The Mothers of Invention
Encyclopedia
The Mothers of Invention were an American
band active from 1964 to 1969, and again from 1970 to 1975.
They mainly performed works by, and were the original recording group of, US composer and guitarist Frank Zappa
(1940–1993), although other members have had the occasional writing credit. The band's first album, in 1966, was a double LP named Freak Out!
, and they released four more albums in the following years. Zappa disbanded the original group in 1969, mainly because of financial issues, but also because he felt that there was no public interest in their music. After recording and releasing Hot Rats
, Frank re-formed the group in 1970, with mostly new members and material. The new group came to be referred to as just "The Mothers" or "Frank Zappa & The Mothers" most of the time. In 1971, Zappa did an ambitious concept film/album project 200 Motels
, but the group disbanded later that year after Zappa was attacked onstage during a London concert. During the coming years, Zappa released albums as "Zappa/Mothers" (Roxy & Elsewhere
, 1974) or "Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention" (One Size Fits All
, 1975) until he permanently dropped the "Mothers of Invention" moniker in 1976. There were plans to include former members of "The Mothers", Flo & Eddie
, in the "Philly '76" live album, but this never came to fruition.
Jimmy Carl Black
, bass
player Roy Estrada
, saxophonist
Davy Coronado, guitarist
Ray Hunt, and vocalist Ray Collins
. Some biographers report that Collins fought with Hunt in 1964 (according to Collins: "I never touched Hunt, I don't even remember shaking his hand"), after which Hunt quit the group and Frank Zappa
took his place as guitarist - quickly becoming the leader of the group, which changed its name to "The Mothers" on Sunday, May 10, 1964 (that year's Mother's Day
). The band's name was allegedly an abbreviation for "motherfuckers", which was a term used to describe good musicians at the time.
During late 1965, record producer
Tom Wilson made a brief visit to a tavern where the Mothers were playing and offered them a contract and an advance of US$2,500. Guitarist Henry Vestine
, later of Canned Heat
, was an early member of the group, but suddenly quit, on the day the contract was signed, allegedly after hearing Frank Zappa's "Who Are The Brain Police?", which was "too much for Henry". 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!
, and at the insistence of their record company, MGM Records
, the group changed their name again, 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!, issued on MGM's Verve Records
, amounted to a relatively poor 30,000 copies. The record label responded by cutting the band's budget for their next LP to US$11,000. The Mothers of Invention continued regardless, releasing Absolutely Free
in 1967, We're Only in It for the Money
in 1968 and Uncle Meat
in 1969 under the leadership of Zappa. In 1969, Zappa disbanded the original 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 and early 1969 but was reportedly fired by Zappa because of his drug use. In 1970, Zappa created a new incarnation of The Mothers which included Mothers' alumni Ian Underwood
and Don Preston
. This 'new' lineup also featured British-born drummer Aynsley Dunbar
(ex-John Mayall's Bluesbreakers), multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood
(keyboards, guitar, woodwind, vocals) and Ruth Underwood
(marimba, vibes), who had joined the original Mothers for the recording of Uncle Meat
in 1969. 1969 was also the year Zappa, fed up with MGM's interference, left MGM Records for Reprise Records
where Zappa/Mothers recordings would bear the Bizarre Records
imprint.
(keyboards, trombone, vocals) first performed with Zappa in 1970 on 200 Motels
and subsequently became a key member of Zappa's mid-70s touring bands. New Mothers members included Bob Harris (keyboards, vocals), vocalists Howard Kaylan
and Mark Volman
(aka "The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie
", former members of '60s pop group The Turtles
), Jim Pons
(also ex-the Turtles, bass), and Jeff Simmons
(bass, rhythm guitar). The "new" Mothers (with drummer John Guerin
) first played on the 1970 album Chunga's Revenge
although it is credited solely to Zappa, followed by Zappa's ambitious concept film/album project 200 Motels
, which also featured Jimmy Carl Black
, folk singer Theodore Bikel
, drummer Keith Moon
of The Who
and former Beatle
Ringo Starr
. Now credited as "The Mothers", Zappa and the group recorded two acclaimed live albums, Fillmore East - June 1971
and Just Another Band From L.A.
