Frank Zappa

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's baby name rumors: North West?

2013-03-22 15:11:00

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West reportedly wanted to name their baby North. As in North West. Besides being ridiculous, this makes us wonder, if West had additional kids, would he name them based on all the directions of the compass? South, East and...

L.A. Phil announces 2013-14 season: From Amadeus to Zappa

2013-02-25 12:00:00

The music will range from A to Z -- Amadeus to Zappa, that is -- when the Los Angeles Philharmonic celebrates its 10th anniversary season at Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2013-14. In marking the occasion, the Phil also will attempt both to look back at...

Ray Collins dies; singer with the Mothers of Invention was 75

2013-01-01 18:19:00

The Soul Giants were a struggling R&B cover band in Pomona in the mid-1960s when lead singer Ray Collins fired the group's guitarist and invited a musical collaborator from Rancho Cucamonga to take his place. His name was Frank Zappa. The band soon...

PASSINGS: Claude Nobs

2013-01-11 00:00:00

Claude Nobs, 76, the founder and general manager of the Montreux Jazz Festival, whose passion for music and artistry introduced generations of legendary musicians to international audiences on the Swiss stage, died Thursday after sustaining injuries...

Mickey Baker dies at 87; rhythm and blues, rock guitarist

2012-12-03 00:00:00

Mickey Baker, an exceptional 1950s session guitarist who played on hundreds of recordings, helping to transform rhythm and blues into rock 'n' roll, died Tuesday at his home near Toulouse, France, according to French media reports. He was 87. A cause of...

Rock 'n' Reubens in the Kibitz Room at Canter's

2011-10-14 00:00:00

Rock 'n' roll is to the Kibitz Room at Canter's what onions are to chopped liver. The two have been closely aligned since the little bar opened just off the beloved Fairfax Avenue deli's annex dining room in 1961. Only now, instead of a bunch of hippies...

Southern California Close-Ups: West Hollywood, Fairfax, Wilshire, Koreatown

2012-06-05 10:20:00

First published on Oct. 30, 2011. Revised and expanded in early 2012. Set an out-of-towner loose to roam the Los Angeles area between West Hollywood and Koreatown, and what can you expect? A food-truck overdose, perhaps. Or the bold suggestion that we...

Southern California Close-Ups: From West Hollywood to Wilshire

2011-10-30 00:00:00

Set an out-of-towner loose to roam the Los Angeles area between West Hollywood and Koreatown and what can you expect? A food-truck overdose, perhaps. Or the bold suggestion that we extend our subway system westward. (Hey, we're working on it.) Or maybe...

'Sweet Joe' Russell dies at 72; singer with the Persuasions

2012-05-13 00:00:00

"Sweet Joe" Russell, who spent half a century harmonizing with the Persuasions, an influential vocal group widely regarded as the "kings of a cappella," has died. He was 72. Russell died May 5 in a Brooklyn hospice after a long struggle with diabetes,...

'Opika Pende: Africa at 78 RPM' resurrects a continent's music

2011-12-06 16:35:12

Drum lesson: Wilco's Glenn Kotche on found sounds

2012-01-10 21:36:39

La La La Human Steps returns to Southern California

2012-01-26 16:34:07

Parents: Frank Zappa and Adelaide Gail Zappa (ne� Sloatman) By far some of the most bizarre monikers in this gallery come from musician Frank Zappa. Here we go: Moon Unit: The reason behind Zappa's firstborn's name is still unknown, though it literally means "lunar rover.

2013-03-14 14:08:28

Esa-Pekka Salonen, left, Frank Zappa and Gustavo Dudamel will be part of the L.A. Phil's 2013-14 season.

2013-02-24 09:18:21

October 21, 1978 Pictured here with Laraine Newman and Dan Aykroyd.

2013-02-06 17:51:00