The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention | |
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Background information | |
Also known as |
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Origin | Pomona, California, U.S. |
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Spinoffs | |
Past members | Personnel |
The Mothers of Invention (also known as the Mothers) was an American
Originally an
After early struggles, the Mothers earned substantial popular commercial success. The band first became popular playing in California's underground music scene in the late 1960s. With Zappa at the helm, it was signed to jazz label Verve Records as part of the label's diversification plans.[4] Verve released the Mothers of Invention's début double album Freak Out! in 1966, featuring a lineup including Zappa, Collins, Black, Estrada and Elliot Ingber. Don Preston joined the band soon after. Under Zappa's leadership and a changing lineup, the band released a series of critically acclaimed albums, including Absolutely Free, We're Only in It for the Money, and Uncle Meat, before being disbanded by Zappa in 1969. In 1970, he formed a new version of the Mothers that included Ian Underwood, Jeff Simmons, George Duke, Aynsley Dunbar and singers Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (formerly of the Turtles, but who for contractual reasons were credited in this band as the Phlorescent Leech & Eddie). Later adding another ex-Turtle, bassist Jim Pons, this lineup endured through 1971, when Zappa was injured by an audience member during a concert appearance.
Zappa focused on big-band and orchestral music while recovering from his injuries, and in 1973 formed the Mothers' final lineup, which included drummer Ralph Humphrey, trumpeter Sal Marquez, keyboardist/vocalist George Duke, trombonist Bruce Fowler, bassist Tom Fowler, percussionist Ruth Underwood and keyboardist/saxophonist Ian Underwood. The final album using the Mothers as a backing band, Bongo Fury (1975), featured guitarist Denny Walley and drummer Terry Bozzio, who continued to play for Zappa on non-Mothers releases.
History
Early years (1964–1965)
The Soul Giants were formed in 1964. In early 1965,
The band was renamed the Mothers, coincidentally on
Wilson signed the Mothers to the Verve Records division of MGM Records, which had built up a strong reputation in the music industry for its releases of modern jazz recordings in the 1940s and 1950s, but was attempting to diversify into pop and rock audiences. Verve insisted that the band officially rename themselves because "Mother" in slang terminology was short for "motherfucker"—a term that apart from its profanity, in a jazz context connotes a very skilled musical instrumentalist.[13] The label suggested the name "The Mothers Auxiliary", which prompted Zappa to come up with the name "The Mothers of Invention".
Debut album: Freak Out! (1966)
With Wilson credited as producer, the Mothers of Invention, augmented by a studio orchestra, recorded the groundbreaking
Wilson nominally produced the Mothers' second album Absolutely Free (1967), which was recorded in November 1966, and later mixed in New York, although by this time Zappa was in de facto control of most facets of the production. It featured extended playing by the Mothers of Invention and focused on songs that defined Zappa's compositional style of introducing abrupt, rhythmical changes into songs that were built from diverse elements.[20] Examples are "Plastic People" and "Brown Shoes Don't Make It", which contained lyrics critical of the hypocrisy and conformity of American society, but also of the counterculture of the 1960s.[21] As Zappa put it, "[W]e're satirists, and we are out to satirize everything."[22]
New York period (1966–1968)
The Mothers of Invention played in New York in late 1966 and were offered a contract at the Garrick Theater during Easter 1967. This proved successful and Herb Cohen extended the booking, which eventually lasted half a year.[23] As a result, Zappa and his wife, along with the Mothers of Invention, moved to New York.[24] Their shows became a combination of improvised acts showcasing individual talents of the band as well as tight performances of Zappa's music. Everything was directed by Zappa's famous hand signals.[25] Guest performers and audience participation became a regular part of the Garrick Theater shows. One evening, Zappa managed to entice some U.S. Marines from the audience onto the stage, where they proceeded to dismember a big baby doll, having been told by Zappa to pretend that it was a "gook baby".[26]
Situated in New York, and only interrupted by the band's first European tour, the Mothers of Invention recorded the album widely regarded as the peak of the group's late 1960s work,
Reflecting Zappa's eclectic approach to music, the next album, Cruising with Ruben & the Jets (1968), was very different. It represented a collection of doo-wop songs; listeners and critics were not sure whether the album was a satire or a tribute.[32] Zappa has noted that the album was conceived in the way Stravinsky's compositions were in his neo-classical period: "If he could take the forms and clichés of the classical era and pervert them, why not do the same ... to doo-wop in the fifties?"[33] A theme from Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is heard during one song. The album and a single consisting of the songs "Deseri" and "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" were released under the alias Ruben and the Jets.[1][34]
Return to Los Angeles and break up (1968–1969)
Zappa and the Mothers of Invention returned to Los Angeles in the summer of 1968. Despite being a success with fans in Europe, the Mothers of Invention were not faring well financially.[35] Their first records were vocally oriented, but Zappa wrote more instrumental jazz and classical oriented music for the band's concerts, which confused audiences. Zappa felt that audiences failed to appreciate his "electrical chamber music".[36][37] Recorded from September 1967 to September 1968 and released in early 1969, Uncle Meat, the final release by the original Mothers, was a double album of varied music, intended as a soundtrack for a proposed film of the same name.
