Frank Zappa's Widow Gail Zappa Dead at 70
Source: Rolling Stone
Gail Zappa, wife of Frank Zappa and executrix of the Zappa Family Trust, has died. She was 70. A cause of death has not been revealed, though TMZ reported she had had a long battle with lung cancer. Zappa, "departed this earth peacefully at her home . . . surrounded by her children," according to a statement from the Zappa Family Trust.
"Gail will forever be identified as a key figure in the creative renaissance that is Laurel Canyon," the statement says. "But more than any singular accomplishment, she defined herself in her personal relationships, happiest when surrounded by loved ones and artists, often one in the same. The memories she leaves behind are indeed her own art form. Her searing intelligence, unforgettable smile, wild thicket of hair and trailing black velvets leave a blur in her wake.
After her prolific husband died of prostate cancer in 1993, Gail kept Frank's recordings in the public, putting out dozens upon dozens of posthumous albums and judiciously licensing his image where appropriate. Earlier this year, the Zappa family announced that the couple's son Ahmet would be taking the reins on the Trust.
Gail, whose full maiden name was Adelaide Gail Sloatman, was born on January 1st, 1945, the daughter of a nuclear weapons research physicist with the U.S. Navy, according to Zappa biographer Barry Miles. She lived with her family in London as a teenager and got a job as a secretary for the Office of Naval Research and Development rather than attend college. She met Doors frontman Jim Morrison at a very young age, in kindergarten, since they both had high-ranking naval officials for fathers; Frank once told a story that she hit Morrison over the head with a hammer. She eventually moved to New York, where she attended the Fashion Institute of Technology, in the mid-Sixties and immersed herself in the music scene before hitchhiking to Los Angeles with a friend.
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/frank-zappas-widow-gail-zappa-dead-at-70-20151007
yallerdawg
(16,104 posts)I have known many Zappa freaks, including one of my brothers.
I sort of remember San Diego, an arena with no chairs, Captain Beefheart, and Zappa and band playing immaculate music - and some quantities of Purple Microdot.
It was a fantastic concert!
Zappa may not have imbibed, but lots of his fans did!
Thank you, Frank and Gail!
SoapBox
(18,791 posts)Gotta love the kids...Moon Unit, Ahmet, Dweezil and Diva. I never knew of Diva.
ornotna
(10,807 posts)Adenoid_Hynkel
(14,093 posts)according to Frank's book
The sons were always a riot when Conan used to have them on back in the 90s:
https://vimeo.com/82318777
MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)Love,
MMM
ornotna
(10,807 posts)OnyxCollie
(9,958 posts)NBachers
(17,149 posts)Adenoid_Hynkel
(14,093 posts)because our crap local record store wouldn't special order copies of one of Frank posthumous releases. (This was before the days of Amazon it was hard to come by his later stuff.)
It was only toward the end of the call that I realized the nice lady on the phone who was hooking me up was Gail. We chatted a little, and she ended up throwing in some Zappa goodies with my order as freebies. Seemed like a real sweet lady.
I saw Dweezil on Tv once, and he said she actually became friends with Tipper and Al Gore, despite Frank's vehement opposition to the PMRC. When Frank was dying in 1993, the Gores reached out to him and the families became close. Gail ended up backing Al and she Dweezil and Diva visited the White House.
RoccoR5955
(12,471 posts)She was such a sweetheart!