It’s only natural to identify musicians with the music they are best known for. If someone became famous for their heavy metal guitar work, for example, it might be a shock to learn they were also a classically-trained pianist. Yet many accomplished musicians contain multitudes.
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That lesson can be applied to the discography of Frank Zappa. With the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist, Zappa is credited with 126 album releases, including 64 albums released after his death in 1993. Zappa was known for his virtuosity and perfectionism, so it’s hardly surprising that, given his prolific production, he worked with scores of top-flight musicians. John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Little Feat’s Lowell George were among the late ‘60s and early ‘70s rock icons who appeared on Zappa’s albums.
The five artists listed below have connections with Zappa as well, even though they are best known for their work in the late ‘70s and ‘80s. While all are known for their musical chops, the work they are most renowned for probably doesn’t elicit an association with the musical free-for-alls that we associate with Frank Zappa.
1. Duran Duran
Though completely unwarranted, Duran Duran were more often associated with their slick videos and good looks than their musicianship during their ‘80s heyday. The band’s classic lineup consisted of stellar musicians, but when Warren Cuccurullo officially joined Duran Duran for their sixth album, Liberty (1990), they gained a guitarist known for his virtuosity. He would have had to be—he’d previously toured and recorded as Frank Zappa’s guitarist.
Cuccurullo’s most famous solo is undoubtedly the one he plays on Duran Duran’s 1992 comeback hit, “Ordinary World.” Cuccurullo was an official member of Duran Duran for five of their albums, and he also performed as a studio musician for three others, including Danse Macabre in 2023.
[AS OF THIS WRITING: Duran Duran Tickets Are Available! – Get ‘Em Right Here]
2. Missing Persons
In between his stints with Zappa and Duran Duran, Cuccurullo was a founding member of the new wave band Missing Persons. The band also included the wife-and-husband team of Dale and Terry Bozzio, Patrick O’Hearn, and Chuck Wild, all of whom were Zappa alumni.
Like Duran Duran, Missing Persons came to the public’s attention through their memorable music videos, particularly the one for “Words” from their 1982 debut album, Spring Session M, which reached the Top 20 of the Billboard 200. Dale Bozzio was Missing Persons’ David Lee Roth—a dynamic and charismatic lead singer who drew more attention to the band’s persona than to their elite-level musicianship.
3. Whitesnake
English drummer Aynsley Dunbar has been in plenty of bands, including Journey, Jefferson Starship, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, and, yes, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. However, the most surprising connection that Dunbar creates with Zappa is his membership in Whitesnake in the mid-to-late ’80s. He was the band’s drummer for their self-titled 1987 album, which is the biggest-seller from their catalog.
Playing on “Here I Go Again ‘87” and “Is This Love,” which went to No. 1 and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively, was a far cry in terms of commercial appeal from the 20 Zappa albums Dunbar played on. He did perform on Zappa’s only Top 10 album, Apostrophe (‘), though, which included “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow,” a Billboard Hot 100 hit (-ish) at No. 86.
4. Tina Turner
Turner sang on her first Ike & Tina Turner Billboard Hot 100 hit, “A Fool in Love,” in 1960, and she kept charting until 1996, when she took her 18th solo hit, “Missing You,” to No. 84. In the months preceding the release of Turner’s debut solo album, Tina Turns the Country On!, in 1974, she provided backing vocals on two Zappa albums.
She, along with the Ikettes, sang on five of the seven tracks on Over-Nite Sensation, and they also appeared on Apostrophe (‘). It was Zappa’s road manager who suggested he hire the Ikettes to provide vocals on Over-Nite Sensation, as they were recording in the same Southern California studio as Zappa and The Mothers. As a result, the very same vocalist who brought us “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)” and “Typical Male” also sang I am the slime from your video / Oozin’ along on your living room floor.
[RELATED: Frank Zappa’s ‘Over-Nite Sensation’ Turns 50 with ‘Deluxe’ Release]
5. The Police
Whereas the other artists on this list enjoyed their greatest commercial success after joining Zappa on his recordings. Sting appeared on Zappa’s 1989 live album, Broadway the Hard Way, after attaining superstar status with The Police and as a solo artist.
Sting’s performance of The Police’s “Murder by Numbers” with Zappa’s band from a performance at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre appeared on the CD version of the album. Just prior to the performance, Zappa had met Sting for the first time, and before the encore, he asked him if he would want to come out and perform. Though initially reluctant, Sting agreed and sang the song after going off on a rant against Jimmy Swaggart, who once said “Murder by Numbers” was written by Satan.
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