In November 1968, after Collins had left for the final time, Zappa recruited future Little Feat guitarist Lowell George to replace him.
In 1969, there were nine band members and Zappa was supporting the group himself from his publishing
In late 1969, Zappa broke up the band. He often cited the financial strain as the main reason,[38] but also commented on the band members' lack of sufficient effort.[39] Many band members were bitter about Zappa's decision, and some took it as a sign of Zappa's concern for perfection at the expense of human feeling.[37] Others were irritated by "his autocratic ways",[19] exemplified by Zappa's never staying at the same hotel as the band members.[40] Several members would, however, play for Zappa in years to come. He did, however, start recruiting new band members at this time, even asking Micky Dolenz from The Monkees to join. Zappa had appeared on the series and in the movie Head.[41][42] Remaining recordings with the band from this period were collected on Weasels Ripped My Flesh and Burnt Weeny Sandwich (both released in 1970).
George and Estrada formed Little Feat with Richie Hayward and Bill Payne after the Mothers disbanded.
Rebirth of the Mothers and filmmaking (1970)
Later in 1970, Zappa formed a new version of the Mothers (from then on, he mostly dropped the "of Invention"). It included British drummer Aynsley Dunbar, jazz keyboardist George Duke, Ian Underwood, Jeff Simmons (bass, rhythm guitar), and three members of the Turtles: bass player Jim Pons, and singers Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, who, due to persistent legal and contractual problems, adopted the stage name "The Phlorescent Leech and Eddie", or "Flo & Eddie".[43]
This version of the Mothers debuted on Zappa's next solo album
After 200 Motels, the band went on tour, which resulted in two live albums,
Accident, attack and their aftermath (1971–1972)
In December 1971, there were two serious setbacks. While performing at
Top 10 album (1973–1975)
After releasing a solo jazz-oriented album Waka/Jawaka, and following it up with a Mothers album, The Grand Wazoo, with large bands, Zappa formed and toured with smaller groups that variously included Ian Underwood (reeds, keyboards), Ruth Underwood (vibes, marimba), Sal Marquez (trumpet, vocals), Napoleon Murphy Brock (sax, flute and vocals), Bruce Fowler (trombone), Tom Fowler (bass), Chester Thompson (drums), Ralph Humphrey[53] (drums), George Duke (keyboards, vocals), and Jean-Luc Ponty (violin).
Zappa continued a high rate of production through the first half of the 1970s, including the solo album
Zappa released Bongo Fury in 1975, which featured live recordings from a tour that same year which had reunited him with Captain Beefheart for a brief period.[57] They later became estranged for a period of years, but were in contact at the end of Zappa's life.[58] Bongo Fury was the last new album to be credited to the Mothers.
In 1993, Zappa released Ahead of Their Time, an album of a 1968 live performance by the original Mothers of Invention lineup.
