Zappa Death Threat: FBI

By Stephen M. Silverman

10/10/1997 at 12:00 AM EDT

Moon Unit Zappa, the daughter of late musician Frank Zappa, apparently received death threats from a man who claimed that she and her father stole lyrics from him for their 1982 song "Valley Girl." ("Fer shure" was a repeated refrain.) Mark Brownfield, 40, allegedly mailed a package of documents to an FBI office in Southern California in which he threatened to kill Zappa. On Thursday he was ordered held without bail. On Monday he faces arraignment on a count of mailing a threatening communication. The Associated Press attempted to reach Zappa for comment but was not successful, though a U.S. attorney said she was aware of the messages.