Jeff Simmons (musician)

Last updated
Jeff Simmons
Birth nameJeffrey Lael Simmons
Genres
InstrumentsBass, guitar, vocals, harmonica, piano

Jeffrey Lael Simmons [2] is an American rock musician, best known as a former member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention.

Contents

Career

Simmons provided bass, guitar, vocals and harmonica for Mothers of Invention during 1970 and 1971. He left the Mothers in early 1971 just prior to the filming of 200 Motels (where he was replaced by Ringo Starr's chauffeur Martin Lickert). Simmons later returned to the Mothers occasionally during the period of 1972 to 1974. Zappa and Mothers albums he appeared on include Chunga's Revenge (1970), Waka/Jawaka (1972) and Roxy & Elsewhere (1974).

In later years Zappa released a number of archival recordings that feature Simmons including You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 (1988), You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 (1992), and Playground Psychotics (1992). Simmons also appears in the Zappa movie The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels (1989). Numerous Zappa bootleg recordings from the same era also feature Simmons.

Simmons's music career began in Seattle. In 1967 he became a member of the local group Blues Interchange which soon changed its name to Easy Chair. The group self-financed their only recording, released by the regional Vanco label in 1968. [3] The 12" one-sided, three-song album sold well in the independent record shops along University Way NE (known locally as The Ave) in Seattle's University District. Only about 1000 copies of locally produced Easy Chair record were pressed. It is now a highly valued collectible.

Easy Chair was then booked as the opening act for an August 24, 1968, concert by The Mothers of Invention at the Seattle Center Arena (renamed in 1995 to Mercer Arena). During the sound check Easy Chair was discovered by Zappa, who recognized that the group's style was compatible with his own. The group followed Zappa back to Los Angeles. [3]

In December 1968, Easy Chair was a supporting act for Zappa and The Mothers for 2 concerts at the Shrine Auditorium. The concerts were organized to showcase Zappa's two new record labels, Bizarre and Straight. Other artists appearing at the shows included Alice Cooper, The GTOs and Wild Man Fischer. But Easy Chair never had the opportunity to make a record in Los Angeles. After disagreements and unexpected delays the group broke up before any recordings were made.

Simmons stayed in Los Angeles and completed two solo albums for Straight in 1969. These were the soundtrack for the Roger Corman biker film Naked Angels and the album Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up . The recording engineer and de facto producer was Chris Huston, formerly with the British band The Undertakers. Also featured were guitarist Craig Tarwater of The Daily Flash and drummer Ron Woods from The Dynamics.

Lucille was recorded at Huston's Mystic Studios at Selma and Vine in Hollywood and finished at Whitney Studios in Burbank. Zappa contributed the title track and co-wrote another while also playing guitar. It was voted the best album on Straight by Mojo Magazine. Both albums were re-issued on CD and vinyl in 2007 by World In Sound Records.

Simmons is one of only a handful of musicians to share songwriting credits with Zappa. The collaboration "Wonderful Wino" appears on Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up , and also on Zappa's 1976 album Zoot Allures . Simmons is also listed as co-writer (with Zappa and Napoleon Murphy Brock) on "Dummy Up" from Zappa's 1974 album Roxy & Elsewhere . [4]

During a 1982 guest DJ spot on UK's BBC Radio 1, Zappa played some of his favorite recordings including Simmons' song "I'm In The Music Business".

Simmons continued to play music with various groups in the Seattle area during the 1970s and 1980s. He appeared in the 1988 movie Rock and Roll Mobster Girls which was produced on video tape in Seattle during the very early stages of the grunge music scene. His most recent work is Blue Universe (2004). It showcases his days and nights in Vancouver B.C., post Hollywood.

Discography

Solo

with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention

Related Research Articles

<i>Joes Garage</i> 1979 studio album by Frank Zappa

Joe's Garage is a three-part rock opera recorded by American musician Frank Zappa in September and November 1979. Originally released as two separate studio albums on Zappa Records, the project was later remastered and reissued as a triple album box set, Joe's Garage, Acts I, II & III, in 1987. The story is told by a character identified as the "Central Scrutinizer" narrating the story of Joe, an average adolescent male, from Canoga Park, Los Angeles, who forms a garage rock band, has unsatisfying relationships with women, gives all of his money to a government-assisted and insincere religion, explores sexual activities with appliances, and is imprisoned. After being released from prison into a dystopian society in which music itself has been criminalized, he lapses into insanity.

<i>The Grand Wazoo</i> 1972 studio album by The Mothers

The Grand Wazoo is a studio album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers, released in November 1972. It was written and recorded during Zappa's period of convalescence after being assaulted in December 1971 in London, UK.

Flo & Eddie

Flo & Eddie is a comedy rock duo consisting of Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (Eddie).

<i>200 Motels</i> 1971 American-British musical surrealist film

200 Motels is a 1971 surreal musical film written and directed by Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer, and featuring music by Zappa. An international co-production of United States and the United Kingdom, the film stars the Mothers of Invention, Theodore Bikel and Ringo Starr.

Bizarre Records, self-identified simply as Bizarre, was a production company and record label formed for artists discovered by rock musician Frank Zappa and his business partner/manager Herb Cohen.

