"MISSING PERSONS" (Bozzio) Friday Five-Fer

[doubleroll]

Loved the music, and drumming of course, as did many of my drummer friends at the time. In all honestly, since there was no internet as we know it today, I never knew who or what Dale looked like until way later. I still like the music as it was a big part of my youth and drumming influence…

”and it gets so dark in here”

 

[mydadisjr]

Hmm

What???

Obviously there's a language gap here, but I understand enough of the gibberish you wrote to get what you're saying. I didn't listen to Missing Persons' music because I was a dirty old man. I was 18-years old when Spring Session M was released. I was listening to nothing but Led Zeppelin and John Bonham for several years when my eyes were opened to the incredible drumming Terry Bozzio played in Missing Persons' music. It was after hearing him play in Missing Persons that I discovered his stuff with UK, Frank Zappa and the Brecker Brothers. By this time I would have been 19 or 20-years old.

How about you just quit talking crap about stuff you have no idea about. You are entitled to not like the music, but you have no right to judge and insult people who do like it. Bring something positive to the group instead of your judgemental crap.

Hmmm... we are getting a little bit "het up" about this whole deal.

Let me try my take if you do not mind... I will try hard not to add any "judgmental crap".

Bozzio is an incredible legend. Nothing but respect. It is great that your hearing of MISSING PERSONS got you interested in his drumming.

BOTOH... a few of us on this forum think that MAYBE, just MAYBE Dale Bozzio was there more for her looks and her "FRONT PERSON" appeal (she was a Playboy Bunny previously), and was not really up to snuff in the singing department. Sure, she had done some vocals with FZ (I think that is where she met Terry) but was never really a lead vocalist. See Zappa clip below... I believe you can hear Dale at 2:20

I heard "WORDS" by Missing Persons back in 1982 (I was 29 and really into New Wave... Blondie, Talking Heads, Costello, Police, Joe Jackson) and I was not impressed, mostly due to the weak vocals.

 

[red66charger]

Terry Bozzio doesn't need me to defend his performances or career decisions. My comments (prior to the insults and negativism) have always been about TERRY'S performance, not Dales voice. I don't care if she posed in Playboy or if her singing isn't great (neither was Bob Dylan's or Jimi Hendrix's for that matter). I even stated Missing Persons'music isn't for everyone. I get it. But to suggest that someone who does like it is a dirty old man? That's not necessary.

This is a drum forum. This is a thread about Terry Bozzio's drumming in Missing Persons. Why do people who don't like the music feel they need to dismiss the opinions of members who do? If you don't like it, read the next thread.

I guess it's more fun to be a contrarian than to allow people to have a positive and productive dialogue.

 

[Trommeslager]

Terry Bozzio doesn't need me to defend his performances or career decisions. My comments (prior to the insults and negativism) have always been about TERRY'S performance, not Dales voice. I don't care if she posed in Playboy or if her singing isn't great (neither was Bob Dylan's or Jimi Hendrix's for that matter). I even stated Missing Persons'music isn't for everyone. I get it. But to suggest that someone who does like it is a dirty old man? That's not necessary.

This is a drum forum. This is a thread about Terry Bozzio's drumming in Missing Persons. Why do people who don't like the music feel they need to dismiss the opinions of members who do? If you don't like it, read the next thread.

I guess it's more fun to be a contrarian than to allow people to have a positive and productive dialogue.

So, Red66Charger not respecting when he call post “gibberish.” I firm in saying singer in plastic dress with the baby doll vocals is what make MPs familiar. Not Drumming’s.

 

[hsosdrum]

So, Red66Charger not respecting when he call post “gibberish.” I firm in saying singer in plastic dress with the baby doll vocals is what make MPs familiar. Not Drumming’s.

Maybe this is true outside of this forum, but it's definitely not true within DFO.

 

[mydadisjr]

Three great musicians with less-than-great voices...


BOB DYLAN

JIMI HENDRIX

DALE BOZZIO

(Hey, wait a minute, I really thought Hendrix had a great soulful bluesy voice that suited his music perfectly! And that Dylan guy, he wrote some pretty catchy tunes, didn't he?)

 

[WesChilton]

I really liked Missing Persons, all the way to the end. Yeah every track wasn't as great as before, but there were still some good solid songs. Terry's drumming did get watered down, and I thin that was pressure from the labels trying to homogenize the music.... and look where we are today.

I recently picked up a CD of the combined EP and Spring Session M... what a great effort. Honestly its amazing that this crazy mix of punk/pop and fusion ever got airplay, but I'm glad it did! I even eventually bought one of Warren Cuccurillos' solo albums too!

 

[doubleroll]

Fun fact…My good friend took lessons from Warren’s brother Jerry Cuccurullo back on the day

 

[Skeet6]

I remember learning US Drag sometime after this came out, such a cool groove. I recently got a nice CD copy, and like to spin it in the car.

Mike B

 

[Mcjnic]

A little Marina Bozzio to calm the waters here

 

[Rhyma Hop]

.

