Fame came early for Moon Unit Zappa, eldest daughter of legendary musician Frank and his wife Gail, though not by choice. Her unusual name, dreamt up by her dad – “Unit” supposedly signified their familial bond – meant everyone knew who she was from infancy. Her teens brought a fresh wave of celebrity which, she notes, “I also didn’t ask for.” A rare and spontaneous moment with her father in his home studio, during which he recorded her delivering a stream of exaggerated California teen-speak – “It’s, like, grody to the max!” – became the centrepiece of the novelty single “Valley Girl”. Released in 1982, it was Frank’s biggest hit and propelled a reluctant Moon, then an acne-ridden, desperately awkward 14-year-old, into the spotlight.
In her memoir, Earth to Moon, she recalls appearing alongside Frank on TV talk shows, including Late Night with David Letterman, where she quickly learnt that certain stories would get “a big reaction. Like the one about the Kiwi groupie moving in [to the family home]… or the unconventional parenting story about the time Gail handcuffed me and [younger brother] Dweezil together by the ankles, recorded our fight and played it back for us.” It was, she says now, “a confusing time”.
