Editing Frank Zappa (section)

==1965–1970: The Mothers of Invention==
===Formation===
By April 1965, [[Ray Collins (musician)|Ray Collins]], one of Zappa's friends during the early Studio Z days, was the singer of an R&B band called the Soul Giants, based in [[Pomona, California]]. That month, he asked Zappa to take over as guitarist in the Soul Giants, following a fight between Collins and the group's original guitarist.<ref name="Rolling Stone Book"/> Zappa accepted, and soon assumed leadership and the role as co-lead singer (even though he never considered himself a singer, then or later<ref name="HighTimes1980"/>). He convinced the other members that they should play his music to increase the chances of getting a record contract.<ref name="Occhiogrosso"/>{{rp|65–66}} The band - comprising Zappa, Collins, [[Roy Estrada]], and [[Jimmy Carl Black]] - debuted at the Broadside Club and was renamed the Mothers since this gig took place on May 10, 1965{{snd}}[[Mother's Day (United States)|Mother's Day]].<ref name="slaven03"/>{{rp|42}} They increased their bookings after beginning an association with manager [[Herb Cohen]], and gradually gained attention on the burgeoning Los Angeles [[underground music]] scene.<ref name="walley80"/>{{rp|58}} In early 1966, they were spotted by leading record producer [[Tom Wilson (record producer)|Tom Wilson]] when playing "Trouble Every Day", a song about the [[Watts riots]].<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|103}} Wilson had earned acclaim as the producer for [[Bob Dylan]] and [[Simon & Garfunkel]], and was one of the few African-Americans working as a major label pop music producer at this time. Wilson signed the Mothers to the [[Verve Records|Verve]] division of [[MGM Records|MGM]], which had built up a strong reputation 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 [[the Mothers of Invention]] as ''Mother'' was short for ''[[motherfucker]]''—a term that, apart from its profane meanings, can denote a skilled musician.<ref>{{cite news | author=<!-- not stated --> | title = BBC Late Show: Frank Zappa interview with Nigel Leigh | medium = TV Show | publisher = [[BBC]] | location = [[UMRK]], Los Angeles, California |date=11 March 1993}}</ref> Under Zappa's leadership, the Mothers' lineup would be ever-changing during their time together, with members including Collins, Estrada, Black, [[Elliot Ingber]], brothers [[Bunk Gardner|Bunk]] and [[Buzz Gardner]], [[Don Preston]], [[Billy Mundi]], [[Jim Fielder]], [[Jim Sherwood|Jim "Motorhead" Sherwood]], [[Ian Underwood]], [[Art Tripp]], and [[Lowell George]].

===Debut album: ''Freak Out!''===
{{See also|Freak Out!|Absolutely Free|Lumpy Gravy}}
With Wilson credited as producer, the Mothers of Invention, augmented by a studio orchestra, recorded the groundbreaking ''[[Freak Out!]]'' (1966), which, after Bob Dylan's ''[[Blonde on Blonde]]'', was the second rock [[double album]] ever released. It mixed R&B, [[doo-wop]], [[musique concrète]],<ref name="lowe">{{cite book| title = The Words and Music of Frank Zappa| first = Kelly Fisher| last = Lowe| publisher=Praeger Publishers| location = Westport| date = 2006| isbn = 978-0-275-98779-4}}</ref>{{rp|25}} and experimental [[sound collage]]s that captured the "freak" subculture of Los Angeles at that time.<ref name="walley80"/>{{rp|60–61}} Although he was dissatisfied with the final product, ''Freak Out'' immediately established Zappa as a radical new voice in rock music, providing an antidote to the "relentless consumer culture of America".<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|115}} The sound was raw, but the arrangements were sophisticated. While recording in the studio, some of the additional [[session musician]]s were shocked that they were expected to read the notes on sheet music from [[Chord chart|charts]] with Zappa conducting them, since it was not standard when recording rock music.<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|112}} The lyrics praised non-conformity, disparaged authorities, and had [[dada]]ist elements. Yet, there was a place for seemingly conventional love songs.<ref name="watson05">{{cite book| title = Frank Zappa. The Complete Guide to His Music| first = Ben| last = Watson| date = 2005| publisher=Omnibus Press| location = London| isbn = 978-1-84449-865-9}}</ref>{{rp|10–11}} Most compositions are Zappa's, which set a precedent for the rest of his recording career. He had full control over the arrangements and musical decisions and did most [[Overdubbing|overdubs]]. Wilson provided the industry clout and connections and was able to provide the group with the financial resources needed.<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|123}} Although Wilson was able to provide Zappa and the Mothers with an extraordinary degree of artistic freedom for the time, the recording did not go entirely as planned. In a 1967 radio interview, Zappa explained that the album's outlandish 11-minute closing track, "Return of the Son of Monster Magnet" was not finished. The track as it appears on the album was only a backing track for a much more complex piece, but MGM refused to allow the additional recording time needed for completion. Much to Zappa's chagrin, it was issued in its unfinished state.<ref>"How We Made It Sound That Way", interview on WDET Detroit, November 13, 1967 (excerpt included as part of the [[The MOFO Project/Object|MOFO]] album, 2006)</ref>