LOVE HER !!!

 

[KevinD]

Hmm



Hmmm... we are getting a little bit "het up" about this whole deal.

Let me try my take if you do not mind... I will try hard not to add any "judgmental crap".

Bozzio is an incredible legend. Nothing but respect. It is great that your hearing of MISSING PERSONS got you interested in his drumming.

BOTOH... a few of us on this forum think that MAYBE, just MAYBE Dale Bozzio was there more for her looks and her "FRONT PERSON" appeal (she was a Playboy Bunny previously), and was not really up to snuff in the singing department. Sure, she had done some vocals with FZ (I think that is where she met Terry) but was never really a lead vocalist. See Zappa clip below... I believe you can hear Dale at 2:20

I heard "WORDS" by Missing Persons back in 1982 (I was 29 and really into New Wave... Blondie, Talking Heads, Costello, Police, Joe Jackson) and I was not impressed, mostly due to the weak vocals.

Hey! That's Oscar Goldman!!

 

[KevinD]

Prior to Spring Session M, I had just been getting into Zappa so I was aware of TB and the innovative playing he brought to Zappa.
So when Spring Session M came out i was blown away by how he could still be really innovative but NOT overdo it and screw up by overplaying all over the songs... I think his performance on that album is probably one of the more perfect examples of pop drumming (or more maybe pointedly-"stuff you heard on the radio" ) that I've ever heard... I think 4 singles that charted off that one? AND even if they didn't have those, the album would have been worth the $7.98 (or whatever it was back then) for US Drag alone... Pretty amazing stuff on that one right there.

 

[dcrigger]

Hmm



Hmmm... we are getting a little bit "het up" about this whole deal.

Let me try my take if you do not mind... I will try hard not to add any "judgmental crap".

Bozzio is an incredible legend. Nothing but respect. It is great that your hearing of MISSING PERSONS got you interested in his drumming.

BOTOH... a few of us on this forum think that MAYBE, just MAYBE Dale Bozzio was there more for her looks and her "FRONT PERSON" appeal (she was a Playboy Bunny previously), and was not really up to snuff in the singing department. Sure, she had done some vocals with FZ (I think that is where she met Terry) but was never really a lead vocalist. See Zappa clip below... I believe you can hear Dale at 2:20

I heard "WORDS" by Missing Persons back in 1982 (I was 29 and really into New Wave... Blondie, Talking Heads, Costello, Police, Joe Jackson) and I was not impressed, mostly due to the weak vocals.

The thing the front person's appeal is a factor of EVERY band ever signed. And that appeal can be based on sexiness, good looks, quirkiness, unusualness.... can be any number of things.... but it ALWAYS matters. But to even hint at believing that putting a pretty girl with a substantial bust in front of a band was/is a sure fire approach to record sales is nonsense. Because if it was - we would see nothing but that in band after band after band.

Also be aware that around this time the word in LA was that record companies had little interest in "real" singers... quirky voices had been deem "the thing" - getting a "great" singer signed in this period was an uphill battle of huge proportions.

Then add the fact that Terry and Dale were married - so there's the whole work with what you have available - which he did, not just with Dale, but with the whole band.

So making it work was really the order of the day - the list that made up that order was substantial.

First order of business, make a charting rock band that sort of features the drums, but not directly (making Sandy Nelson records wasn't going to cut it. So how would a great singer help that? Not much at all really - because then the music would too easily become about that great singer (as that what almost always happens)

So he uses Dale - and creates quirky rhythmic songs with simple melodies that she can sing - and that don't require great, traditional vocal chops to work. Have you really about how horrible "Words" would sound while sung by a great singer??? I would suggest that all of MP's songs were tailor written to sound best when sung just a Dale sung them. The simple almost children's song chorus of Words leaves no space for a "great" singer to do anything with... it is almost a totally locked-in composed part... leaving just enough room for the little small expressions that Dale could add to it... expressions that amounted to the entirety of her abilities.

So like so many great records that have parts we might not love - "fixing" those parts rarely have any chance of doing anything but destroying the overall effect. I'm a pretty firm believer that his records are the results of basically, perfect storms.

Anyway I just can't relate to thinking that Dale "was there" just because of her stage presence - when it seems so obvious to me, that most all of those songs were specifically with her voice, her vocal strengths and weaknesses expressly in mind.

Terry created a rock band to feature him and his wife - and created original music specifically tailored to do exactly that - while still being able to successfully get on the radio. Change any part - and the whole formula unravels and the music and the records would most likely failed. It takes a perfect storm.

Put another way - the Beatles couldn't create a perfect storm with Pete Best, wishing and hoping it to be otherwise wasn't going to change that fact.

Terry basically manufactured his perfect storm with the elements at his disposal - (including a lead singer/partner that wouldn't steal his band and/or steal his recording contract out from under him) - and wrote songs and arrangements that could become records that could become hits (at least, modest ones)