<i>Waka/Jawaka</i> 1972 studio album by Frank Zappa

Waka/Jawaka is the fourth solo album by Frank Zappa, released in July 1972. The album is the jazz-influenced precursor to The Grand Wazoo, and as the front cover indicates, a sequel of sorts to 1969's Hot Rats. According to Zappa, the title "is something that showed up on a ouija board at one time."

<i>Chungas Revenge</i> Album by Frank Zappa

Chunga's Revenge is the third solo 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. Chunga's Revenge represents a shift from both the satirical political commentary of his 1960s work with The Mothers of Invention, and the jazz fusion of Hot Rats.

The Mothers of Invention American rock band

The Mothers of Invention was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows.

Aynsley Dunbar British musician

Aynsley Thomas Dunbar is an English drummer. He has worked with John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Journey, Jefferson Starship, Nils Lofgren, Eric Burdon, Shuggie Otis, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Mick Ronson, Whitesnake, Pat Travers, Sammy Hagar, Michael Schenker, UFO, Michael Chapman, Jake E. Lee, Leslie West, Kathi McDonald, Keith Emerson, Mike Onesko, Herbie Mann and Flo & Eddie. Dunbar was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey in 2017.

Howard Kaylan Musical artist

Howard Kaylan is an American musician and writer, best known as a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s band The Turtles, and as "Eddie" in the 1970s rock duo Flo & Eddie, as well as being a member of Frank Zappa's band, The Mothers of Invention.

Ruth Underwood Musical artist

Ruth Underwood is an American musician best known for playing xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, and other percussion instruments in Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. She collaborated with the Mothers of Invention from 1968 to 1977.

Don Preston American jazz and rock keyboardist

Donald Ward Preston is an American jazz and rock keyboardist. He is known for working with Frank Zappa from the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s.

<i>Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up</i> 1969 album by Jeff Simmons

Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up is a 1969 album by Jeff Simmons, produced by Frank Zappa, who wrote two songs for the album under the pseudonym "La Marr Bruister".

<i>200 Motels</i> (soundtrack) 1971 soundtrack album by Frank Zappa

The 200 Motels soundtrack to Frank Zappa's film 200 Motels was released by United Artists Records in 1971. Like the film, the album covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town of Centerville and bassist Jeff quitting the group, as did his real life counterpart, Jeff Simmons, who left the group before the film began shooting and was replaced by actor Martin Lickert for the film.

<i>Wazoo</i> (album) 2007 live album by Frank Zappa

Wazoo is a live album by Frank Zappa, posthumously released in October 2007 as a 2-CD set consisting of the complete concert given by "The Mothers of Invention/Hot Rats/Grand Wazoo" 20-piece big band on September 24, 1972 at the Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the third installment on the Vaulternative Records label that is dedicated to the posthumous release of complete Zappa concerts, following the releases of FZ:OZ (2002) and Buffalo (2007).

<i>Son of Cheep Thrills</i> 1999 compilation album by Frank Zappa

Son of Cheep Thrills is a compilation album by Frank Zappa, with material from previously released albums.

<i>Old Masters</i> (box set) 1985 box set series by Frank Zappa

The Old Masters is a box set series by Frank Zappa, released in three volumes on Barking Pumpkin Records from April 1985 to December 1987, consisting of studio and live albums by Zappa and The Mothers of Invention originally released from 1966 to 1976 on other labels, as well as "Mystery Discs" which contained previously unreleased material. The graphics on all three sets was airbrush illustrated by Larry Grossman.

Jim "Motorhead" Sherwood was an American rock musician notable for playing soprano, tenor and baritone saxophone, tambourine, vocals and vocal sound effects in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. He appeared on all the albums of the original Mothers line-up and the 'posthumous' releases Burnt Weeny Sandwich and Weasels Ripped My Flesh, as well as certain subsequent Zappa albums. He also appeared in the films 200 Motels, Video from Hell and Uncle Meat.

Charles "Buzz" Guarnera was an American trumpet and flugelhorn player.

<i>Road Tapes, Venue 3</i> 2016 live album by Frank Zappa

Road Tapes, Venue #3 is a posthumous album of Frank Zappa, released in May 2016, consisting of the recording of the two shows on July 5, 1970 at Tyrone Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, MN. The album was recorded as one of the first shows with the (then) newly formed Mothers of Invention featuring Flo & Eddie, Aynsley Dunbar, George Duke, Jeff Simmons and returning member Ian Underwood. This release is notable for being one of the few tapes in the Zappa Vault from this time period, and line up. It is the ninth installment on the Vaulternative Records label that is dedicated to the posthumous release of complete Zappa concerts, following the releases of FZ:OZ (2002), Buffalo (2007), Wazoo (2007), Philly '76 (2009), Hammersmith Odeon (2010), Carnegie Hall (2011), Road Tapes, Venue #1 (2012) and Road Tapes, Venue #2 (2013).

References

  1. Zarebski, Jan (November 20, 2008). "Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up - Jeff Simmons". Record Collector Magazine. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  2. "Jeff Simmons". Secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  3. 1 2 Ankeny, Jason. "Jeff Simmons: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  4. "Jeff Simmons Best Songs List: Top, New, & Old". AllMusic . Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  5. "Jeff Simmons Albums and Discography". AllMusic . Retrieved October 11, 2021.