{{Listen|type=music|filename=Zappa_HungryFreaks.ogg|description=The opening track on ''[[Freak Out!]]''. The album has "consistently been voted as one of top 100 greatest albums ever made".<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|115}}<br />&nbsp;|title="Hungry Freaks Daddy" (1966)|pos=left}}

During the recording of ''Freak Out!'', Zappa moved into a house in [[Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles|Laurel Canyon]] with friend Pamela Zarubica, who appeared on the album.<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|112}} The house became a meeting (and living) place for many LA musicians and [[groupie]]s of the time, despite Zappa's disapproval of their illicit drug use.<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|122}} After a short promotional tour following the release of ''Freak Out!'', Zappa met [[Gail Zappa|Adelaide Gail Sloatman]]. He fell in love within "a couple of minutes", and she moved into the house over the summer.<ref name="Occhiogrosso"/>{{rp|65–66}} They married in 1967, had four children and remained together until Zappa's death.

Wilson nominally produced the Mothers' second album ''[[Absolutely Free]]'' (1967), which was recorded in November 1966, and later [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|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 rhythm changes into songs that were built from diverse elements.<ref name="lowe"/>{{rp|5}} Examples are "Plastic People" and "Brown Shoes Don't Make It", which contained lyrics that lampooned the hypocrisy and conformity of American society, but also of the [[counterculture of the 1960s]].<ref name="lowe"/>{{rp|38–43}} As Zappa put it, "[W]e're satirists, and we are out to satirize everything."<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|135–138}} At this time, Zappa had also recorded material for an album of orchestral works to be released under his own name, ''[[Lumpy Gravy (1967 album)|Lumpy Gravy]],'' to be released by [[Capitol Records]] in 1967. Due to contractual problems, the album was held back. Zappa took the opportunity to radically restructure the material, adding newly recorded improvised dialogue. After the contractual problems were resolved, [[Lumpy Gravy|a new album of the same name]] was issued by Verve in 1968.<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|140–141}} It is an "incredible ambitious musical project",<ref name="lowe"/>{{rp|56}} a "monument to [[John Cage]]",<ref name="walley80"/>{{rp|86}} which intertwines orchestral themes, spoken words and electronic noises through radical [[audio engineer|audio editing]] techniques.<ref name="lowe"/>{{rp|56}}<ref>{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r22630|pure_url=yes}} | title=Lumpy Gravy. Review | last= Couture |first = François |work=AllMusic |access-date=January 2, 2008}}</ref>{{refn|group="nb"|The initial orchestra-only recordings were released posthumously on the box set ''[[Lumpy Money]]'' (2009). See {{Cite journal |title=The Resurrection of Frank Zappa's Soul |url=http://www.laweekly.com/2008-12-11/music/the-resurrection-of-frank-zappa-8217-s-soul/1 |date=December 8, 2008 |first=Casey |last=Dolan |journal=LA Weekly |access-date=February 2, 2009 |archive-date=October 4, 2012  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004152903/http://www.laweekly.com/2008-12-11/music/the-resurrection-of-frank-zappa-8217-s-soul/1/ |url-status=dead }}}}

===New York period (1966–1968)===
{{see also|We're Only in It for the Money|Cruising with Ruben & the Jets|Uncle Meat|Ahead of Their Time}}
The Mothers of Invention played in New York in late 1966 and were offered a contract at the [[Garrick Cinema|Garrick Theater]] (at 152 [[Bleecker Street]], above the [[Cafe au Go Go]]) during Easter 1967. This proved successful and Herb Cohen extended the booking, which eventually lasted half a year.<ref name="james">{{cite book |last=James |first=Billy |date=2000 |title=Necessity Is ...: The Early Years of Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention |publisher=SAF Publishing Ltd |location=London |isbn=978-0946719518}}</ref>{{rp|62–69}} As a result, Zappa and his wife Gail, along with the Mothers of Invention, moved to New York.<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|140–141}} 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 using hand signals.<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|147}} 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".<ref name="Occhiogrosso"/>{{rp|94}}

