The Mothers of Invention
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fixing genre capitalization mistakes per [[Wikipedia:MUSTARD#Capitalization|WP:MUSTARD]] -> [[Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style_(capital_letters)#Musical_genres|MOS:CAPS]] + cleanup.
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{{Infobox Musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| Name = The Mothers of Invention
| Img =
| Img_capt =
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| Landscape =
| Background = group_or_band
| Birth_name =
| Alias = The Soul Giants, Mothers, The Muthers, The Mothers, The Grandmothers, The Grande Mothers Re:Invented
| Genre = [[Rock music|Rock]]<br/>[[Experimental rock]]<br/>[[Progressive rock]]
| Years_active = 1964—1975<br/>1980—Current
| Label = [[Verve Records|Verve]], [[Reprise Records|Reprise]], [[DiscReet Records]]
| Associated_acts = [[Frank Zappa]]<br/>[[Little Feat]]
| URL =
| Current_members =
| Past_members =
}}
'''The Mothers of Invention''' were a [[rock and roll]] band active from 1964 to 1975. They mainly performed works by and were the original recording group of composer and guitarist [[Frank Zappa]], although other members have an occasional writing credit.<ref>{{cite book
| title = The Real Frank Zappa Book
| first = Frank
| last = Zappa
| coauthors = Occhiogrosso, Peter
| year = 1989
| publisher = Poseidon Press
| id = ISBN 0-671-70572-5
}}</ref>
Initially, the group was named "The Soul Giants" and consisted of [[drummer]] [[Jimmy Carl Black]], [[bass guitar|bass]] player [[Roy Estrada]], [[saxophone|saxophonist]] [[Davy Coronado]], [[guitarist]] [[Ray Hunt (musician)|Ray Hunt]], and [[vocalist]] [[Ray Collins (rock musician)|Ray Collins]]. Some biographers report that Collins got into a fight 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]]).
In late 1965, [[record producer]] [[Tom Wilson (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 Records]] (the band's name was shorthand slang for "motherfuckers"<ref name="BBC">Zappa, Frank. Interview with Nigel Leigh for BBC Late Show. UMRK, LA. March, 1993.</ref>), 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, ''[[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 lineup. 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 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.
[[George Duke]] (keyboards, trombone, vocals) first performed with Zappa in 1970 on ''[[200 Motels]]'' and subsequently became a key member of the Zappa's mid-70s touring bands. New Mothers members included [[Jim Pons]] (bass), [[Bob Harris]] (keyboards, vocals), vocalists [[Howard Kaylan]] and [[Mark Volman]] (aka "The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie", former members of '60s pop group [[The Turtles]]), and [[Jeff Simmons (musician)|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]], Who drummer Keith Moon 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 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 Mothers/Zappa (''[[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. 3]]'', 1988) 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.
In 2006, in response to tribute bands playing poor, error-filled renditions of Zappa's music, Frank Zappa's son Dweezil formed band Zappa Plays Zappa and took it on the road to give his father's fans a very close approximation of a real-live Frank Zappa concert. Zappa Plays Zappa concerts feature Mothers alumni and cleverly edited video footage that enables son Dweezil to play duets with his father. The response to Zappa Plays Zappa was very positive. Buoyed by their continued success, the band continues to tour
== 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 (soundtrack)|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 MOFO Project/Object]]'' (2006)
== Videography ==
* ''[[200 Motels]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Baby Snakes]]'' (1979)
* ''[[The Dub Room Special]]'' (1982)
* ''[[Video From Hell]]'' (1987)
* ''[[Uncle Meat (film)|Uncle Meat]]'' (1987)
* ''[[The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels]]'' (1989)
==External links==
*{{allmusicguide|id=11:3jfoxqtgldde}}
*[http://www.jimmycarlblack.com Jimmy Carl Black website]
*[http://www.thegrandmothers.com/ "The Grande Mothers Re:Invented" website]
== References==
{{reflist}}
{{Frank Zappa}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mothers of Invention, The}}
[[Category:American rock music groups]]
[[Category:Experimental musical groups]]
[[Category:Frank Zappa]]
[[Category:Pre-punk groups]]
[[Category:Progressive rock groups]]
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