Personnel
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
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Frank Zappa |
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all releases | |
Roy Estrada |
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Jimmy Carl Black | 1964–1969 (died 2008) |
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Ray Collins
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Don Preston |
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keyboards |
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David Coronado | 1964 | saxophone | none | |
Van Dyke Parks | 1965 | keyboards | ||
Henry Vestine | November 1965 – early 1966 (died 1997) | guitar | ||
Jim Guercio | early 1966 | |||
Steve Mann | early 1966 (died 2009) | |||
Elliot Ingber | early 1966–September 1966 |
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Denny Bruce | August 1966 | drums | none | |
Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood |
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Jim Fielder | late 1966–February 1967 |
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John Leon "Bunk" Gardner | November 1966–August 1969 | woodwinds |
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Billy Mundi |
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drums | all releases from Absolutely Free (1967) to Burnt Weeny Sandwich (1970) | |
Ian Underwood |
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Art Tripp | March 1968–August 1969 |
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Lowell George | November 1968 – May 1969 (died 1979) |
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Buzz Gardner | November 1968 – August 1969 (died 2004) |
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Aynsley Dunbar | 1970–1971 | drums |
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Mark Volman ("Flo", "The Phlorescent Leach") | vocals |
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Howard Kaylan ("Eddie") | ||||
Jeff Simmons |
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Roxy & Elsewhere (1974) | |
George Duke |
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all releases from 200 Motels (1971) to Bongo Fury (1975) | |
Jim Pons | February 1971–December 1971 |
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Bob Harris | May 1971–August 1971 (died 2001) |
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Fillmore East – June 1971 (1971) | |
Ralph Humphrey[59] | early 1973–May 1974 (died 2023)[60] | drums |
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Jean-Luc Ponty | February–August 1973 | violin | Over-Nite Sensation (1973) | |
Sal Marquez | March 1973–July 1973 |
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Tom Fowler | 1973–May 1975 | bass | all releases from Over-Nite Sensation (1973) to Bongo Fury (1975) | |
Ruth Underwood | 1973–December 1975 |
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Bruce Fowler |
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trombone |
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Napoleon Murphy Brock | October 1973–May 1975 |
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Chester Thompson | October 1973–December 1974 | drums |
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Terry Bozzio | April 1975–May 1975 | Bongo Fury (1975) | ||
Denny Walley |
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Norma Jean Bell | November–December 1975 |
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none | |
Novi Novog | September–October 1975 | viola | ||
Robert "Frog" Camarena | vocals |
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Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
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Other albums
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References
- ^ a b Eder, Bruce. "Biography of Ruben and the Jets". AllMusic. Retrieved December 24, 2007.
- ^ Semley, John (November 26, 2020). "How Weird Was Frank Zappa?". The New Republic. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
It was also the year Zappa and his band, a blues-rock outfit called the Mothers of Invention
- ^ "Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention Formed 50 Years Ago in Pomona". The Daily Bulletin. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
- ^ "The Mothers of Invention | Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
- ^ Bashe, George-Warren & Pareles 1995.
- ^ a b Zappa & Occhiogrosso 1989, pp. 65–66.
- ^ Swenson, John (March 1980). "Frank Zappa: America's Weirdest Rock Star Comes Clean". High Times.
- ^ Slaven 2009, p. 42.
- ^ Walley 1980, p. 58.
- ^ Miles 2004, p. 103.
- ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 34 – Revolt of the Fat Angel: American musicians respond to the British invaders. [Part 2]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
- ^ Nigel Leigh (March 1993). "Interview with Frank Zappa". The Late Show. Utility Muffin Research Kitchen, Los Angeles, California. BBC2.
- ^ Lowe 2006, p. 25.
- ^ Walley 1980, pp. 60–61.
- ^ a b Miles 2004, p. 115.
- ^ Miles 2004, p. 112.
- ^ Watson 2005, pp. 10–11.
- ^ a b Miles 2004, p. 123.
- ^ Lowe 2006, p. 5.
- ^ Lowe 2006, pp. 38–43.
- ^ Miles 2004, pp. 135–138.
- ^ James, 2000, Necessity Is ... , pp. 62–69.
- ^ Miles 2004, pp. 140–141.
- ^ Miles 2004, p. 147..
- ^ Zappa & Occhiogrosso 1989, p. 94.