, but Zappa again disbanded the band in late 1971 after an attacker had pushed him offstage into an orchestra pit at a concert in London, resulting in serious injuries that kept him off the road for more than a year.
Although Zappa had always released, and would continue to release, albums explicitly as a solo artist (Lumpy Gravy
, 1967; Hot Rats
, 1969; Chunga's Revenge
, 1970; Apostrophe (')
, 1974), various line ups of the Mothers followed in the 70s, the band now clearly a mere vehicle for Frank Zappa. Albums were variously released as Zappa/Mothers (Roxy & Elsewhere
, 1974) or Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention (One Size Fits All
, 1975) until Zappa permanently dropped the moniker in 1976, from the release of Zoot Allures
(1976) onwards. Later releases by Zappa in CD format contain Mothers of Invention material from various line-ups (e.g., You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5
, 1992) and is occasionally credited as such on the album cover art (Playground Psychotics
, 1992; Ahead of Their Time
, 1993). 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. Preston and Gardner have been performing sporadically as "The Don and Bunk Show" since 1999. On November 1, 2008, original Mothers drummer, Jimmy Carl Black, died in Germany at the age of 70.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
band active from 1964 to 1969, and again from 1970 to 1975.
They mainly performed works by, and were the original recording group of, US composer and guitarist Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
(1940–1993), although other members have had the occasional writing credit. The band's first album, in 1966, was a double LP named Freak Out!
Freak Out!
Freak Out! is the debut album by American band The Mothers of Invention, released June 27, 1966 on Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, the album is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa's perception of American pop culture...
, and they released four more albums in the following years. Zappa disbanded the original group in 1969, mainly because of financial issues, but also because he felt that there was no public interest in their music. After recording and releasing Hot Rats
Hot Rats
Hot Rats is the second solo album by Frank Zappa. It was released in October 1969. Five of the six songs are instrumental . It was Zappa's first recording project after the dissolution of the original Mothers of Invention...
, Frank re-formed the group in 1970, with mostly new members and material. The new group came to be referred to as just "The Mothers" or "Frank Zappa & The Mothers" most of the time. In 1971, Zappa did an ambitious concept film/album project 200 Motels
200 Motels
200 Motels is a 1971 American-British musical surrealist film cowritten and directed by Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer and starring The Mothers of Invention, Theodore Bikel and Ringo Starr. The film covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town Centerville...
, but the group disbanded later that year after Zappa was attacked onstage during a London concert. During the coming years, Zappa released albums as "Zappa/Mothers" (Roxy & Elsewhere
Roxy & Elsewhere
Roxy & Elsewhere is a live album by Frank Zappa & The Mothers which was released in 1974. Most of the songs were recorded at The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, California on December 8, 9 and 10, 1973...
, 1974) or "Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention" (One Size Fits All
One Size Fits All
One Size Fits All is a 1975 rock album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. It is the last Zappa album to be released with the subheading of "Mothers of Invention". A special four-channel Quadraphonic version of the album was prepared and advertised, but not released...
, 1975) until he permanently dropped the "Mothers of Invention" moniker in 1976. There were plans to include former members of "The Mothers", Flo & Eddie
Flo & Eddie
Flo & Eddie are a comedic musical duo.The two were the original founding members of the Top 40 rock group the Turtles. After the Turtles dissolved, Volman and Kaylan first joined the Mothers of Invention as "Phlorescent Leech & Eddie"...
, in the "Philly '76" live album, but this never came to fruition.
1960s
Initially, the group was named "The Soul Giants" and consisted of drummerDrummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Jimmy Carl Black
Jimmy Carl Black
Jimmy Carl Black , born James Inkanish, Jr., was a drummer and vocalist for The Mothers of Invention.-Career: 1960s-1990s:Born in El Paso, Texas, Black was of Cheyenne heritage...
, bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player Roy Estrada
Roy Estrada
Roy Estrada is an American musician and backing vocalist, best known for his bass guitar work with Frank Zappa and for co-founding Little Feat.-Biography:With drummer Jimmy Carl Black and Ray Collins, Estrada was an original member of Frank Zappa's...
, saxophonist
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
Davy Coronado, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Ray Hunt, and vocalist Ray Collins
Ray Collins (rock musician)
Ray Collins was born on November 19, 1936 and grew up in Pomona, California singing in his school choir, the son of a local police officer. He quit high school to get married. He started his musical career singing falsetto backup vocals for various 'doo-wop' groups in the Los Angeles area in the...
. Some biographers report that Collins fought with Hunt in 1964 (according to Collins: "I never touched Hunt, I don't even remember shaking his hand"), after which Hunt quit the group and Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
took his place as guitarist - quickly becoming the leader of the group, which changed its name to "The Mothers" on Sunday, May 10, 1964 (that year's Mother's Day
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, yet most commonly in March, April, or May...
). The band's name was allegedly an abbreviation for "motherfuckers", which was a term used to describe good musicians at the time.
During late 1965, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Tom Wilson made a brief visit to a tavern where the Mothers were playing and offered them a contract and an advance of US$2,500. Guitarist Henry Vestine
Henry Vestine
Henry Charles Vestine a.k.a. "The Sunflower", was an American guitar player known mainly as a member of the band Canned Heat. He was with the group from its start in 1966 to July 1969...
, later of Canned Heat
Canned Heat
Canned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...
, was an early member of the group, but suddenly quit, on the day the contract was signed, allegedly after hearing Frank Zappa's "Who Are The Brain Police?", which was "too much for Henry". 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!
Freak Out!
Freak Out! is the debut album by American band The Mothers of Invention, released June 27, 1966 on Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, the album is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa's perception of American pop culture...
, and at the insistence of their record company, MGM Records
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...
, the group changed their name again, 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!, issued on MGM's Verve Records
Verve Records
Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
, amounted to a relatively poor 30,000 copies. The record label responded by cutting the band's budget for their next LP to US$11,000. The Mothers of Invention continued regardless, releasing Absolutely Free
Absolutely Free
Absolutely Free is the second album by The Mothers of Invention, led by Frank Zappa. Absolutely Free is, again, a display of complex musical composition with political and social satire. The band had been augmented since Freak Out! by the addition of saxophone player Bunk Gardner, keyboardist Don...
in 1967, We're Only in It for the Money
We're Only in It for the Money
We're Only in It For the Money is the third studio album by The Mothers of Invention, released in March 1968. The album peaked at number thirty on the Billboard 200...
in 1968 and Uncle Meat
Uncle Meat
Uncle Meat is the fifth studio album by the Mothers of Invention, released in 1969. It is billed as a supposed "soundtrack" to a film by The Mothers of Invention which was, in the end, never made. The front cover, designed by Cal Schenkel, included the words ""...
in 1969 under the leadership of Zappa. In 1969, Zappa disbanded the original Mothers of Invention. Estrada went on to form Little Feat
Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
with Lowell George
Lowell George
Lowell Thomas George was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, who was the main guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Little Feat.- Early years :...
, who had been in the Mothers for a few months in late 1968 and early 1969 but was reportedly fired by Zappa because of his drug use. In 1970, Zappa created a new incarnation of The Mothers which included Mothers' alumni Ian Underwood
Ian Underwood
Ian Robertson Underwood is a woodwind and keyboards player. He began his career by playing San Francisco Bay Area coffeehouses and bars with his improvisational group the Jazz Mice in the mid 1960s before he became a member of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention in 1967 for their third studio...
and Don Preston
Don Preston
Donald Ward Preston also known as Dom DeWilde or Biff Debrie born September 21, 1932 in Flint, Michigan. Preston is an American jazz and rock and roll musician.-Biography:Preston was born into a family of musicians and began studying music at an early age...
