Missing Persons
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Missing Persons
| For The Record... |
| Members include Dale Bozzio vocals; Terry Bozzio (born on December 27, 1950, in San Francisco, CA), drums; Warren Cuccurullo, guitar; Patrick O’Hearn, bass; Chuck Wild, keyboards. Group formed in Los Angeles by married couple Dale and Terry Bozzio, 1980; released self-titled debut EP, 1981; first full-length LP, Spring Session M, produced underground hits “Words,” “Destination Unknown,” and “Walking in L.A.,” 1982; released Rhyme and Reason, 1984; released Color in Your Life, then disbanded, 1986; Dale Bozzio toured with her own version of Missing Persons; group reunited for several live shows, 2001. Addresses: Record company—Capitol Records, 1750 Vine St., Hollywood, CA 90028. |
Pop group
As disco died with the 1970s, New Wave music ushered in the 1980s, signified by its synthesized pop sound, outlandish outfits, and men wearing makeup. A slew of bands were signed to record deals in Los Angeles during this era, Romeo Void, Berlin, the Go-Go’s, and Missing Persons among them. Missing Persons’ debut LP, Spring Session M, produced three singles that failed to reach the top 40, but the album achieved gold status nonetheless. Propelled by the success of singles like "Words," "Destination Unknown," and "Walking in L.A." on the fledging MTV network, Missing Persons became one of the era’s most successful acts.
Former Frank Zappa drummer Terry Bozzio and ex-Playboy Playmate Dale Consalvi met in a recording studio in Hollywood, California, in the late 1970s. Consalvi, the daughter of a carpenter and a furrier, had been named Playboy magazine’s "Bunny of the Year" in her hometown of Boston in 1976. Admitted to the drama program at Emerson College, she hoped to pursue an acting career but abandoned those aspirations for Playboy: she found out she had beaten out 200 other aspiring Playmates for a job at Boston’s Playboy Club the same day she got into Emerson. She wore her bunny suit for four years, "a very social time in my life," she recalled in an interview with Deirdre Donahue for People. She then headed out to Los Angeles to resume the pursuit of her acting dreams.
Bozzio grew up in San Francisco and began playing drums at age six on his own makeshift set, which he constructed of a hodgepodge of materials, including coffee cans and metal signs. He started by playing along with records by Tito Puente and the surf group the Ventures. He had music in his blood—his father, a salesman, had been a talented accordion player, and his mother had sung in her own high-school jazz band. After watching the Beatles play on Ed Sullivan’s television variety show at age 13, Bozzio convinced his father he needed drum lessons. After six months of lessons, he began playing in high school and garage bands, in rock musicals and in local jazz groups. He graduated with a degree in music from the College of Marin and played in Bay Area symphonies. He auditioned for and earned a spot in Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention band in 1975 and proceeded to record ten albums and finish three world tours with Zappa over the next three years. He was playing with a group called U.K. when he quit to form Missing Persons.
Bozzio and Consalvi were married in 1979 and formed Missing Persons a year later, with the newly renamed Dale Bozzio singing at the front. The couple filled out the band, originally named U.S. Drag, with former Zappa musicians Warren Cuccurullo on guitar and Patrick O’Hearn on bass. Chuck Wild, a classically trained musician, played keyboards. The group complete, Missing Persons headed out and started playing in local Los Angeles clubs. The gregarious Dale Bozzio acted as the group’s manager. Terry, the more
reserved of the pair, was the "creative backbone" of the band, according to Donahue. He was responsible for writing most of the group’s material, though he occasionally collaborated with Dale, an unpublished poet.
Dale Bozzio’s most important contributions to Missing Persons were her sultry stage presence and wild sense of style. With her platinum-blonde mane with shocking-pink streaks, she became a style icon of the New Wave era. She slid her ultra-thin body into revealing, skintight outfits that she had fashioned herself out of translucent vinyl or packing material. Her self-styled Plexiglas bras became her signature. Occasionally, the see-through plastic bowls would be filled with live goldfish and water. She remarked in People that it took her two hours to get ready before every show. Onstage, her high-pitched voice squeaked and cracked through the band’s songs. She moved her lithe body about suggestively, entrancing the audience. The rest of the band members were no wallflowers—they all donned the wild and romantic clothing, brightly colored hairdos, and black eyeliner that signified the New Wave 1980s.
