Unveiling set for Zappa statue

BALTIMORE, May 1 (UPI) -- Officials in Baltimore said they have set a September date for unveiling a 15-foot bust of the late musician and composer Frank Zappa.

The statue -- which was donated to the city in 2008 by a Zappa fan club in Lithuania -- will be dedicated Sept. 18, The Baltimore Sun reported Saturday. The statue will be placed outside the Southeast Anchor Library in Baltimore's Highlandtown neighborhood.

Roswell Encina, a spokeswoman for the city's Enoch Pratt Free Library system, told the newspaper the library is getting a lot of attention following the announcement it will be the home of the Zappa bust. The library laid in an extra supply of books, CDs and DVDs on Zappa, branch manager Cindy Kleback said.

"People are checking them out already," he said. "If you want to learn more about Zappa, travel to the Southeast Anchor Library."

Zappa was born in Baltimore in 1940. He died of cancer at age 52 in 1993.

His mother, Rose Marie, was a librarian. His widow, Gail, had urged Baltimore officials to place the bust near a city library, the Sun said.

Zappa was inducted posthumously into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.