The Mothers of Invention

History

The Soul Giants got their start in 1964. The following year, Ray Collins reached out to Frank Zappa after a fight with the band’s original guitarist, asking Zappa to step in. Zappa agreed and persuaded the group to perform his own songs, believing that would improve their odds of landing a record deal. The original frontman, David Coronado, disagreed, fearing the band wouldn’t find work playing original material, so he quit.

Zappa then took over as leader and co-lead vocalist, though he never saw himself as a singer. On May 9, 1965—which happened to be Mother’s Day—the band changed its name to the Mothers. Their fortunes improved when they linked up with manager Herb Cohen, leading to more gigs and growing recognition in Los Angeles’s emerging underground rock scene. In early 1966, producer Tom Wilson caught their set and heard Zappa’s “Trouble Every Day,” a piece inspired by the Watts Riots.

Wilson was already famous for producing Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel, and as one of the few Black producers at a major label at the time, he stood out. He signed the Mothers to Verve Records, a label under MGM that had built its reputation on modern jazz but was now trying to break into pop and rock. Verve insisted on a name change because “Mother” was slang for “motherfucker”—a term that, beyond its profanity, also signified a highly skilled musician in jazz circles. The label proposed “The Mothers Auxiliary,” which led Zappa to counter with “The Mothers of Invention.”