismissed the ADL as a "noisemaking organization that tries to apply pressure on people in order to manufacture a stereotype image of Jews that suits their idea of a good time".^[144] The album's commercial success was attributable in part to "Bobby Brown". Due to its explicit lyrics about a young man's encounter with a "dyke by the name of Freddie", the song did not get airplay in the U.S., but it topped the charts in several European countries where English is not the primary language.^[139] The triple LP Joe's Garage featured lead singer Ike Willis as the voice of the character "Joe" in a rock opera about the danger of political systems,^[140] the suppression of freedom of speech and music — inspired in part by the Islamic revolution that had made music illegal within its jurisdiction at the time^[145] — and about the "strange relationship Americans have with sex and sexual frankness".^[140] The album contains rock songs like "Catholic Girls" (a riposte to the controversies of "Jewish Princess"),^[146] "Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up", and the title track, as well as extended live-recorded guitar improvisations combined with a studio backup band dominated by drummer Vinnie Colaiuta (with whom Zappa had a particularly good musical rapport)^[147] adopting the xenochrony process. The album contains one of Zappa's most famous guitar "signature pieces", "Watermelon in Easter Hay".^[23][148]

On December 21, 1979, Zappa's movie Baby Snakes premiered in New York. The movie's tagline was "A movie about people who do stuff that is not normal".^[149] The 2 hour and 40 minutes movie was based on footage from concerts in New York around Halloween 1977, with a band featuring keyboardist Tommy Mars and percussionist Ed Mann (who would both return on later tours) as well as guitarist Adrian Belew. It also contained several extraordinary sequences of clay animation by Bruce Bickford who had earlier provided animation sequences to Zappa for a 1974 TV special (which later become available on the video The Dub Room Special (1982)).^[150] The movie did not do well in theatrical distribution,^[151] but won the Premier Grand Prix at the First International Music Festival in Paris in 1981. The Zappa Family Trust released it on DVD, and it has been available since 2003.^[150]

Zappa later expanded on his television appearances in a non-musical role. He was an actor or voice artist in episodes of Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre,^[152] Miami Vice^[153] and The Ren and Stimpy Show.^[152] A voice part in The Simpsons never materialized, to creator Matt Groening's disappointment (Groening was a neighbor of Zappa's, and a lifelong fan).^[154]

1980s: Productive as ever[link]

Frank Zappa performing at the Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York, 1980. The concert was released in 2007 as Buffalo.

In 1980, Zappa cut his ties with Mercury Records after the label refused to release his song "I Don't Wanna Get Drafted."^[155] It was picked up by CBS Records and released on the Zappa label in North America and the CBS label internationally.^[156] After spending most of 1980 on the road, Zappa released Tinsel Town Rebellion in 1981. It was the first release on his own Barking Pumpkin Records,^[157] and it contains songs taken from a 1979 tour, one studio track and material from the 1980 tours. The album is a mixture of complicated instrumentals and Zappa's use of sprechstimme (speaking song or voice)—a compositional technique utilized by such composers as Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg — showcasing some of the most accomplished bands Zappa ever had (mostly featuring drummer Vinnie Colaiuta).^[157] While some lyrics still raised controversy among critics, in the sense that some found them sexist,^[158] the political and sociological satire in songs like the title track and "The Blue Light" have been described as a "hilarious critique of the willingness of the American people to believe anything".^[159] The album is also notable for the presence of guitarist Steve Vai, who joined Zappa's touring band in the fall of 1980.^[160]

The same year the double album You Are What You Is was released. Most of it was recorded in Zappa's brand new Utility Muffin Research Kitchen (UMRK) studios, which were located at his house,^[85] thereby giving him complete freedom to work.^[161] The album included one complex instrumental, "Theme from the 3rd Movement of Sinister Footwear", but focused mainly on rock songs with Zappa's sardonic social commentary—satirical lyrics targeted at teenagers, the media, and religious and political hypocrisy.^[162] "Dumb All Over" is a tirade on religion, as is "Heavenly Bank Account", wherein Zappa rails against TV evangelists such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson for their purported influence on the U.S. administration as well as their use of religion as a means of raising money.^[163] Songs like "Society Pages" and "I'm a Beautiful Guy" show Zappa's dismay with the Reagan era and its "obscene pursuit of wealth and happiness".^[163]

