Vinyl Singles

Side A:

1. How Could I Be Such A Fool?    [both taken from Freak Out!]

Side B:

1. Help, I'm A Rock, Third Movement: It Can't Happen Here    (3:12)

From Collecting Frank Zappa in Australia - Part 1: The Early Years, an article by Stuart Penny in it - The Australian Record Collectors Magazine, Issue #14 June-July-August 1995 (provided by Henry Griggs, Sydney, Australia):

Australia's vinyl introduction to the wonderful world of Frank Zappa was not, as may be expected, with the Freak Out! album. While a New Zealand pressing of the LP definitely exists, the Aussie release of the Mothers' landmark debut has been subject to a curious and unexplained delay - currently running at around 30 years! The first Oz release was, in fact, the single "How Could I Be Such a Fool?" / "Help, I'm A Rock" (Verve V5122). The exact release date of this little gem remains shrouded in mystery, but an educated guess would place it around May 1966, before the equivalent UK single (November 1966), and not far short of the American issue [which may have been released in June, which is later than May - Ed.] Quite why a single with absolutely zero commercial potential, by an unknown band (with, as we've established, no album to back it up), should have been released in Australia is anyone's guess, but if you think the UK/US versions of this 45 are rare, then try finding an Oz copy! Rumour has it that a test run of less than 100 copies were pressed, with few, if any, ever reaching the shops, surely making this one of the rarest Zappa items in existence. Needless to say, a clean copy of "It Can't Happen Here" can easily command $100+ in today's market. The desirability factor is increased even further due to the single's vivid orange and yellow labels. These brightly coloured artefacts were the work of the now-defunct Astor Records, once a major Australian label, who then owned distribution rights to the MGM/Verve material in this part of the world. As it turned out, this was the only Zappa release to be handled by Astor, because sometime during 1967 distribution switched to Phonogram and subsequent releases appeared on the more familiar black and silver Verve label design.

A picture of the american stock copy can be found here.
 
 
 

Side A:

1. Trouble Comin' Every Day    [both from Freak Out!, but different mixes?]

Side B:

1. Who Are The Brain Police?

The japanese version, which can be seen here, is probably the first Mothers single release in Japan, and the seller on eBay claims it's one of only two singles ever released in Japan. The single was manufactured by Nippon Grammophon, and the original price was 370 Yen.

Also note there was a dutch release with flipped A/B-sides.
 
 
 

Side A:

1. Who Are The Brain Police?    [both from Freak Out!, but different mixes?]

Side B:

1. Trouble Comin' Every Day

From David Goodwin: I ... got the singles related to Freak Out!, and while I can't vouch for "It Can't Happen Here", the single mix of "Trouble Every Day" (both stereo and mono variants) is tres weird. There's that extra snare hit at the beginning, and all in all, both stereo and mono mixes of the single sound VERY aggressive. [EDITOR'S NOTE]: It is not clear to me wether this release, or the other one has the different mix - nor which of the items here, or there...

A picture of the dutch label can be found here.

Also note that in most countries of release this single has flipped A/B-sides.
 
 
 

Side A:

1. Big Leg Emma    (2:32)    [both are non-LP tracks]

Side B:

1. Why Don't You Do Me Right?    (2:38)

Pictures can be found here.
 
 
 

Side A:

1. Son Of Suzy Creamcheese    [taken from Absolutely Free]

Side B:

1. Big Leg Emma    [non-LP track]

Side A:

1. Lonely Little Girl    (2:44)    [non-LP mix, combined with "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance"]

Side B:

1. Mother People    (2:20)    [taken from We're Only In It For The Money]

This riff is known in the trade as the "Bunk Gardner riff". From Johan Lif: During the fade-out of the rare single version of "Lonely Little Girl", there is a repeated brass riff, believed to have been added by Bunk Gardner during the "Big Leg Emma" sessions after Zappa had left the studio [see Chevalier, pp. 224-5]. This riff has now been identified as a copy of the opening bass riff from "What's So Good About Goodbye" with Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.

A picture of the DJ-copy can be found here.
 
 
 

Side A:

1. Motherly Love    [both taken from Freak Out]

Side B:

1. I Ain't Got No Heart

Side A:

1. Deseri    (2:04)    [taken from Cruising With Ruben & The Jets]

Side B:

1. Jelly Roll Gum Drop    (2:17)    [non-LP mix]

From Collecting Frank Zappa in Australia - Part 1: The Early Years, an article by Stuart Penny in it - The Australian Record Collectors Magazine, Issue #14 June-July-August 1995 (provided by Henry Griggs, Sydney, Australia): ... the highly-desirable second Zappa Aussie single: "Deseri" / "Jellyroll Gumdrops" (Verve VS 11 - note the extraneous 's' on Drops!). While not quite as elusive as "It Can't Happen Here", perhaps, this is by no means a common item - expect to pay around $40 for the single ... Significantly, it would be 10 years before a third FZ single, "Dancin' Fool" / "Baby Snakes" (CBS BA 222576), was issued in Australia (although "Cosmik Debris"/"Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" (Reprise RS 1312) did show up in New Zealand in 1974).

