Skip to content
Frank Zappa at the Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, N.Y., Oct. 25, 1980. Photo by Eddie Berman, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

Lithuanian Zappa fans ship sculpture to Baltimore

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson

Frank Zappa at the Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, N.Y., Oct. 25, 1980. Photo by Eddie Berman, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.
Frank Zappa at the Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, N.Y., Oct. 25, 1980. Photo by Eddie Berman, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.
VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) – Frank Zappa fans in Lithuania say they are planning to ship a bronze bust of the rock legend across the ocean to his hometown of Baltimore in Maryland.

The ponytailed statue is a replica of one that has been perched on a 13-foot stainless steel column in central Vilnius since 1996 when it became one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions.

Zappa, who died in 1993, achieved cult status in much of Communist eastern Europe during the Soviet era, including in the Baltic republics. His music inspired many counterculture bands behind the Iron Curtain, including the Prague-based Plastic People of the Universe, who took their name from a Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention song titled Plastic People.

A group of fans said they planned to hand over the bust to a shipping company later Thursday.

#   #   #

Catherine Saunders-Watson contributed to this report.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-ES-06-10-10 0823EDT