Missing Persons Band
History
by Cyndi Glass, © 1997+, updated
1-21-04
With its unique, colorful and
jampacked history in the music business, Missing Persons is a band like no
other, and here’s where you can get the full story. Over the years, this
collection of talented and strong-willed personalities created music that tested
boundaries and limits. Read on!!!
Before the band began....
(also see the Pre-Band Biographies Page)
In
1975, Patrick O’Hearn and Terry Bozzio were playing in Frank Zappa's band.
Enter Dale Consalvi in 1976. A former Playboy Bunny from Boston, Dale was in
Los Angeles and came to the studio. Terry and Dale got together soon after
that. A keyboardist from Kansas City, named Chuck Wild, did some piano work for
Zappa, right about the same time Warren Cuccurullo, from New York, had begun
hanging out with the band. Terry and Patrick quit Frank's band and formed their
own band, Group 87. Warren got hired into Zappa’s band in December 1978 and
joined him on rhythm guitar for the 1979 European tour. Meanwhile, Terry joined
yet another band, UK. When Zappa returned from Europe, in April 1979, the Joe’s
Garage albums began to take shape. Terry lent vocals to one song, and Zappa
used an old bass line of Patrick’s for another song, but Dale and Warren were
all over the albums. In late 1979, Zappa laid most of the band off, and this
gave Dale and Warren time to experiment with writing their own songs, coming up
with "I Like Boys" in one day. Terry and Dale, who had gotten married
in 1979, were very close with Warren, and when Dale and Warren came to Terry
with a tape of their songs, he quit the band he was playing with (UK). The
three of them were best friends, full of energy, potential, and talent, and
Missing Persons was born.
1980-1981
(Photo at
right: "I Like Boys" 7" picture sleeve, contributed by Mathew
Herwig)
It
was January, 1980, and Warren got a phone call to go back out on the road with Frank
Zappa. He met with Zappa and told him about the new band. Zappa cautioned him
that fame could come quickly and disappear, showing him Devo’s album as an
example, and then he gave the band his blessing and encouragement. The band was
cast as "Teddy and the Ruff Riders" in the movie Lunch Wagon,
and they were credited as "U.S. Drag," which was one of several names
they went through before choosing "Missing Persons" (another early
name was "Mrs. B.") Frank Zappa allowed them to be the first people
to use Zappa’s brand new Utility Muffin Research Kitchen studios to make their
EP. The engineer, Ken Scott, was also a producer, and he got excited about the
band, becoming their manager.
1980
was a year of great transition from disco to the more diverse sounds of the
early 80's, and Missing Persons fit right in. After they tried unsuccessfully
to get a record deal, the band borrowed $3000 from Warren's father and released
the 4 song, 7 inch Missing Persons EP on their producer's label, KoMoS.
It contains the two songs from the Lunch Wagon movie (the rowdy Mental
Hopscotch and I Like Boys), a loopy cover of the Doors' Hello I Love You, and a
disco-tinged Destination Unknown. Chuck Wild joined the band, rounding out
their distinctive sound by playing keyboard parts with one hand and synth bass
with the other. They continued playing in small bars and clubs and trying to
attract notice.
The
instant success they had envisioned did not materialize, but though they got
discouraged, they didn’t give up. With only the promotion done by the band in
the form of radio station visits, concerts (which included the unreleased song
"Action, Reaction,") and Lunch Wagon, the EP sold (estimates
vary) between 7000 and 11,000 copies, making the industry finally take notice,
and when they sold out a 3000 seat hall, Capitol Records gave them a contract,
in March of 1982.
1982-1983
Photos:
1. Destination Unknown Japanese 7" picture sleeve, contributed by Mathew Herwig
2. "Words" Japanese 7" picture sleeve, contributed by Mathew
Herwig
3. Dale & Patrick at the US Festival, May 1983, contributed by Ramone
Gonzalez
The
first thing Capitol Records did, after signing them to the label, was to
re-issue the Missing Persons EP as a 12 inch on its own imprint.