Missing Persons self-released its debut EP, Missing Persons, in 1981. It became the largest-selling debut EP at the time. Their full-length debut, Spring Session M M—the title is an anagram of the band’s name—was released on Capitol Records a year later. While the album’s featured singles—"Words," "Destination Unknown," and "Walking in L.A."—came close, none of them made it onto the top-40 charts.
While top-40 success remained just out of reach for Missing Persons, the group had the audience of an upstart television network called MTV in the palm of its hand. Dale Bozzio’s outrageous appearance and stage persona carried well on the small screen, and the band’s music videos fueled their success. Despite Rolling Stone critic Christopher Connfity’s declaration that Dale Bozzio had no merits as a singer, Spring Session M ultimately earned gold-record status for sales.
The group’s second LP, Rhyme and Reason, failed to produce the kind of response Missing Persons needed and spelled the beginning of the end for the band. Rolling Stone critic Debby Miller wrote, "The music seems detached—and so does singer Dale Bozzio." It produced the minor hit "Give" but paled in comparison to the success of Spring Session M. Things went south for both the band and the Bozzios’ marriage after the dismal response to the 1986 release Color in Your Life. The group had taken off on a dance-music tangent on the album that just did not appeal to Missing Persons fans. By 1987, the members of Missing Persons, including Dale and Terry Bozzio, each went their separate ways.
After the group disbanded and the Bozzios divorced, Terry Bozzio worked with Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor as well as recording and performing his own solo material. He became a session drummer with Robbie Robertson, Herbie Hancock, and Frank Zappa’s son Dweezil, among others. He toured as a teaching drummer and designed a line of his own signature drum-sticks for drumstick manufacturer Vic Firth. He formed BB&H with guitarist Jeff Beck and keyboardist Tony Hymas. The group toured internationally and earned a Grammy Award for the album Guitar Shop. Dale Bozzio "maintained her new-wave persona," according to Venice Magazine online, and continued to tour as Missing Persons, though she was the only original member of the group. Well into the late 1990s, new and original fans turned out to hear her sing "Destination Unknown" and "Walking in L.A." with her new backing band. Both Dale and Terry Bozzio remarried other people and had children. Warren Cuccurullo joined Duran Duran, Patrick O’Hearn became a New Age musician, and Chuck Wild composed music for film and television. All of the original members of Missing Persons regrouped and the band toured, together again, in 2001.
Selected discography
Missing Persons, Capitol, 1982.
Spring Session M, Capitol, 1982.
Rhyme and Reason, Capitol, 1984.
Color in Your Life, Capitol, 1986.
The Best of Missing Persons, Capitol, 1987.
Back 2 Back Hits, Capitol, 1997.
Late Nights Early Days, Sumthing Else, 1998.
Remixed Hits, Cleopatra, 1999.
Lost Tracks, Capitol, 2002.
Classic Masters, Capitol, 2002.
Sources
Periodicals
People, November 26, 1984, p. 149.
Rolling Stone, May 24, 1984, p. 48.
Online
"Dale and Martha Tell It Like It Is," Venice Magazine, http://www.venicemag.com/features/daleandmartha.htm (July 2, 2002).
"Missing Persons," All Music Guide, http://www.allmusic.com (July 2, 2002).
"Missing Persons," Journal Sentinel Online, http://www.jsonline.com/letsgo/summerfest98/0626missingpersons.stm (July 2, 2002).
"Missing Persons," RollingStone.com, http://www.rollingstone.com/missingpersons (July 2, 2002).
Terry Bozzio, http://www.terrybozzio.com (July 2, 2002).
"Vic Firth Artist: Terry Bozzio," VicFirth.com, http://www.vicfirth.com/artists/bozzio.html (July 2, 2002).
