Frank Zappa guided the Mothers of Invention as their composer, guitarist, singer, and bandleader across a distinctive performing and recording span stretching from the 1960s into the 1990s. Influences ranging from doo wop to avant-garde classical music shaped his approach, so that even while the Mothers operated chiefly as a rock & roll ensemble, Zappa steered them toward a hybrid idiom that approached jazz and intricate modern concert music. Satirical and at times abstractly humorous lyrics and titles further complicated the music, placing Zappa in a confrontational literary lineage that embraced Beat poets such as Allen Ginsberg and boundary-pushing comedians such as Lenny Bruce. Although he functioned nominally as a popular musician whose releases rarely secured substantial airplay or sales, Zappa maintained ownership of his catalog, issued it profitably on independent labels, and sustained worldwide touring through the loyalty of a devoted cult following, the admiration of numerous serious musicians, and his own effectiveness as an articulate spokesman who treated extensive interviews as integral components of his creative project.
The Mothers formed in 1964 after Zappa relocated from Cucamonga, California, to Los Angeles and entered an existing ensemble, the Soul Giants, that already included his acquaintance, singer Ray Collins, plus bassist Roy Estrada and drummer Jimmy Carl Black. He promptly redirected the musicians toward his own original material rather than covers and prompted a name change to the Mothers, an alteration said to have occurred on Mother’s Day, May 10, 1965.
In Los Angeles the Mothers secured manager Herb Cohen and, by autumn 1965, auditioned successfully for engagements at prominent clubs including the Whiskey A Go-Go. Record executive Tom Wilson attended one of those appearances and signed the group to Verve Records, an MGM subsidiary, on March 1, 1966; Verve stipulated that the suggestive title “the Mothers” be altered to “the Mothers of Invention.” The agreement required five albums within two years, and the band entered the studio at once to cut the first of them, Freak Out! Guitarist Elliot Ingber had joined by then, expanding the lineup to a quintet. An abundance of material, combined with Zappa’s willingness to accept a reduced publishing royalty, produced the rare decision to issue the debut as a double LP—an indulgence virtually unknown for a new act and unprecedented for any established artist, although Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde, his seventh album, appeared around the same time.
Freak Out! reached stores on June 27, 1966. It failed to register immediate commercial impact yet eventually appeared on the Billboard charts more than six months later. During summer 1966 Zappa added drummer Denny Bruce and keyboardist Don Preston, creating a septet; by November, when the Mothers returned to the studio for Absolutely Free, Bruce had given way to Billy Mundi, Ingber had been replaced by Jim Fielder, and Zappa had recruited horn players Bunk Gardner on winds and Jim “Motorhead” Sherwood on saxophone, bringing the ensemble to nine members. Recorded in four days and released in June 1967, the album entered the charts in July and climbed into the Top 50.
The Mothers relocated to New York City in November 1966 for a run at the Balloon Farm in Greenwich Village that opened on Thanksgiving and extended through New Year’s Day 1967. After a fortnight in Montreal they returned to California, where Fielder departed in February. In March, Zappa began his first solo project, Lumpy Gravy, under a Capitol contract he believed did not conflict with his Verve obligations—an interpretation Verve contested. Later that month the Mothers resumed an extended engagement at the Garrick Theater in Greenwich Village that began during Easter week; its success prompted Herb Cohen to book the theater through the summer, a residency that ran intermittently from May 24 to September 5, 1967. Saxophonist and pianist Ian Underwood joined during this period. In August the group commenced recording its third album, We’re Only in It for the Money.
September 1967 brought the Mothers’ first European tour, with dates in the U.K., Sweden, and Denmark. On October 1 Verve declined to pick up its option to extend the contract, though three additional LPs remained due. Recording of We’re Only in It for the Money concluded in October, yet release was delayed by legal objections to the proposed cover—an elaborate parody of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band—until the image was moved inside the gatefold sleeve. Issued March 4, 1968, the album reached the Top 30. A separate dispute ended when Verve acquired the Lumpy Gravy tapes from Capitol; Zappa completed the orchestral work, and Verve released it under his name and that of the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra and Chorus on May 13, 1968, where it remained on the charts for five weeks.
Even while still obligated to Verve for one more LP, Zappa looked ahead. In autumn 1967 he began recording Uncle Meat, intended as a film soundtrack, with sessions continuing through February 1968. Billy Mundi left during this stretch and was replaced by drummer Arthur Dyer Tripp III. In March, Zappa and Herb Cohen announced the formation of Bizarre Records, to be distributed by Warner Bros.’ Reprise subsidiary; the imprint was conceived to document both the Mothers and additional artists Zappa discovered. Early that summer Ray Collins exited the band, which continued touring. Its October 25, 1968, performance at London’s Royal Festival Hall later appeared as the 1991 album Ahead of Their Time. Bizarre formally debuted that month with the single “The Circle” by Los Angeles street singer Wild Man Fischer. Guitarist Lowell George joined the Mothers in November. December saw Verve issue the final album owed under the original contract, Cruisin’ with Ruben & the Jets, on which Zappa led the group through what appeared to be sincere doo wop and R&B material; the LP charted for twelve weeks. Verve subsequently released the compilation Mothermania: The Best of the Mothers in March 1969, where it remained on the charts for nine weeks.