Deleting "Hello I Love You," Capitol replaced it with another Missing
Persons original, "Words," which was released as a single in June
1982. It peaked at #42, and the "mini-LP" became the best selling
debut EP at that time, selling 250,000 copies and charting on the Billboard
album chart. Missing Persons were booked on Merv Griffin, where they performed
"Words," and they started to do a few interviews with the new MTV
music channel.
In
October 1982, Missing Persons released its first full length album, Spring
Session M, consisting of ten new original songs, plus, at Capitol's
insistence, "Destination Unknown" and "Words" from the EP.
The band got to keep all ten of their new songs on there in a compromise. Also
new to the band were bassist Patrick O'Hearn, who had turned to playing bass on
a keyboard. At the same time, Capitol released "Destination Unknown"
with a lavish video, and it matched Words at the #42 chart position. The new
songs were brash and energetic, perfect for a new era of music. It was evident
that the five had formed a cohesive musical unit.
The fiery "Noticeable
One" starts off the album with a bang, and it doesn't really let up.
Although some of these early songs sound a little alike, they all have
stand-out moments, such as the down and dirty guitar work on "Here and
Now," the beautiful lyrics of "Tears," the demandingly languid
"U.S. Drag," the sheer fun of "Rock & Roll Suspension"
(check out that bass!), and the driving complexity of "No Way Out."
The triumphant "Bad Streets" and the fantastic as always
"Destination Unknown" also stand out, along with the plaintive
"Windows" and Missing Persons' colossal signature anthem,
"Walking in L.A." The album went gold, peaking at #17 and was the
band's most successful album, and two more singles were released:
"Windows," which reached #63 and "Walking in L.A.", which
reached #70, even as it became their most recognized song. Spring Session M
remains Missing Persons’ most popular album, and it has also been re-released
on CD with a couple of extra tracks from the EP.
This was
the band’s peak of popularity, and they appeared on Solid Gold several times,
along with interviews on Entertainment Tonight, MTV, and several other shows.
The focus remained largely on Dale and her showy outfits and platinum blonde
hair, along with her quirky voice, but once in a while a music magazine such as
Guitar World or Musician would take interest and do a good interview. The band
embarked on a tour and made several videos. On New Year’s Eve, 1982, the band
played in front of a sold-out crowd at the Long Beach Arena, which seated
18,000, and in May 1983, they did a set at the US Festival, which was in front
of several hundred thousand people. When the tour ended, they began work on
their next album.
1984
Photos:
1. Give Japanese 7" picture sleeve, contributed by Mathew Herwig
1984
was a year for even more experimentation within the band. Terry Bozzio designed
an electronic drum kit, for which he received three patents, while Warren and
his guitar technician, Thomas Nordegg, worked on his new double-necked guitar.
The necks were connected, and the guitar was called "The Missing
Link." In early 1984, their most experimental album, Rhyme and Reason,
was released. The music is clashing and hard-edged, while also being jazzy and
subtle, and the repertoire has expanded to include powerful rock songs, ripping
guitar solos, barely-there gently strummed acoustic guitar. The best thing
about this album is how cohesively the arrangements manage to be seamless and
yet show each member as individuals. Terry's experimentation with drum machines
was ahead of its time as well. The songs are stunningly well crafted and complex,
and as if that is not enough, the beautiful black and white photography of
Helmut Newton emphasizes the contrasts found on the album. Although the
production leaves a lot to be desired, the songs themselves, compositionally,
are fantastic.
Particular
standouts include the mind-blowing "The Closer that You Get," the
jazz-rock "Give," the strong "Right Now" and the simple and
beautiful "Surrender Your Heart." In "Waiting for a Million
Years" the music captures the haunted longing that the lyrics touch upon.