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Missing Persons
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Missing Persons
- Genres: Rock
Biography
Famed as much for their video-ready space age image as for their music, the Los Angeles-based new wave outfit Missing Persons formed in 1980, a year after the marriage of singer Dale Bozzio and her hsuband, drummer Terry. A one-time member of Frank Zappa's backing band, Terry Bozzio met the former Dale Consalvi (an ex-Playboy Bunny) at a Hollywood recording studio; after founding Missing Persons -- initially dubbed U.S. Drag -- the couple recruited fellow Zappa alumnus Warren Cuccurullo on guitar and Patrick O'Hearn on bass, and with classically trained keyboardist Chuck Wild in tow, they began playing area clubs.In 1981, the band released its self-titled debut EP; after signing to Capitol, the label reissued the record in 1982, and the singles "Words" and "Destination Unknown" both nearly hit the Top 40. Their videos also helped Missing Persons find success on the fledgling MTV network, where Dale Bozzio's hiccuping voice and campy look (comprised of shocking-pink hair and sci-fi outfits capped off with Plexiglass bras) combined with the group's synth-driven songs to make them naturals for heavy rotation. Later in 1982, the group issued its first full-length album, Spring Session M (an anagram of their name), which launched the underground smash "Walking in L.A."
After 1984's Rhyme and Reason notched only a minor hit with the single "Give," Missing Persons enlisted Chic's Bernard Edwards to produce 1986's dance-pop effort Color in Your Life; the album stiffed, however, and both the band and the Bozzios themselves broke up. While Dale Bozzio issued one solo album on Prince's Paisley Park label, Terry Bozzio went on to work with Jeff Beck; Cuccurullo, meanwhile, joined Duran Duran, O'Hearn recorded several instrumental new age albums, and Wild composed music for films and television. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
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Missing Persons (band)
| Missing Persons | |
|---|---|
 Warren Cuccurullo and Dale Bozzio performing in October 2009 |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genres | New Wave, synthpop, post-punk, pop rock |
| Years active | 1980–1986, 2001-2003, 2011-present |
| Labels | One Way, Capitol, Pioneer, Sumthing Else, Cleopatra, Hypnotic |
| Associated acts | Frank Zappa Duran Duran Liquid Mind UK Chicanery |
| Website | www.warrencuccurullo.com/mp/ |
| Members | |
| Warren Cuccurullo Dale Bozzio Ron Poster Doug Lunn Jake Hayden |
|
| Past members | |
| Terry Bozzio Patrick O'Hearn Chuck Wild Wes Wehmiller Joe Travers Scheila Gonzalez |
|
- For other uses, see Missing Persons.
Missing Persons is an American band that plays a blend of New Wave and pop rock. The band was founded in 1980 in Los Angeles by guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, vocalist Dale Bozzio, and drummer Terry Bozzio. They went on to add bassist Patrick O'Hearn and keyboardist Chuck Wild.
Dale's quirky voice and heavy makeup made the band a favorite on MTV in the early 1980s. Her revealing outfits played a pivotal role in moving the culture of music videos towards that of overt sexual exhibitionism.[1]
Dale and Terry Bozzio met while working with Frank Zappa, and they married in 1979.[2] Cuccurullo encountered the pair while contributing to the Zappa album Joe's Garage. O'Hearn was also a former member of Zappa's touring band, and Chuck Wild had played with a variety of bands before joining.
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Contents
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Early success
In 1980 the band made its first record, a 4-song EP entitled Missing Persons, in Zappa's brand-new Utility Muffin Research Kitchen studios; the recording was financed by Cuccurullo's father. The band toured, promoted the EP, appeared in the movie Lunch Wagon, and became a must-see band among the Los Angeles live music crowd. "Mental Hopscotch" was a #1 record on local radio station KROQ-FM, and the self-promoted EP sold 7,000 copies.
Two years of hard work led up to a signing with Capitol Records in 1982. With label support, the re-released EP sold another 250,000 units, and the new full-length album Spring Session M (an anagram of "Missing Persons") went gold.
The singles "Mental Hopscotch", "Surrender Your Heart" (1984), "Destination Unknown," "Words," "Walking in L.A.," and "Windows" met with varying success, especially in the local markets of Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. The visual effects used in the music video for "Words" were unusual for the time, making it popular on the fledgling cable TV channel MTV.
Missing Persons appeared at a three-day Southern California concert known as the US Festival in May 1983, along with Berlin, David Bowie, The Pretenders, U2, and several other performers.
