The Mothers of Invention
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The Mothers of Invention was a rock and roll band active from 1964 to 1975. They mainly performed works by composer and guitarist Frank Zappa, although other members have an occasional writing credit.
Initially, the group was named "The Soul Giants" and consisted of drummer Jimmy Carl Black, bass player Roy Estrada, saxophonist Davy Coronado, guitarist Ray Hunt, and vocalist Ray Collins. After Collins got into a fight with Hunt in 1964 (Collins "punched his lights out" according to Zappa), Hunt quit the group and Frank Zappa took his place as guitarist - quickly becoming the leader of the group.
In late 1965, record producer Tom Wilson made a brief visit to a bar where The Mothers were playing and offered them a contract and an advance of $2500.
The Mothers and Wilson then spent several months and thousands of dollars recording and editing the band's first album, a double LP named Freak Out!. At the insistence of their record company, MGM (the band's name was shorthand slang for "motherfuckers"[1]), The Mothers again changed their name, this time to "The Mothers of Invention". Their debut was released in 1966, and The Mothers of Invention subsequently went on tour.
MGM recorded sales of Freak Out! amounting to a relatively poor 30,000 copies. The record label responded by cutting the band's budget for their next LP to $11,000. The Mothers of Invention continued regardless, releasing Absolutely Free in 1967 and We're Only in It for the Money in 1968 under the leadership of Zappa.
In 1969, Zappa disbanded The Mothers of Invention. Estrada went on to form Little Feat with Lowell George, who had been in the Mothers for a few months in late 1968 / early 1969. In 1970, Zappa recreated the Mothers with a new lineup consisting of himself, Aynsley Dunbar, George Duke, Howard Kaylan, and Mark Volman. They played on a new album, Chunga's Revenge, though it is credited solely to Zappa. Afterwards, they released two live albums (Fillmore East - June 1971 and Just Another Band From L.A.) before having to disband when Zappa was severely injured after being pushed offstage into an orchestra pit at a concert in London.
Zappa permanently dismissed them in 1975. Since 1980, Jimmy Carl Black, Don Preston and Bunk Gardner, plus other former members of the Mothers of Invention, have occasionally performed and recorded under the name "The Grandmothers" or "The Grande Mothers Re:Invented" performing music by Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart as well as originals and blues standards.
[edit] Discography
- Freak Out! (1966)
- Absolutely Free (1967)
- We're Only in It for the Money (1968)
- Cruising with Ruben & the Jets (1968)
- Uncle Meat (1969)
- Mothermania (1969)
- Burnt Weeny Sandwich (1970)
- Weasels Ripped My Flesh (1970)
- Fillmore East - June 1971 (1971)
- 200 Motels (1971)
- Just Another Band From L.A. (1972)
- Over-Nite Sensation (1973)
- Apostrophe (') (1974)
- Roxy & Elsewhere (1974)
- One Size Fits All (1975)
- The Grandmothers (1980), without Frank Zappa
- You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 (1988)
- You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 (1988)
- You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3 (1989)
- You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4 (1991)
- Beat the Boots (1991), 8 discs
- Beat the Boots II (1992), 7 discs
- You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5 (1992)
- You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 (1992)
- Playground Psychotics (1992)
- Ahead Of Their Time (1993)
- The Lost Episodes (1996)
- Mystery Disc (1998)
- Joe's Corsage (2004)
- The Making Of Freak Out! Project/Object (2006)
[edit] Videography
- 200 Motels (1971)
- The Dub Room Special (1982)
- Video From Hell (1987)
- Uncle Meat (1987)
- The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels (1989)
[edit] References and external links
Zappa, Frank; Occhiogrosso, Peter (1989). The Real Frank Zappa Book. Poseidon Press. ISBN 0-671-70572-5.
- ^ Zappa, Frank. Interview with Nigel Leigh for BBC Late Show. UMRK, LA. March, 1993.