The political "All Fall Down" and the stately "Clandestine
People" add a touch of experimentation as well. A single,
"Give," peaked at #67 in 1984. The last song, "If Only For the
Moment," written by Dale and Patrick, seems to foreshadow Patrick's later solo
work. Patrick co-wrote for the first time on this album, co-writing
"Give," "Surrender Your Heart" and "If Only for the
Moment." The band made more videos, appeared on some television shows,
including Solid Gold, and then they did another tour. During this tour, Warren
injured his neck in a low-ceilinged nightclub in Pennsylvania. Later in 1984,
Chuck Wild left the band. "I wanted to be in a situation where I was
writing the songs," he says. "Since Terry, Warren, and Dale had that
pretty much covered in MP, I decided to leave. It was really necessary to the
growth of my career."
1985-1986
(Photo at
right: Capitol Records promotional photo, 1986 - clockwise from bottom: Dale,
Warren, Terry, Patrick), contributed by Mathew Herwig
In
1985, the band began another album, Color In Your Life. The band wanted
Bernard Edwards to produce the album, and he was busy with the Power Station
project and other commitments, and so the album had to wait. During this time,
Patrick O’Hearn recorded his first solo album, and Dale quit the band briefly.
Edwards finally was able to give them some time, and the album was released in
early 1986.
Each
member stands out again, but the equality seems to be gone, and it's very much
dominated by Terry and Warren. Dale's vocals have been tamed quite a bit as
well. Of course there are layers and LAYERS of guitar, which always pleases me.
Patrick does some incredible licks out of the blue. Warren plays in several different
styles within some songs, and Terry seems to be in his element (and using a
real drumset again!), trying out new techniques and hitting them dead on every
time.
Stand-out
songs include the powerful and versatile "Go Against the Flow," the
hypnotic "I Can't Think About Dancing," the passionate "Come
Back for More"(ever heard two trumpets and an unleashed guitar soloing
together? It's pretty great). "Boy, I Say to You" with its intriguing
guitar parts and brashness, and "No Secrets," in which you can hear
Warren perfecting the guitar sound he did so well in Duran Duran's
"Serious" and "Sin of the City," show the album's most
intricate arrangements. My favorite songs on the album, though, are the
Warren-dominated "Face to Face," and the hauntingly sad "We
Don't Know Love At All," which closes out the album with Terry on lead
vocal, all tied together by Warren's strong, acoustic-sounding guitar.
This
is Missing Persons' most conventional and therefore accessible album.
Unfortunately, Capitol released the vinyl version with side 2 recorded at a
much faster speed than it should have been. All vinyl albums were recalled and
replaced, and the band released a single and video for "I Can't Think
About Dancing," which failed to chart. A small haphazard and often
cancelled tour followed, ending abruptly one day when the band broke up in June
1986.
1986-2001
See the Where Are They Now page for more details.
Capitol
Records released The Best Of Missing Persons on CD and cassette in 1987,
and a special markets cassette compilation called Walking In L.A. in
1988. The members of Missing Persons all went on to have careers in the music
industry.
There
were a few songs that were recorded in 1985 and never released, and one of
them, "I’m The One," was released on Sedated In The 80’s Volume 4.
Some of these songs were finally used on the CD re-releases of Rhyme &
Reason and Color In Your Life. In the meantime, Dale continued
touring as "Missing Persons" with hired musicians.
In
1994, rumors went around about a Missing Persons reunion. Warren, Terry and
Patrick had discussed it several times but ultimately couldn't agree on a vocalist
(Ahmet Zappa was considered, as Terry and Dale are divorced and he did not want
to work with her). Warren told "Rock and Roll Reporter in their September
1996 issue, There’s a very good chance of Terry, Pat and myself doing
something, but I don’t think you could get Terry and Dale in the same
room." In 1995, One Way Records re-released Spring Session M, the
group's most successful album, on CD.
In
the mid-'90s, Warren announced his intention to release an archival trilogy of
Missing Persons material. The first album, Late Nights / Early Days, was
released in 1998 and included a live show from 1981 as well as the unreleased
"Action, Reaction." The next project was Remixed Hits (1999), for
which TV Mania (Warren Cuccurullo and Nick Rhodes) contributed their version of
"Destination Unknown."