	"Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar Some More" noicon The title track on Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar features Zappa's guitar improvisations.
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In 1981, Zappa also released three instrumental albums, Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar, Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar Some More, and The Return of the Son of Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar, which were initially sold via mail order, but later released through the CBS label due to popular demand.^[164] The albums focus exclusively on Frank Zappa as a guitar soloist, and the tracks are predominantly live recordings from 1979–1980; they highlight Zappa's improvisational skills with "beautiful performances from the backing group as well".^[165] Another guitar-only album, Guitar, was released in 1988, and a third, Trance-Fusion, which Zappa completed shortly before his death, was released in 2006.

From hit single to classical performances[link]

In May 1982, Zappa released Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch, which featured his biggest selling single ever, the Grammy Award-nominated song "Valley Girl" (topping out at No. 32 on the Billboard charts).^[143] In her improvised lyrics to the song, Zappa's daughter Moon Unit satirized the vapid speech of teenage girls from the San Fernando Valley, which popularized many "Valspeak" expressions such as "gag me with a spoon," "fer sure, fer sure," "grody" (gross), and "barf out".^[166] Most Americans who only knew Zappa from his few singles successes now thought of him as a person writing "novelty songs", even though the rest of the album contained highly challenging music.^[167] Zappa was irritated by this^[168] and never played the song live.^[167]

In 1983, two different projects were released, beginning with The Man from Utopia, a rock-oriented work. The album is eclectic, featuring the vocal-led "Dangerous Kitchen" and "The Jazz Discharge Party Hats", both continuations of the sprechstimme excursions on Tinseltown Rebellion. The second album, London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. 1, contained orchestral Zappa compositions conducted by Kent Nagano and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO). A second record of these sessions, London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. 2 was released in 1987. The material was recorded under a tight schedule with Zappa providing all funding, helped by the commercial success of "Valley Girl".^[169] Zappa was not satisfied with the LSO recordings. One reason is "Strictly Genteel", which was recorded after the trumpet section had been out for drinks on a break: the track took 40 edits to hide out-of-tune notes.^[169] Conductor Nagano, who was pleased with the experience, noted that in "fairness to the orchestra, the music is humanly very, very difficult".^[170] Some reviews noted that the recordings were the best representation of Zappa's orchestral work so far.^[171] In 1984 Zappa teamed again with Nagano and the Berkeley Symphony for a live performance of A Zappa Affair with augmented orchestra, life-size puppets, and moving stage sets. Although critically acclaimed the work was a financial failure, and only performed twice. Zappa was invited by conference organizer Thomas Wells to be the keynote speaker at the American Society of University Composers at the Ohio State University. It was there Zappa delivered his famous "Bingo! There Goes Your Tenure" address,^[172] and had two of his orchestra pieces, "Dupree's Paradise" and "Naval Aviation in Art?" performed by the Columbus Symphony and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus.^[173][174]

Synclavier[link]

	"Naval Aviation in Art?" noicon A Zappa composition for classical ensemble from Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger.
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For the remainder of his career, much of Zappa's work was influenced by his use of the Synclavier as a compositional and performance tool. Even considering the complexity of the music he wrote, the Synclavier could realize anything he could dream up.^[175] The Synclavier could be programmed to play almost anything conceivable, to perfection: "With the Synclavier, any group of imaginary instruments can be invited to play the most difficult passages ... with one-millisecond accuracy—every time".^[175] Even though it essentially did away with the need for musicians,^[176] Zappa viewed the Synclavier and real-life musicians as separate.^[175] In 1984, he released four albums. Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger, contains orchestral works commissioned and conducted by world-renowned conductor Pierre Boulez (who was listed as an influence on Freak Out!) and performed by his Ensemble InterContemporain, juxtaposed with premiere Synclavier pieces. Again, Zappa was not satisfied with the performances of his orchestral works as he found them under-rehearsed, but in the album liner notes he respectfully thanks Boulez's demands for precision.^[177] The Synclavier pieces stood in contrast to the orchestral works, as the sounds were electronically generated and not, as became possible shortly thereafter, sampled.