In 1967, filmmaker [[Ed Seeman]] paid Zappa $2,000 to produce music for a [[Luden's]] cough drops television commercial.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsbDne3sZRQ | title=Luden's Cough Drops Commercial | website=[[YouTube]] | date=April 24, 2017 }}</ref> Zappa's music was matched with Seeman's animation and the advertisement won a [[Clio Awards|Clio Award]] for "Best Use of Sound".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.zeroto180.org/frank-zappas-clio-award/ | title=Frank Zappa's Clio Award | date=June 30, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAUvFst5bOI | title=Zappa's Luden's Cough Drops | website=[[YouTube]] | date=February 27, 2008 }}</ref> An alternate version of the soundtrack, called "The Big Squeeze", later appeared on Zappa's posthumous 1996 album ''[[The Lost Episodes]]''. This version lacks Seeman's narration.

While living in New York City, and 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, ''[[We're Only in It for the Money]]'' (released 1968).<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r22631|pure_url=yes}}|title=We're Only in It for the Money. Review|last=Huey|first=Steve|work=AllMusic|access-date=January 2, 2008}}</ref> It was produced by Zappa, with Wilson credited as executive producer. From then on, Zappa produced all albums released by the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. ''We're Only in It for the Money'' featured some of the most creative audio editing and production yet heard in pop music, and the songs ruthlessly satirized the [[hippie]] and [[flower power]] phenomena.<ref name="walley80"/>{{rp|90}}<ref name="watson05"/>{{rp|15}} He sampled surf music from his Studio Z days in the audio collage ''Nasal Retentive Caliope Music''. The cover photo parodied that of [[the Beatles]]' ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''.{{refn|group="nb"|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.<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|151}}}} The cover art was provided by [[Cal Schenkel]] whom Zappa met in New York. This initiated a lifelong collaboration in which Schenkel designed covers for numerous Zappa and Mothers albums.<ref name="watson96"/>{{rp|88}}
[[File:The Mothers of Invention (1968).jpg|thumb|left|Zappa (back) with the Mothers, 1968]]
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.<ref name="lowe"/>{{rp|58}} Zappa later remarked that the album was conceived like Stravinsky's compositions 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&nbsp;... to doo-wop in the fifties?"<ref name="Occhiogrosso"/>{{rp|88}} The opening theme from Stravinsky's ''[[The Rite of Spring]]'' is sung in "Fountain of Love".

In 1967 and 1968, Zappa made two appearances with [[the Monkees]]. The first appearance was on an episode of [[The Monkees (TV series)|their TV series]], "The Monkees Blow Their Minds", where Zappa, dressed up as [[Michael Nesmith|Mike Nesmith]], interviews Nesmith who is dressed up as Zappa. After the interview, Zappa destroys a car with a sledgehammer as the song "Mother People" plays. He later provided a cameo in the Monkees' movie [[Head (film)|''Head'']] where, leading a cow, he tells [[Davy Jones (musician)|Davy Jones]] "the youth of America depends on you to show them the way." Zappa respected the Monkees and attempted to recruit [[Micky Dolenz]] to the Mothers but RCA/Columbia/Colgems would not release Dolenz from his contract.<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|158–159}}

During the late 1960s, Zappa continued to develop the business side of his career. He and Herb Cohen formed the [[Bizarre Records|Bizarre]] and [[Straight Records|Straight]] labels to increase creative control and produce recordings by other artists. These labels were distributed in the US by [[Warner Bros. Records]]. Zappa/Mothers recordings appeared on Bizarre along with [[Wild Man Fischer]] and [[Lenny Bruce]].<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|173–175}} Straight released the double album ''[[Trout Mask Replica]]'' for [[Captain Beefheart]], and releases by [[Alice Cooper]], [[The Persuasions]], and [[the GTOs]]. The Mothers' first album on Bizarre was 1969's ''[[Uncle Meat]]'', which Zappa described as "most of the music from the Mothers' movie of the same name which we haven't got enough money to finish yet". A version of the ''[[Uncle Meat (film)|Uncle Meat]]'' film was released direct-to-video in 1987. Principal photography having never been completed, the VHS videocassette is a "making of" documentary showing rehearsals and background footage from 1968 and interviews with people involved with the uncompleted production.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/uncle-meat-full-film | title=Uncle Meat Full Film 1987 | date=December 8, 1987 }}</ref>
{{multiple image
 |perrow = 3
 |total_width = 600
 |align = centre
 |direction =
 |image1 = Frank Zappa - Mothers - 1968-10-05 - 01.jpg
 |image2 = Frank Zappa - Mothers - 1968-10-05 - 02.jpg
 |image3 = Frank Zappa - Mothers - 1968-10-05 - 03.jpg
 |footer = Zappa and the Mothers on stage in Hamburg, October 1968
 |footer_align = center
}}
During the Mothers' second European tour in September/October 1968, they performed for the Internationale Essener Songtage at the [[Grugahalle]] in [[Essen]], Germany; at the [[Tivoli Gardens|Tivoli]] in Copenhagen, Denmark; for TV programs in Germany (''[[Beat-Club]]''), France, and England; at the [[Concertgebouw, Amsterdam|Concertgebouw]] in Amsterdam; at the [[Royal Festival Hall]] in London; and at the [[Olympia (Paris)|Olympia]] in Paris.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.zappateers.com/fzshows/6669.html |title=September–October 1968: The 2nd European tour |website=zappateers.com |access-date=October 18, 2023 }}</ref>