. This 'new' lineup also featured British-born drummer Aynsley Dunbar
Aynsley Dunbar
Aynsley Thomas Dunbar is an English drummer. He has worked with some of the top names in rock, including Eric Burdon, John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, Jefferson Starship, Jeff Beck, David Bowie, Whitesnake, Sammy Hagar, UFO, and Journey...
(ex-John Mayall's Bluesbreakers), multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood
Ian Underwood
Ian Robertson Underwood is a woodwind and keyboards player. He began his career by playing San Francisco Bay Area coffeehouses and bars with his improvisational group the Jazz Mice in the mid 1960s before he became a member of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention in 1967 for their third studio...
(keyboards, guitar, woodwind, vocals) and Ruth Underwood
Ruth Underwood
Ruth Underwood is a retired professional musician, best known for playing xylophone, marimba, vibraphone and other percussion instruments in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention from 1967 to 1977....
(marimba, vibes), who had joined the original Mothers for the recording of Uncle Meat
Uncle Meat
Uncle Meat is the fifth studio album by the Mothers of Invention, released in 1969. It is billed as a supposed "soundtrack" to a film by The Mothers of Invention which was, in the end, never made. The front cover, designed by Cal Schenkel, included the words ""...
in 1969. 1969 was also the year Zappa, fed up with MGM's interference, left MGM Records for Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
where Zappa/Mothers recordings would bear the Bizarre Records
Bizarre Records
Bizarre Records was a record label formed for artists discovered by rock musician Frank Zappa and his business partner/manager Herb Cohen.Bizarre was originally formed as a production company...
imprint.
1970s-2000s
George DukeGeorge Duke
George Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
(keyboards, trombone, vocals) first performed with Zappa in 1970 on 200 Motels
200 Motels
200 Motels is a 1971 American-British musical surrealist film cowritten and directed by Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer and starring The Mothers of Invention, Theodore Bikel and Ringo Starr. The film covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town Centerville...
and subsequently became a key member of Zappa's mid-70s touring bands. New Mothers members included Bob Harris (keyboards, vocals), vocalists Howard Kaylan
Howard Kaylan
Howard Kaylan is an American rock and roll musician, best known as a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s band, The Turtles, and "Eddie" of 1970's rock band Flo & Eddie.-Early days:...
and Mark Volman
Mark Volman
Mark Volman is an American rock and roll singer, best known as a founding member of the 1960s band The Turtles. At times during his career he has used the pseudonym "The Phlorescent Leech"...
(aka "The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie
Flo & Eddie
Flo & Eddie are a comedic musical duo.The two were the original founding members of the Top 40 rock group the Turtles. After the Turtles dissolved, Volman and Kaylan first joined the Mothers of Invention as "Phlorescent Leech & Eddie"...
", former members of '60s pop group The Turtles
The Turtles
The Turtles are an American rock group led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. The band became notable for several Top 40 hits beginning with its cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965...
), Jim Pons
Jim Pons
Jim Pons was a bass guitarist and singer for several 1960s rock bands, including The Leaves, The Turtles, and The Mothers of Invention....
(also ex-the Turtles, bass), and Jeff Simmons
Jeff Simmons (musician)
Jeff Simmons, born May 1949 in Seattle, Washington, is a rock musician and former member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. Simmons provided bass, guitar, and backing vocals for the group between 1970 and 1971. He left The Mothers just prior to the filming of 200 Motels in mid 1971...
(bass, rhythm guitar). The "new" Mothers (with drummer John Guerin
John Guerin
John Payne Guerin worked as a drummer, percussionist, and recording artist worldwide.Guerin was born in Hawaii and raised in San Diego. As a young drummer he began performing with Buddy DeFranco in 1960...
