Frank Zappa Day

September 19th has been named "Frank Zappa Day" in the town of his birth - Baltimore, Maryland. 

Here and Now, from WGBH in Boston, mentioned today that September 19th, 2010 marks the 25th anniversary of Zappa's testifying before the PMRC senate hearings. The PMRC was trying to promote a rating sytem for albums, after Tipper Gore brought Prince's Purple Rain for one of her children, and was shocked when she heard the song Darlin' Nicki. Gore, and the rest of the PMRC, then came up with the "filthy 15" - a list of some of the biggest moral offenders in music. What Here and Now did not mention is that beyond Zappa, John Denver and Dee Snyder also testified. Zappa, Snyder, and Denver all spoke quite well on the subject, and the complete transcript from the hearings is a wonderful read. The above drawing is one I did some time in the late '90's to early 2000's. It's taken from the cover photo on The REAL Frank Zappa Book. Another wonderful read!