===Disbandment===
{{see also|Hot Rats|Burnt Weeny Sandwich|Weasels Ripped My Flesh}}
{{Listen|type=music|filename=Zappa_PeachesEnRegalia.ogg|description=The opening track on ''[[Hot Rats]]'' is considered one of Zappa's most enduring compositions.<ref name="lowe"/>{{rp|74}}<ref name="Allmusic Peaches">{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=song|id=t2677929|pure_url=yes}} |title=Peaches en Regalia [Song Review] |last=Couture |first=François |work=AllMusic |access-date=April 11, 2010}}</ref> |title="Peaches En Regalia" (1969)|pos=right|}}

Zappa and the Mothers of Invention returned to Los Angeles in mid-1968; the Zappas moved into a house on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, only to move again to Woodrow Wilson Drive.<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|178}} This was Zappa's home for the rest of his life. Despite being successful in Europe, the Mothers of Invention were not doing well financially.<ref name="walley80">{{cite book |first=David |last=Walley |year= 1980 |publisher=[[E. P. Dutton]] |title=No Commercial Potential: The Saga of Frank Zappa Then and Now |isbn=978-0525931539}}</ref>{{rp|116}} Their first records were vocally oriented, but as Zappa wrote more instrumental jazz and classical style music for the band's concerts, audiences were confused. Zappa felt that audiences failed to appreciate his "electrical chamber music".<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|185–187}}<ref name="slaven03"/>{{rp|119–120}}

In 1969, there were nine band members and Zappa was supporting the group from his publishing [[royalties]] whether they played or not.<ref name="walley80"/>{{rp|116}} In late 1969, Zappa broke up the band. He often cited the financial strain as the main reason,<ref name="Occhiogrosso"/>{{rp|107}} but also commented on the band members' lack of diligence.<ref name="slaven03"/>{{rp|120}} Many band members were bitter about Zappa's decision, and some took it as a sign of Zappa's perfectionism at the expense of human feeling.<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|185–187}} Others were irritated by 'his [[Autocracy|autocratic]] ways',<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|123}} exemplified by Zappa's never staying at the same hotel as the band members.<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|116}} Several members would play with Zappa again in subsequent years, while Lowell George and Roy Estrada went on to form the band [[Little Feat]]. Zappa assembled remaining unreleased recordings of the band on the albums ''[[Burnt Weeny Sandwich]]'' and ''[[Weasels Ripped My Flesh]]'', both released in 1970.

After he disbanded the Mothers of Invention, Zappa released the acclaimed solo album ''[[Hot Rats]]'' (1969).<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|194}}<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r22632|pure_url=yes}}|last=Huey|first=Steve|title=Hot Rats. Review|work=AllMusic|access-date=January 2, 2008}}</ref> It features, for the first time on record, Zappa playing extended guitar solos and contains one of his most enduring compositions, "[[Peaches en Regalia]]", which reappeared several times on future recordings.<ref name="lowe"/>{{rp|74}} He was backed by jazz, blues and R&B session players including violinist [[Don "Sugarcane" Harris]], drummers [[John Guerin]] and [[Paul Humphrey (American musician)|Paul Humphrey]], multi-instrumentalist and former Mothers of Invention member Ian Underwood, and multi-instrumentalist [[Shuggie Otis]] on bass, along with a guest appearance by [[Captain Beefheart]] on the only vocal track, "Willie the Pimp". It became a popular album in England,<ref name="Occhiogrosso"/>{{rp|109}} and had a major influence on the development of [[jazz-rock fusion]].<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|194}}<ref name="lowe"/>{{rp|74}}