) first played on the 1970 album Chunga's Revenge
Chunga's Revenge
Chunga's Revenge is an album by Frank Zappa, released on October 23, 1970. Zappa's first effort of the 1970s marks the first appearance of former Turtles members Flo & Eddie on a Zappa record, and signals the dawn of a controversial epoch in Zappa's history...
although it is credited solely to Zappa, followed by Zappa's ambitious concept film/album project 200 Motels
200 Motels
200 Motels is a 1971 American-British musical surrealist film cowritten and directed by Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer and starring The Mothers of Invention, Theodore Bikel and Ringo Starr. The film covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town Centerville...
, which also featured Jimmy Carl Black
Jimmy Carl Black
Jimmy Carl Black , born James Inkanish, Jr., was a drummer and vocalist for The Mothers of Invention.-Career: 1960s-1990s:Born in El Paso, Texas, Black was of Cheyenne heritage...
, folk singer Theodore Bikel
Theodore Bikel
Theodore Meir Bikel is a character actor, folk singer and musician. He made his film debut in The African Queen and was nominated for an Academy award for his supporting role as Sheriff Max Muller in The Defiant Ones ....
, drummer Keith Moon
Keith Moon
Keith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
of The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
and former Beatle
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
. Now credited as "The Mothers", Zappa and the group recorded two acclaimed live albums, Fillmore East - June 1971
Fillmore East - June 1971
Fillmore East – June 1971 is a live album by The Mothers, released in 1971. It was the twelfth album by Frank Zappa. It was produced by Frank Zappa, and mixed by Toby Foster.-History:This was a live concept-like album...
and Just Another Band From L.A.
Just Another Band from L.A.
Just Another Band from L.A. is a live album by The Mothers, released in 1972 . It was recorded live on August 7, 1971 in Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles. A notable inclusion on this album is Billy the Mountain, Zappa's long, narrative parody of rock operas, which were gaining...
, but Zappa again disbanded the band in late 1971 after an attacker had pushed him offstage into an orchestra pit at a concert in London, resulting in serious injuries that kept him off the road for more than a year.
Although Zappa had always released, and would continue to release, albums explicitly as a solo artist (Lumpy Gravy
Lumpy Gravy
Lumpy Gravy is the first solo album by Frank Zappa, originally released in 1967, but not generally available until May 1968. Zappa was credited as conductor on the album cover and he described the contents as "a curiously inconsistent piece, which started out to be a BALLET, but probably didn't...
, 1967; Hot Rats
Hot Rats
Hot Rats is the second solo album by Frank Zappa. It was released in October 1969. Five of the six songs are instrumental . It was Zappa's first recording project after the dissolution of the original Mothers of Invention...
, 1969; Chunga's Revenge
Chunga's Revenge
Chunga's Revenge is an album by Frank Zappa, released on October 23, 1970. Zappa's first effort of the 1970s marks the first appearance of former Turtles members Flo & Eddie on a Zappa record, and signals the dawn of a controversial epoch in Zappa's history...
, 1970; Apostrophe (')
Apostrophe (')
Apostrophe is an album by Frank Zappa, his eighteenth, released on March 22, 1974 in both stereo and quadraphonic formats. An edited version of its lead-off track, "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow", was Zappa's first chart single, reaching position 86. Apostrophe remains Zappa's biggest commercial...
, 1974), various line ups of the Mothers followed in the 70s, the band now clearly a mere vehicle for Frank Zappa. Albums were variously released as Zappa/Mothers (Roxy & Elsewhere
Roxy & Elsewhere
Roxy & Elsewhere is a live album by Frank Zappa & The Mothers which was released in 1974. Most of the songs were recorded at The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, California on December 8, 9 and 10, 1973...
, 1974) or Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention (One Size Fits All
One Size Fits All
One Size Fits All is a 1975 rock album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. It is the last Zappa album to be released with the subheading of "Mothers of Invention". A special four-channel Quadraphonic version of the album was prepared and advertised, but not released...
, 1975) until Zappa permanently dropped the moniker in 1976, from the release of Zoot Allures
Zoot Allures
Zoot Allures is a 1976 rock album by Frank Zappa. This was Zappa's only release on the Warner Bros. Records label. Due to a lawsuit with his former manager Herb Cohen Frank Zappa's recording contract was temporarily re-assigned from DiscReet Records to Warner Bros.The title is a pun on the French...
