Frank Zappa is known most famously as one of the iconic music artists of the 60s and 70s, and continued to make music right up until his death in 1993. Growing up the eldest son of a chemist and mathematician, Zappa was heavily influenced by his father's work and continued to make references to science and chemical warfare through his career.

The guitarist for Mothers Of Invention, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer also expressed strong views on religion, education and American politics. On the occasion of his 76<sup>th birth anniversary, IBTimes UK looks back at some of Zappa's most memorable statements.

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On music...

"Music is the only religion that delivers the goods."

"There are more love songs than anything else. If songs could make you do something we'd all love one another."

On politics...

"Politics is the entertainment branch of industry."

"The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced."

"The universe consists of 5% protons, 5% neutrons, 5% electrons and 85% morons."

"Republican is fine, if you're a millionaire. Democrats is fair, if all you own is what you wear. Neither of them's really right, cause neither of them care."

"Republicans stand for raw, unbridled evil and greed and ignorance smothered in balloons and ribbons."

"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer."

"Americans like to talk about (or be told about) Democracy but, when put to the test, usually find it to be an 'inconvenience.' We have opted instead for an authoritarian system disguised as a Democracy. We pay through the nose for an enormous joke-of-a-government, let it push us around, and then wonder how all those assholes got in there."

Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa was known for his experimental approach to music Evening Standard/Getty Images

On society...

"A drug is not bad. A drug is a chemical compound. The problem comes in when people who take drugs treat them like a license to behave like an asshole."

"A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open."

"If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library."

On religion...

"The only difference between a cult and a religion is the amount of real estate they own."

"Take the Kama Sutra. How many people died from the Kama Sutra as opposed to the Bible? Who wins?"

"America was founded by the refuse of the religious fanatics of England, these undesirable elements that came over on the Mayflower. Ignorant, religious fanatics who land here and abuse the Indians."

"My best advice to anyone who wants to raise a happy, mentally healthy child is: Keep him or her as far away from a church as you can."