From David Goodwin: I ... got single mixes of "Deseri" and "Jelly Roll Gum Drop", and I have to say, they're EQed oddly. "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" has NO bass to speak of at all ...

A picture of the label can be seen here.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Side A:

1. Any Way The Wind Blows    [taken from Cruising With Ruben & The Jets]

Side B:

1. Jelly Roll Gum Drop    [non-LP mix]

The single version of "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" is different from the LP version, and on the CD remix of Cruising with Ruben & the Jets, both vocal tracks were used.

From David Goodwin: I ... got single mixes of "Deseri" and "Jelly Roll Gum Drop", and I have to say, they're EQed oddly. "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" has NO bass to speak of at all ...

[EDITOR'S NOTE]: Seems strange to me the single has the same ordering number as Deseri. I found the Deseri one confirmed in the german record collecting guide Der Grosse Single Preiskatalog Rock & Pop. A mistake? A misery? - I don't know ... If *you* know please mail me.
A picture of the DJ copy is included here.
 
 
 

Side A:

1. unknown

Side B:

1. unknown

A quote from one of the spots, provided by Robert Cloos: Having trouble with uninvited dinner guests? Play Uncle Meat: you'll never be bothered again ...
 
 
 

Side A:

1. My Guitar    (3:07)    [different from Weasels Ripped My Flesh]

Side B:

1. Dog Breath    (2:56)    [different from Uncle Meat]

From JWB: The single version of "Dog Breath" is simply an instrumental mix of the album version. The high-pitched and doo-wop backing vocals are still present. The only difference is that saxophones REPLACE the lead vocals, there is no "please hear my plea" or special effects, and the mix is very different.

(A different edit of this version of "My Guitar" was later re-released on Stage #5.)

(Pictures from the same photo shoot that provided the German picture sleeve photo have been used on the Australian version of the Mothers of Invention compilation and on a bootleg picture disc called Hungry Freaks.)

Pictures of some of the items here.
 
 
 

Side A (Radio spots, stereo):

1. Band One   (0:50)
2. Band Two   (1:00)
3. Band Three   (1:00)
4. Band Four   (0:50)
   

Side B (Radio spots, stereo):

1. Band One   (0:50)
2. Band Two   (1:00)
3. Band Three   (1:00)
4. Band Four   (0:50)

Side A (Radio Spots, stereo):

1. Band One    (1:00)
2. Band Two    (0:50)

Side B (Radio Spots, stereo):

1. Band One    (1:00)
2. Band Two    (0:50)

Side A:

1. Peaches En Regalia

Side B:

1. Peaches En Regalia

Side A:

1. Peaches En Regalia    [both taken from Hot Rats]

Side B:

1. Little Umbrellas

Side A:

1. Valarie    [both from Burnt Weenie Sandwich, if this single ever exists....]

Side B:

1. My Guitar

Side A:

1. WPLJ    [from Burnt Weenie Sandwich]

Side B:

1. My Guitar    [non-LP track]

[EDITOR'S NOTE]:The italian copy is somewhat interesting: First the mention of (presumable) 8 track releases in Italy. This format wasn't really popular over here in Europe, and I can't remember having seen 8 tracks in Italy, or even here in Germany in stores. The only one I got my hands on was a car radio my friend gave to me for repair. I went "Ough!" when I opened it. I think it was a japanese brand, at least some of the chips were from Toshiba, and clearly early seventies technology.
And then there's a hint on CBS Records: "CBS-SUGAR Compagnia Generale del Disco S.p.A. - Milano". Seems that some, if not all of the Reprise Records (which belongs to Warner Brothers) catalogue was actually manufactured by CBS in Italy?
You can often see dates written on italian singles, which I don't think are the release date of the records, but more probably the day of tape transfer to the cutting of the so called "mother matrix". Release dates may be some days or weeks later, when the records actually hit the stores.

A picture of the white label promo and the italian copy can be found here.
 