(1976) onwards. Later releases by Zappa in CD format contain Mothers of Invention material from various line-ups (e.g., You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5 is a double compact disc collection of live recordings by Frank Zappa. Disc one comprises performances by the Mothers of Invention spanning the period from 1966 to 1969. "My Guitar" had been previously released as a single in 1969...
, 1992) and is occasionally credited as such on the album cover art (Playground Psychotics
Playground Psychotics
Playground Psychotics is a two-CD live album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. It was originally released in 1992 through his mail order label, Barking Pumpkin, and was re-released in 1995 through Rykodisc. The album features recordings of Zappa and his band, the Mothers of Invention...
, 1992; Ahead of Their Time
Ahead of Their Time
Ahead of Their Time is a live album by The Mothers of Invention. It was recorded at the Royal Festival Hall, London, England on October 25, 1968 , and released in 1993 on CD by Barking Pumpkin...
, 1993). Since 1980, Jimmy Carl Black
Jimmy Carl Black
Jimmy Carl Black , born James Inkanish, Jr., was a drummer and vocalist for The Mothers of Invention.-Career: 1960s-1990s:Born in El Paso, Texas, Black was of Cheyenne heritage...
, Don Preston
Don Preston
Donald Ward Preston also known as Dom DeWilde or Biff Debrie born September 21, 1932 in Flint, Michigan. Preston is an American jazz and rock and roll musician.-Biography:Preston was born into a family of musicians and began studying music at an early age...
and Bunk Gardner
Bunk Gardner
John Leon "Bunk" Gardner born . Gardner is a American musician who most notably played for Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention until the group disbanded in 1969. He plays woodwinds and tenor sax....
, 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
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
as well as originals and blues standards. Preston and Gardner have been performing sporadically as "The Don and Bunk Show" since 1999. On November 1, 2008, original Mothers drummer, Jimmy Carl Black, died in Germany at the age of 70.
The Mothers of Invention (1964-1969)
- Freak Out!Freak Out!Freak Out! is the debut album by American band The Mothers of Invention, released June 27, 1966 on Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, the album is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa's perception of American pop culture...
(1966) - Absolutely FreeAbsolutely FreeAbsolutely Free is the second album by The Mothers of Invention, led by Frank Zappa. Absolutely Free is, again, a display of complex musical composition with political and social satire. The band had been augmented since Freak Out! by the addition of saxophone player Bunk Gardner, keyboardist Don...
(1967) - We're Only in It for the MoneyWe're Only in It for the MoneyWe're Only in It For the Money is the third studio album by The Mothers of Invention, released in March 1968. The album peaked at number thirty on the Billboard 200...
(1968) - Cruising with Ruben & the JetsCruising with Ruben & the JetsCruising With Ruben & The Jets is an album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in December 1968, and controversially reissued in an alternate mix with newly recorded bass and percussion in 1984.-Concept:...
(1968) - MothermaniaMothermaniaMothermania , subtitled The Best of the Mothers, is a compilation album by The Mothers of Invention, led by Frank Zappa. It contains tracks personally chosen by Zappa that were previously released on Freak Out!, Absolutely Free and We're Only in It for the Money...
(compilation, 1969) - Uncle MeatUncle MeatUncle Meat is the fifth studio album by the Mothers of Invention, released in 1969. It is billed as a supposed "soundtrack" to a film by The Mothers of Invention which was, in the end, never made. The front cover, designed by Cal Schenkel, included the words ""...
(1969) - Burnt Weeny SandwichBurnt Weeny SandwichBurnt Weeny Sandwich is a live and studio compilation album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in 1970 ....
(compilation, 1970) - Weasels Ripped My FleshWeasels Ripped My FleshWeasels Ripped My Flesh is an album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in 1970.Given Zappa's already stated penchant for expressing his music in "phases"—We're Only in It for the Money was written up as "phase one of Lumpy Gravy"—conceptually, Zappa fans occasionally label this...