- ^ Huey, Steve. "We're Only in It for the Money. Review". AllMusic. Retrieved January 2, 2008.
- ^ Watson 2005, p. 15.
- ^ Walley 1980, p. 90.
- ^ As the legal aspects of using the Sgt Pepper concept were unsettled, the album was released with the cover and back on the inside of the gatefold, while the actual cover and back were a picture of the group in a pose parodying the inside of the Beatles album. Miles 2004, p. 151
- ^ Watson 1995, p. 88.
- ^ Lowe 2006, p. 58.
- ^ Zappa & Occhiogrosso 1989, p. 88.
- ^ Frank Zappa, "Serious Fan Mail", Greasy Love Songs, Zappa Records ZR20010, 2010.
- ^ a b Walley 1980, p. 116.
- ^ Slaven 2009, pp. 119–120.
- ^ a b Miles 2004, pp. 185–187.
- ^ Zappa & Occhiogrosso 1989, p. 107.
- ^ Slaven 2009, p. 120.
- ^ Miles 2004, p. 116.
- ^ "'Oh, my God – talk about a redirection': Micky Dolenz on his most interesting post-Monkees job offer". Something Else!. August 27, 2014. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- ^ Miles 2004, pp. 158–159.
- ^ Miles 2004, p. 201.
- ^ Miles 2004, p. 205.
- ^ a b Watson 1995, p. 183.
- ^ Miles 2004, p. 207.
- ^ Starks 1982, p. 153.
- ^ Lowe 2006, p. 94.
- ^ Zappa & Occhiogrosso 1989, pp. 119–137.
- ^ Miles 2004, pp. 203–204.
- Some Time In New York City in 1972. Zappa later released his version of excerpts from the concert on Playground Psychoticsin 1992, including the jam track "Scumbag" and an extended avant-garde vocal piece by Ono (originally called "Au"), which Zappa renamed "A Small Eternity with Yoko Ono".
- ^ a b c Zappa & Occhiogrosso 1989, pp. 112–115.
- ^ "Ralph Humphrey - DRUMMERWORLD". Archived from the original on April 6, 2013.
- ^ "Frank Zappa > Charts and Awards > Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved January 3, 2008.
- ^ Huey, Steve. "Apostrophe ('). Review". AllMusic. Retrieved January 3, 2008.
- ^ a b Lowe 2006, pp. 114–122.
- ^ Miles 2004, p. 248.
- ^ Miles 2004, p. 372.
- ^ "Ralph Humphrey's page on Drummerworld". Drummerworld.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
- ^ Lawrence, George (April 30, 2023). "In Memorian: Ralph Humphrey". Not So Modern Drummer. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
Sources
- Bashe, Patricia Romanowski; George-Warren, Holly; Pareles, Jon (1995). The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (2nd ed.). New York: Fireside/Simon & Schuster. OCLC 987950913.
- Lowe, Kelly (2006). The words and music of Frank Zappa. Westport, Conn: Praeger. OCLC 231671209.
- Miles, Barry (2004). Zappa. New York: Grove Press. OCLC 852013692.
- Slaven, Neil (2009). Electric Don Quixote. London: Music Sales. OCLC 1028956730.
- Starks, Michael (1982). Cocaine Fiends and Reefer Madness : An Illustrated History of Drugs in the Movies. New York: Cornwall Books. OCLC 7247337.
- Walley, David (1980). No commercial potential : the saga of Frank Zappa, then and now. New York: E.P. Dutton. OCLC 7067436.
- Watson, Ben (1995). Frank Zappa : The Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play. New York: St. Martin's Press. OCLC 1035086199.
- Watson, Ben (2005). Frank Zappa : the complete guide to his music. London: Omnibus. OCLC 934706705.
- Zappa, Frank; Occhiogrosso, Peter (1989). The real Frank Zappa book. New York: Poseidon Press. OCLC 910366907.
External links
- The Mothers of Invention at AllMusic
- The Mothers of Invention discography at Discogs
- Jimmy Carl Black website
- "The Grande Mothers Re:Invented" – MySpace page
- The Mothers of Invention interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)