Bizarre issued the ambitious double-LP Uncle Meat on April 21, 1969; it reached the Top 50, although the accompanying film did not surface until a 1989 home-video edition. In May, Bizarre released Pretties for You, the debut album by Alice Cooper—the only act discovered by the label that later achieved substantial success after moving to Warner Bros. proper. Lowell George departed the same month; he and Roy Estrada would subsequently form Little Feat. Zappa began work on a second solo album, Hot Rats, in July 1969. On August 19 the Mothers gave their final performance in their original configuration on Canadian television at tour’s end. One week later Zappa announced the group’s dissolution, although he would later employ the name “the Mothers of Invention” for subsequent ensembles. Hot Rats, credited solely to Frank Zappa, appeared October 10, 1969; it charted briefly yet became one of his most enduring collections, particularly the instrumental “Peaches en Regalia.” Although the Mothers no longer performed as a unit, Zappa drew on extensive live and studio tapes to assemble Burnt Weeny Sandwich, released February 1970, which entered the Top 100.
Conductor Zubin Mehta of the Los Angeles Philharmonic invited Zappa to prepare a new rock ensemble, billed simply as the Mothers, for a joint performance of the work 200 Motels at UCLA on May 15, 1970. Adding former Turtles singers Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, Zappa launched a tour with this iteration of the Mothers in June 1970; the lineup also included returning Ian Underwood, keyboardist George Duke, drummer Aynsley Dunbar, and guitarist Jeff Simmons. August brought the Bizarre release of another archival Mothers album, Weasels Ripped My Flesh, which charted. Chunga’s Revenge, issued in October and credited as a Zappa solo album despite featuring the current Mothers lineup, spent fourteen weeks on the charts. After an autumn U.S. tour the group traveled to Europe beginning December 1. From January 28 to February 5, 1971, they recorded a film version of 200 Motels at Pinewood Studios with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and co-stars Theodore Bikel, Ringo Starr, and Keith Moon of the Who. Zappa had arranged a February 8 concert with the Royal Philharmonic at the Royal Albert Hall as a cost-saving measure under union rules, yet the hall canceled, citing vulgar lyrics; Zappa subsequently sued and lost.
The Mothers recorded shows at the Fillmore East in New York City on June 5 and 6, 1971, during the theater’s final week; the resulting live album Fillmore East, June 1971 appeared August 2 and became Zappa’s first Top 40 entry since We’re Only in It for the Money three years earlier. John Lennon and Yoko Ono guested on June 6 and later used the performance on their 1972 album Some Time in New York City. An August 7 concert at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion yielded Just Another Band from L.A., released May 1972, which reached the Top 100. The group continued touring into autumn. 200 Motels premiered theatrically October 29, 1971, accompanied by a double-LP soundtrack on United Artists that also charted in the Top 100. The European tour proved eventful: on December 4 a fan’s flare gun ignited the Montreux Casino during a performance in Geneva, Switzerland—an incident that inspired Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.” Six days later, on December 10 at London’s Rainbow Theatre, a deranged audience member pushed Zappa into the orchestra pit, fracturing his ankle and inflicting further injuries that halted both the tour and this edition of the Mothers.
While recuperating in Los Angeles, Zappa assembled a new large ensemble devoted to jazz-fusion, the Grand Wazoo Orchestra, and recorded two albums with it. Waka/Jawaka, credited as a Zappa solo release, appeared July 1972 and charted for seven weeks; The Grand Wazoo, issued under the Mothers name in December, did not chart. By September 10 Zappa felt recovered enough to perform two weeks of dates with the group, now billed simply as the Mothers, beginning at the Hollywood Bowl. He subsequently reduced the personnel to ten pieces—the “Petit Wazoo” band—and toured from late October through mid-December.
The start of 1973 inaugurated a new and unexpectedly popular chapter. Zappa formed yet another Mothers lineup, sang lead vocals on fresh recordings (his range having dropped an octave after neck injuries sustained in the stage fall), and undertook the most extensive touring of his career. The band debuted February 23 in Fayetteville, North Carolina; Zappa spent 183 days on the road that year, encompassing the U.S., Europe, and Australia. With the Bizarre/Reprise arrangement concluded, he established DiscReet Records, also distributed by Warner Bros.; its first release, Over-Nite Sensation, arrived September 1973, reached the Top 40, remained on the charts nearly a year, and earned gold certification. Apostrophe (‘), credited as a Zappa solo album, followed in April 1974. To Zappa’s surprise, radio stations began airing “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow”; a single edit charted modestly, and the album climbed to number ten the week ending June 29, 1974—the highest position any Zappa album attained—while also achieving gold status.
Zappa maintained heavy touring throughout 1974. The double-LP live set Roxy & Elsewhere, credited to Zappa/Mothers, appeared September 1974 and reached the Top 30. Captain Beefheart joined the band for May 20 and 21, 1975, performances at the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, Texas, documented on Bongo Fury, credited to Frank Zappa/Captain Beefheart/The Mothers and released October; it entered the Top 100. One Size Fits All, credited to Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, had preceded it in June and also reached the Top 30. On September 17 and 18, 1975, two concerts of Zappa’s orchestral music were presented at UCLA’s Royce Hall by the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra under Michael Zearott; the recordings eventually appeared May 1979 as Orchestral Favorites, which charted briefly. Beginning September 27, 1975, Zappa embarked on another extended tour that took the band across the U.S., Australia, Japan, and Europe before concluding March 17, 1976. This marked the close of another phase: Zappa parted ways with longtime manager Herb Cohen and disbanded the group, which legal disputes ensured would be the final ensemble billed as the Mothers or the Mothers of Invention. Thereafter he performed and recorded simply as Frank Zappa. Zoot Allures, the last album credited to the Mothers, appeared on Warner Bros. Records October 29, 1976.