The album Thing-Fish was an ambitious three-record set in the style of a Broadway play dealing with a dystopian "what-if" scenario involving feminism, homosexuality, manufacturing and distribution of the AIDS virus, and a eugenics program conducted by the United States government.^[178] New vocals were combined with previously released tracks and new Synclavier music; "the work is an extraordinary example of bricolage".^[179] Finally, in 1984, Zappa released Francesco Zappa, a Synclavier rendition of works by 18th century composer Francesco Zappa (no known relation), and Them or Us, a two-record set of heavily edited live and session pieces.

Senate testimony[link]

Zappa testifies before the U.S. Senate, 1985

Testimony continued

On September 19, 1985, Zappa testified before the United States Senate Commerce, Technology, and Transportation committee, attacking the Parents Music Resource Center or PMRC, a music organization co-founded by Tipper Gore, wife of then-senator Al Gore. The PMRC consisted of many wives of politicians, including the wives of five members of the committee, and was founded to address the issue of song lyrics with sexual or satanic content.^[180] Zappa saw their activities as on a path towards censorship,^[181] and called their proposal for voluntary labelling of records with explicit content "extortion" of the music industry.^[182] In his prepared statement, he said:

The PMRC proposal is an ill-conceived piece of nonsense which fails to deliver any real benefits to children, infringes the civil liberties of people who are not children, and promises to keep the courts busy for years dealing with the interpretational and enforcemental problems inherent in the proposal's design. It is my understanding that, in law, First Amendment issues are decided with a preference for the least restrictive alternative. In this context, the PMRC's demands are the equivalent of treating dandruff by decapitation ... The establishment of a rating system, voluntary or otherwise, opens the door to an endless parade of moral quality control programs based on things certain Christians do not like. What if the next bunch of Washington wives demands a large yellow "J" on all material written or performed by Jews, in order to save helpless children from exposure to concealed Zionist doctrine?^[183]

Zappa set excerpts from the PMRC hearings to Synclavier music in his composition "Porn Wars" on the 1985 album Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention, and the full recording was released in 2010 as Congress Shall Make No Law.... Zappa is heard interacting with Senators Fritz Hollings, Slade Gorton, Al Gore (who claimed, at the hearing, to be a Zappa fan), and in an exchange with Florida Senator Paula Hawkins over what toys Zappa's children played with. Zappa expressed opinions on censorship when he appeared on CNN's Crossfire TV series and debated issues with Washington Times commentator John Lofton in 1986.^[184] Zappa's passion for US politics was becoming a bigger part of his life. He had always encouraged his fans to register to vote on album covers, and throughout 1988 he had registration booths at his concerts.^[185] He even considered running for President of the United States.^[186]

Digital medium and last tour[link]

Around 1986, Zappa undertook a comprehensive re-release program of his earlier vinyl recordings.^[187] He personally oversaw the remastering of all his 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s albums for the new digital compact disc medium.^[188] Certain aspects of these re-issues were, however, criticized by some fans as being unfaithful to the original recordings.^[189] Nearly twenty years before the advent of online music stores, Zappa had proposed to replace "phonographic record merchandising" of music by "direct digital-to-digital transfer" through phone or cable TV (with royalty payments and consumer billing automatically built into the accompanying software).^[190] In 1989, Zappa considered his idea a "miserable flop".^[190]

The album Jazz from Hell, released in 1986, earned Zappa his first Grammy Award in 1987 for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Except for one live guitar solo (St. Etienne), the album exclusively featured compositions brought to life by the Synclavier. Although an instrumental album, containing no lyrics whatsoever, Meyer Music Markets sold Jazz from Hell featuring an "explicit lyrics" sticker—a warning label introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America in an agreement with the PMRC.^[191]