I got hold of the Mothers' first album Freakout when I was about 15, don't know why, maybe I liked the cover art. I liked the cynicism of the lyrics and the sendup of doowop but I didn't really understand how unique the work was and it has taken a long time to appreciate Frank's compositional style and musical perfectionism mixed with extreme zaniness. There's nothing else quite like his body of work in music, like it or not (and it's not for everyone). I always feel a bit deflated when someone like Elmore Leonard dies, because I know you can't get that stuff no more and I can only reread it once or twice before the juice runs dry. Zappa's different because of the volume of his recorded work and the fact that I can listen to a lot of it repeatedly and get more from what Steve Vai called his "high information music".
There are a lot of youtube interviews of Frank and band members like Ruth Underwood, Vai and Terry Bozzio along with videos of the band in concert. Here are a few links:
Inca Roads https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqp71DOJ3aY
Whipping Post https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu32TgPeXM8
Dupree's Paradise https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr6mTloYJJs
Zappa Interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwCthSsWk7Y
The Drummers of Frank Zappa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGeZGrJ1ICQ
Ruth Underwood https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7Sq0chFjps
Steve Vai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7jM1mh0764
George Duke on Frank Zappa (youtube.com)
Anybody else into this music?