Rock Is Dead: Zappa, Dio And The Burgeoning Business Of Postmortem Touring

Frank Zappa–and other deceased stars–will soon be returning to a stage near you. (Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images)

When Frank Zappa was still alive, he used to tell his son Ahmet about his dreams of creating massive holograms that could be projected over the ocean, turning a beach into a giant movie theater—or music venue. The elder Zappa owned a production company called Intercontinental Absurdities, and dreamed of taking it public to fund such grandiose projects.

“That’s the scale at...