Although the band gained new attention by heavy play on MTV and FM rock-radio with the striking music video for "Surrender Your Heart" that was designed by Peter Max, the experimental album Rhyme & Reason (1984) was not a great success, and Capitol was not happy about the direction the band was taking. The band followed up with the more conventional Color In Your Life in June 1986, but during the short-lived promotional tour, increasing tensions between Terry and Dale Bozzio led to the end of the tour, the couple's marriage, and the band.
Solo careers
After the breakup of the band, Cuccurullo had his greatest success as guitarist for Duran Duran for fifteen years. Replacing original guitarist Andy Taylor in August 1986, he performed on the albums Notorious ('86) and Big Thing ('88), and was the sole guitarist on the global tours that followed. Becoming an official member in June 1989, he appeared on the group's next five studio albums, including being the co-writer of hit singles "Ordinary World" and "Come Undone." He left Duran Duran in 2001 due to a reunion of the group's original members. Warren also recorded several solo albums before leaving Duran Duran. His collaboration with Neil Carlill, Chicanery, culminated an eponymously titled album in May, 2010.
Dale Bozzio scored minor success as a solo performer under the name Dale with a top 40 hit on the Billboard Dance Chart, "Simon Simon," produced by Robert Brookins. Her album Riot In English was released in 1988 on Prince's Paisley Park label, and her album New Wave Sessions was released in 2007.
Terry Bozzio worked in 1987 with Mick Jagger and Jeff Beck. He has played with several groups and artists as a session or tour drummer including The Knack. He records albums and instructional videos in multiple styles and is a highly sought-after session/tour drummer as well as performing constantly at European music festivals and worldwide drum clinics. Most recently, Bozzio performed and recorded with Californian nu metal band Korn, in place of regular band drummer David Silveria, in preparation for their untitled eighth studio album.
Patrick O'Hearn is a composer and performer of ambient instrumental music on his own albums, and for television and movies.
Wild composes New Age and meditation music under the name Liquid Mind. He also has released a 4 song digital only project entitled "One True Thing" with singer/ songwriter Michael Whitfield.
Reissues
Spring Session M was released on CD in 1995, followed by Rhyme and Reason and Color In Your Life in 2000. All three reissues included rare B-sides and/or live tracks.
Classic Masters is a compilation of remastered tracks and dance mixes issued by Capitol Records with no band involvement.
Beginning in 1997, Cuccurullo began work on his "Missing Persons Archival Trilogy" project. The first CD to be released was Late Nights Early Days in 1998, a live concert recorded in 1981 with the added 1980 studio track "Action/Reaction." This was followed up by a compilation of modern remixes of classic MP tracks, Missing Persons Remixed Hits (1999) which included the TV Mania remix of "Destination Unknown." In 2002 Lost Tracks was released, a collection of extremely rare Missing Persons studio, live and remixed tracks from five different eras of the band.
Reunions
2001
In late 2000, Cuccurullo and Dale Bozzio again began discussing a Missing Persons reunion. In May 2001, after Warren's split with Duran Duran, the new Missing Persons appeared, consisting of original members Warren, Dale and Terry. Joining them were Dale's keyboardist, Ron Poster (jazz pianist and organist for the Boston Bruins home hockey arena) and Warren's bassist, Wes Wehmiller (also formerly Duran Duran's tour bassist from 1997–2001). The short-lived, official reunion consisted of promotional activities and three live performances in July 2001. The studio tracks "Dark And Dangerous Guy" and "Throw Money" that appear on "Lost Tracks" were recorded at this time, as well as the live performances of "Face To Face" and "Give" on the same album. The recordings are characterised by Dale's lower vocal range over the years.
2002/2003
Late 2002/early 2003 brought "Missing Persons Featuring Dale Bozzio and Warren Cuccurullo." Filling in were keyboardist Ron Poster, bassist Wes Wehmiller and drummer Joe Travers (formerly in Cuccurullo's solo band and Duran Duran's tour drummer from 1999–2001). This version of Missing Persons was featured on Access Hollywood (performing "Destination Unknown") and did three live performances in February 2003, disbanding shortly thereafter.[3]
2011
On May 11, 2011, it was announced on Dale Bozzio's website that "Dale and Warren have reformed Missing Persons for an incredible reunion tour in anticipation of the 30th Anniversary of Spring Session M, the band's groundbreaking, certified-Gold album originally released in 1982." In the same announcement, Terry Bozzio's absence in this reunion was explained by stating that "rock bands are dysfunctional families at best, and sometimes, the show just can't go on with all on-board." [4] As of July 18, 2011, Dale Bozzio and Warren Cuccurullo have played several 'reunion' shows in the southern California area, with a new line up of musicians, and have scheduled additional shows throughout the end of the year. Prescott Niles of the Knack is playing bass for the group.
