Get the latest tech news

Frank Zappa estate: the feud, and the pain, that dogs his children

Like his oddball rock songs, Frank Zappa’s family defied description. His music, and his kids’ pain, has endured.

He nonetheless became a household name — in large part due to his emergence, in later years, as an acerbic activist and raffishly telegenic talking head, who urged young people to vote and testified before Congress on behalf of free speech and against censorship of rock music. Dweezil is still playing his dad’s music, currently on a 30-city tour; but also working in the studio for other artists, including a remix for a rerelease of the 1972 Deep Purple album “Machine Head.” Ahmet, who has written children’s books, produced movies and founded an advertising company, is now managing the estates and intellectual property of other showbiz stars. In a separate interview, Dweezil still questions his brother’s business acumen: “What was done to create a new fan base, other than what I was already doing by touring, during the entire period Ahmet was in charge?” And he wonders why those who control the trust and the catalogue haven’t enlisted him, the professional musician, to work on his father’s reissues.

Get the Android app