Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa’s defining characteristic was confrontation with society. Notably, he was anti- governmental control, 1960s hippie culture, organized religion, and censorship. Not only was Zappa defined by nonconformity in his personal beliefs, he also experimented freely and wildly with instrumentation and musical composition. Zappa’s idea of true patriotism was to love the broken system enough to try to fix it.
Zappa grew up at Edgewood Arsenal. Headquarters of the Army Chemical Center in Maryland, where his distrust of the United States government began. Zappa’s father, Francis, was a Sicilian immigrant, and during World War II, the family’s anxiety about anti-Italian sentiments increased. Under pressure to prove his loyalty to the United States, the senior Zappa volunteered to partake in patch tests at the facility – human testing of various undefined chemical substances.
Frank Zappa suffered frequent colds and sinus infections during his childhood due to living in close proximity to the chemicals at Edgewood. These experiences built the foundation for his future criticism and distrust of the United States.