In
November 2000, One Way Records re-released the remaining studio albums, Rhyme
& Reason and Color In Your Life, on CD. On this occasion, Warren
did an extensive interview
for his website about Missing Persons, adding that he hoped to locate some
extremely old Missing Persons material from the very beginning of the band and
release that. He also mentioned that he'd been speaking with Dale often on the
phone and discussing writing new material with her.
2001 Reunion
(Warren, Dale & Terry, with Ronnie & Wes)
Photo at left - Missing Persons first Reunion 2001 show - July 17, 2001, 4th
& B, San Diego, CA
In May
2001, Warren announced that Duran Duran would be reuniting with their early
'80s lineup, so he would be leaving them after fifteen years and reuniting the
original Missing Persons. Read the official press release here.
There
has been confusion over what "official" and "original"
means when it comes to this band...basically, due to various agreements and
settlements, Warren has the controlling interest over the "Missing
Persons" name. As for "original" members, there were only three
members in the original lineup - Warren, Terry and Dale.
Chuck,
who joined the band later and left in 1984, did not participate. Instead, Ron
Poster, who had been Dale's keyboardist for years in her own version of Missing
Persons, took over the synthesizer position. Patrick, who also joined later,
was asked to participate in the reunion and initially agreed, but changed his
mind. After that, Warren hired bassist Wes Wehmiller to learn the songs and
step in.
As
for Terry, he changed his mind a few times, too, and was almost replaced by
drummer Joe Travers. Ultimately, Warren and Terry reached a compromise: as
Terry had promised Warren he'd do it and his name and photo were already being
used in promotional materials, he agreed to do it - but just the shows and
after that, they'd see what happened.
Finally,
in July 2001, it was time. Warren and Dale hosted a fan signing at a record
store in Los Angeles, and Warren did a Lycos chat.
Terry joined them for two days of rehearsal, and Missing Persons played three
successful reunion shows in San Diego (4th & B), Los Angeles (The Roxy),
and Anaheim (House of Blues), California. See the FAQ
for the setlists, and a review of the shows here.
There are also a lot of articles, interviews and fan-written reviews here. Photo gallery is here.
In
September 2001, Terry left the band, citing "the old weirdness" and
an unwillingness to travel in the wake of 9/11. Dale left the band soon
afterward, culminating in the cancellation of a huge outdoor performance at the
WeHo Festival, and Warren announced that Missing Persons was over. Dale
continued to tour and do her solo shows, and Warren got busy compiling and
releasing the Lost Tracks album, which featured live and unreleased
music from five different eras of the band (including four songs from the 2001
Reunion rehearsals).
2003 Performances
- 
Warren & Dale, with Ronnie, Wes & Joe
In
November 2002, Missing Persons
performed on a segment of the Access Hollywood television show, taking
the fans by total surprise. What brought this about was Nike - they licensed
the song "Walking In L.A." for a February 2003 Los Angeles "Run
Hit Wonder" race event. The new lineup consisted of founding members
Warren and Dale, along with Wes Wehmiller (bass), Ron Poster (keyboards), and
new drummer Joe Travers (Duran Duran tour drummer 1999-2001). Warren gave us
the teasing comment that, "Having taken 1 year off from playing, I'm now ready
to return to being a full time musician. Writing new material every day,
learning new pieces of equipment, & formulating a sound for a new modern
rock band, which could very well be MP."
Missing
Persons played three shows: an outdoor daytime show at the Hollywood High
School football field (finish line of the Nike Race) and two successful nights
at the House of Blues clubs in Anaheim and Los Angeles. At the House of Blues
shows, the act was called "Missing Persons Featuring Dale Bozzio &
Warren Cuccurullo." After these shows, the band called it quits again, and
Dale continued doing her solo "Missing Persons" shows.
See
the FAQ for complete details of the 2003 show
setlists, as well as the "Back For More" and "MP 2003" articles. And there are lots of
photos here. You can view the Access Hollywood
performance on Ron Poster's site.
And Beyond.... See the News page for more details
This
page ©1997+ by Cyndi Glass, constructed with Microsoft Word 97.