“If that’s what genius is about then, pah! No thank you!”: Frank Zappa’s daughter reflects on the ‘strange dichotomy’ of her father’s ‘outrageous’ parenting style
Moon Unit Zappa, daughter of Frank Zappa, has reflected on her peculiar childhood, and the strangeness that came with growing up as the child of an artist regarded as a “genius”.
Moon grew up as the eldest of four, and was thrust into the spotlight as a teen for her spoken contributions to her father’s Valley Girl single. In Moon’s new memoir, Earth To Moon, she recalls life with her unconventional parents and growing up in the public eye, including appearing on talk shows with her dad. Away from the cameras, she recalls a lack of interest from her father and investment in education or general life skills.
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In an interview with The Independent she says, “There’s this strange dichotomy of my father being called a genius and the fact that he didn’t even make sure [his children] knew how day-to-day [life] worked. He didn’t invest in our educations or our futures. He didn’t even say, ‘How are you doing?’ to his kids. This is outrageous to me. If that’s what genius is about then, pah! No thank you!”
However, she also shares her understanding as to why fans wanted to celebrate him, and saw him in such a glowing light: “To them he represented freedom, integrity, being civic-minded and speaking out against injustice,” she explains.
“He spoke to the marginalised and the weirdos. I did observe it, and him, as being very meaningful to people. And they’re still rabid, the people that love him love him forever.”
Moon’s brother, Dweezil Zappa, opened up on his famous surname last year. Having worked as a guitarist since the 1980s, he told interviewer Lyndsey Parker that he tried not to think of it too much as he forged his own career, “I just figured whatever I did was going to stand on its own based on the effort and the work that I put into it,” he said.
“It’s not as if having a famous last name in this area did a lot to open too many doors because my dad was not really popular in the way ‘traditional thoughts’ of rock stars are popular. He was kind of more a guy that drew a bit of concern from people. He had ideas that were bigger than most could handle.”
Moon Unit Zappa’s memoir, Earth To Moon, is out now. A paperback version will land on 15 May.
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