Failed reunion attempts
A proposed 1994 Missing Persons reunion never came to fruition.
In a June 2010 interview, Warren Cuccurullo revealed that, prior to the end of 2009, he had tried to reunite Missing Persons for the band’s 30th anniversary. Expressing concern for Dale Bozzio, Cuccurullo identified issues surrounding her as reasons for the reunion not having materialized.[5]
In 2011, reuniting once again for the Missing Persons 30th Anniversary tour Cuccurullo and Dale Bozzio played shows in California and Nevada. More shows were planned, however, those did not take place.
Reunions of former members
Since 1986, Warren Cuccurullo, Terry Bozzio, and Patrick O'Hearn have continued to support each other's solo projects. From the late 1980s through the 1990s, Cuccurullo and Bozzio performed on some of O'Hearn's albums. Recently, Patrick O'Hearn performed in a jazz fusion group called OUTtrio with Terry Bozzio, and Bozzio is featured on Warren Cuccurullo's CD Playing in Tongues that was released in March, 2009.[6][7][8][9][10][11]
Discography
| Year | Album | US Chart | RIAA Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Spring Session M | 17 | Gold |
| 1984 | Rhyme & Reason | 43 | - |
| 1986 | Color in Your Life | 88 | - |
| Live Albums | |||
| 1998 | Late Nights Early Days | - | - |
| 2008 | Live from the Danger Zone! | - | - |
| Compilations | |||
| 1987 | The Best of Missing Persons | - | - |
| 1988 | Walking in L.A. | - | - |
| 1999 | Remixed Hits | - | - |
| 2002 | Lost Tracks | - | - |
| Extended Plays | |||
| 1980 | Missing Persons | 46 | - |
Singles
| Year | Song | US Hot 100 | US Mainstream Rock | Australian Singles Chart | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "Words" | 42 | 60 | 9 | Spring Session M |
| 1982 | "Mental Hopscotch" | - | - | - | Missing Persons |
| 1982 | "Destination Unknown" | 42 | 24 | - | Spring Session M |
| 1983 | "Windows" | 63 | 22 | - | |
| 1983 | "Walking in L.A." | 70 | 12 | - | |
| 1984 | "Give" | 67 | - | - | Rhyme & Reason |
| 1984 | "Right Now" | ? | - | - | Rhyme & Reason |
| 1984 | "Surrender Your Heart" | ? | - | - | Rhyme & Reason |
| 1986 | "I Can't Think About Dancin" | ? | - | - | Color In Your Life |
| 1986 | "Color In Your Life/Go Against The Flow" | ? | - | - | Color In Your Life |
References
- ^ Perfect Sound Forever: The early, innocent (?) days of MTV para 29 Controversy as Commerce to end of article
- ^ Deirdre Donahue “They May Be Missing Persons, but Terry and Dale Bozzio Have Found Each Other”. ‘’People Magazine’’ Vol. 22 No. 22 November 26, 1984 para. 11
- ^ Access Hollywood: November 2002 performance
- ^ 2011 reunion announcement
- ^ Gil Macias "Blatant and Pervasive Chicanery Warren Cuccurullo" "BLURT Magazine" June 4, 2010
- ^ allmusic: Rivers Gonna Rise credits
- ^ allmusic: Indigo credits
- ^ allmusic: Trust credits
- ^ allmusic: Metaphor credits
- ^ allmovie: OUT trio overview
- ^ Playing in Tongues: CD Album cover
External links
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Mentioned in
The Best of Missing Persons [1987]
(1987 Album by Missing Persons)
Lost Tracks
(2002 Album by Missing Persons)
Hard-Boiled Mahoney
(1947 Comedy Film)
Jigsaw
(1971 Mystery Film)
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