A revolutionary American composer, singer, guitarist, film director and satirist, Frank Zappa died on 4 December, 1993, aged 52.

With more than 60 self-produced albums of eclectic, style-shuffling postmodernism to his credit, he inspired generations of musicians all over the globe.

Probably best-known for his work with rock band Mothers of Invention, he remains an icon of the late 60s’ counter-culture, a largely self-taught musician whose prolific output ranged from outright masterpieces to the downright absurd.

Politically, Mr Zappa was a staunch libertarian, describing himself as a ‘practical conservative,’ and in later life became one of America’s most outspoken anti-censorship campaigners.

Born Frank Vincent Zappa in Baltimore, USA, on 21 December, 1940, he spent most of his youth in the desert town of Lancaster, California, where his father worked at a nearby chemical warfare facility.

He was often ill as a child, suffering from asthma, earaches and a sinus problem. As a result, the family relocated to San Diego during the early 1950s.

A record player which his parents had bought during this period reportedly initiated his interest in music and, fascinated by drums and percussion in particular, he began to build a large collection of blues and doo-wop singles.

Presented with a snare drum at the age of 12, he joined the school marching band but was later expelled for smoking in uniform. However, he remained in the orchestra and took the opportunity to write chord sequences, just to hear what they sounded like.

With the advent of the 1960s, he moved to Los Angeles where he began working at a small recording studio. Here, he scored a number of budget movies such as ‘Run Home Slow’ until eventually purchasing the place a few years later and renaming it ‘Studio Z’.

A 10-day prison sentence for “conspiracy to commit pornography,” secured him exemption from the draft during the Vietnam years and he went on to assume leadership of a Sixties R&B outfit called ‘The Soul Giants’.

With their unusual blend of doo-wop, modern jazz and rock guitar, the band were immediately signed by acclaimed record producer Tom Wilson. They later re-titled themselves ‘The Mothers of Invention’ and released their groundbreaking debut album ‘Freak Out!’ in 1966.

It was an overnight sensation, with Mr Zappa as lead guitarist quickly established as a radical new voice in rock music. Their next album, ‘We’re Only In It For the Money’, spurned the hippie culture of the Sixties and, in particular, middle-class conformity. By the 1970s, his career was progressing rapidly and he spent much of the decade engrossed in a range of bizarre multimedia projects such as the films ‘Uncle Meat’ and ‘200 Motels’. Meanwhile, The Mothers of Invention were left in limbo and eventually disbanded.

He continued at a high rate of production throughout the 1980s, including the best-selling albums ‘Sheik Yerbouti’ and ‘Jazz From Hell’, the latter winning him his first Grammy Award in 1988 for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

In 1991 he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. Although he continued to devote his energy to music, he ultimately succumbed to his illness on 4 December 1993 in Los Angeles.

As well as an earlier unsuccessful marriage, he married Gail Sloatman in 1967 with whom he had four children whose names Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan, and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen, have perhaps brought them to more public attention than most.

During a remarkable career that spanned more than three decades, Mr Zappa and wife Gail also ran their own record label, ‘Barking Pumpkin’, as well as a mail-order company, video company and music publishing firm.

In 1989 he published his autobiography, ‘The Real Frank Zappa Book,’ in which he rallied against aspects of American life he despised the most including taxation, education, the Republican Party and beer.

Although his legendary stage shows brought him wide acclaim, he said in later life that he lost his zeal for touring when a self-financed outing in 1988 cost him in the region of $400,000. “That sort of dampens one’s enthusiasm for going out there and doing it again,” he remarked.