(1970) - The Grandmothers (1980), without Frank Zappa
- Ahead Of Their TimeAhead of Their TimeAhead of Their Time is a live album by The Mothers of Invention. It was recorded at the Royal Festival Hall, London, England on October 25, 1968 , and released in 1993 on CD by Barking Pumpkin...
(1993)
The Mothers (1970-1972)
- Fillmore East - June 1971Fillmore East - June 1971Fillmore East – June 1971 is a live album by The Mothers, released in 1971. It was the twelfth album by Frank Zappa. It was produced by Frank Zappa, and mixed by Toby Foster.-History:This was a live concept-like album...
(1971) - 200 Motels (soundtrack)200 Motels (soundtrack)The soundtrack to Frank Zappa's film 200 Motels was released by United Artists Records in 1971 and features a combination of rock and jazz songs, orchestral music and comedic spoken dialogue...
(1971) - Just Another Band From L.A.Just Another Band from L.A.Just Another Band from L.A. is a live album by The Mothers, released in 1972 . It was recorded live on August 7, 1971 in Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles. A notable inclusion on this album is Billy the Mountain, Zappa's long, narrative parody of rock operas, which were gaining...
(1972) - Playground PsychoticsPlayground PsychoticsPlayground Psychotics is a two-CD live album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. It was originally released in 1992 through his mail order label, Barking Pumpkin, and was re-released in 1995 through Rykodisc. The album features recordings of Zappa and his band, the Mothers of Invention...
(1992)
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention (1973-1975)
- Over-Nite SensationOver-Nite SensationOver-Nite Sensation is an album by Frank Zappa & The Mothers, released in 1973 . It was recorded in March – June 1973 at these studios: Bolic Sound in Inglewood, Whitney, in Glendale, and Paramount in Los Angeles...
(1973) - Roxy & ElsewhereRoxy & ElsewhereRoxy & Elsewhere is a live album by Frank Zappa & The Mothers which was released in 1974. Most of the songs were recorded at The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, California on December 8, 9 and 10, 1973...
(1974) - One Size Fits AllOne Size Fits AllOne Size Fits All is a 1975 rock album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. It is the last Zappa album to be released with the subheading of "Mothers of Invention". A special four-channel Quadraphonic version of the album was prepared and advertised, but not released...
(1975)
Videography
- 200 Motels200 Motels200 Motels is a 1971 American-British musical surrealist film cowritten and directed by Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer and starring The Mothers of Invention, Theodore Bikel and Ringo Starr. The film covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town Centerville...
(1971) - Baby SnakesBaby SnakesBaby Snakes is a movie which includes footage from Frank Zappa's 1977 Halloween concert at New York City's Palladium Theater, backstage antics from the crew, and stop motion clay animation from award-winning animator Bruce Bickford....
(1979) - The Dub Room SpecialThe Dub Room SpecialThe Dub Room Special is a film produced by Frank Zappa for direct-to-video release in October, 1982. The video combines footage from a performance at the KCET studios in Los Angeles on August 27, 1974, a concert performed at The Palladium, NYC on October 31, 1981, some clay animation by Bruce...
(1982) - Video From HellVideo from HellVideo From Hell is a video released in 1987 by Frank Zappa. It is a compilation of pieces of music and video from a series of projects that Zappa presumably planned to finish and release for home video, including a companion video for the You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore series of albums, but...
(1987) - Uncle MeatUncle Meat (film)Uncle Meat is a film written and directed by Frank Zappa, released directly to video in 1987. Principal photography having never been completed, the videocassette is actually a "making of" documentary showing rehearsals and background footage from 1968 and interviews with people involved with the...
(1987) - The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 MotelsThe True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 MotelsThe True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels is a video documentary film released in 1989 by Frank Zappa, detailing the making of Zappa's 1971 film 200 Motels.-Cast:Appearing as themselves:*Theodore Bikel*Jimmy Carl Black*George Duke...
(1989)