 
 

Side A (Radio Spots, mono):

1. Band One    (1:00)
2. Band Two    (1:00)
3. Band Three    (1:00)
4. Band Four    (1:00)

Side B (Radio Spots, mono):

1. Band One    (1:00)
2. Band Two    (1:00)
3. Band Three    (1:00)
4. Band Four    (1:00)

Side A:

1. Mi Guitarra (Quiere Matar A Tu Mama)

Side B:

1. Desde Mi Corazón Hacia Ti
   

Side A (Radio Spots, mono):

1. Band One    (1:00)
2. Band Two    (1:00)

Side B (Radio Spots, mono):

1. Band One    (1:00)
2. Band Two    (1:00)

Side A:

1. Tell Me You Love Me    (2:43)    [both taken from Chunga's Revenge]

Side B:

1. Will You Go All The Way For The U.S.A.?    (2:30)

Side A:

1. Tears Began To Fall    (2:50)    [non-LP Mono]

Side B:

1. Tears Began To Fall    (2:50)    [non-LP Stereo]

[EDITOR'S NOTE]: There was a single sold on ebay with Tears Began to Fall mono/stereo, promo copy, which had the MS1052 number like the normal release below. A picture of the label can be found here.
 
 
 

Side A:

1. Tears Began To Fall    (2:50)    [both are non-LP tracks]

Side B:

1. Junier Mintz Boogie    (2:53)

JWB: "Tears Begin to Fall" has a longer intro after the drum roll: "The name of this song is 'Tears Began to Fall'". Aynsley's drum break before the last chorus is edited down to 1 1/2 bars from 3 1/2 like on the album. Also, the backing vocal overdubs at the end are mixed slightly louder, and the fade out is a bit longer.

PATRICK NEVE: Also, you can hear at the end of the single version of "Tears Began to Fall" the first chord of "She Painted Up Her Face"

JWB: "Junier Mintz Boogie" is a "Willie The Pimp/Latex Solar Beef" solo, most likely from a different night than the Fillmore album version (unless it picks up where the Fillmore LP fades out).

CARL MERSON: I may be way off the mark and someone else may have pointed this out in the past, but I am pretty certain (and still contents, as of February 03, 2002) that the 7" of "Tears Began To Fall" and "Junier Mintz Boogie" was recorded in Detroit a month or so before the Fillmore June '71 shows at Cobo Hall.  I seem to recall reading this in some article years ago, but I can't pin it down in my deteriorating memory.

BILL LANTZ: Every source I have says Detroit 1971 which would be May 25th according to Torture Time.

JWB: I doubt it's from Detroit because I think the Fillmore shows were the only ones he professionally recorded, and "Junier Mintz Boogie" sounds like it comes from the Fillmore tapes. Who knows. Is the Detroit show available? Maybe someone can check it. Otherwise, I don't know how someone could come to that conclusion.

BILL LANTZ: ... also, Frank uses the name Billy Dexter as author and guitarist for the credits on that song.

BIFFY THE ELEPHANT SHREW: I'm a little bit unclear about this. Is that the case on the stock copy of MS 1052? There were two different "Tears Began to Fall" singles in the USA, with different catalog numbers. MS 1027 had the artist credit as Junier Mintz and the writing credit as Billy Dexter (of course, Zappa had already tried the fake band name ploy by releasing "Deseri" under the name Ruben & the Jets, but he left his name on the songwriting credit that time). I'm not sure if MS 1027 exists as a stock copy. MS 1052 had the artist credit as Frank Zappa & the Mothers and the songwriting credit to Frank Zappa. I have both of these singles, but only as promo copies, which have "Tears Began to Fall" on both sides; no "Junier Mintz Boogie." [EDITOR'S NOTE]: So MS 1052 also exists as a mono/stereo copy of TBTF? :[/EDITOR'S NOTE] ZAPPALOG has a picture of the label of the UK version of "Junier Mintz Boogie," which has the artist credit as The Mothers and the songwriting credit as Billy Dexter. My Italian single (see my web site for the picture sleeve) has both sides credited to Frank Zappa & the Mothers, both songs written by Frank Zappa.

From Record Collector magazine #118, June 1989 (quoted by Mikael Agardsson): The other unusual single features the guitar solo "Junier Mintz Boogie", a track which has never been released elsewhere in any form. It appeared on the B-side of a slightly different version of "Tears Began to Fall" and is notable for an elaborate hoax which Zappa dreamed up (so the story goes) to see if the record would sell without his name on it (it didn't). On the label the composer, producer and guitarist credits were all given to a certain "Billy Dexter", of whom nothing has been heard since! As sometimes happens with singles of limited sales potential, the amount of promotional copies sent out exceeds the number of records sold. This is certainly true of "Tears Began To Fall", where white label promo copies outnumber stock pressings by about three-to-one in the U.K.

However, as you can see from Isamu Shimizu's pictures of it, while "Billy Dexter" gets composition and production credits, the label also says "MOTHERS OF INVENTION" on both sides, so whether it technically had Zappa's name on it or not can't really have mattered.

(Some reports talk about a "non-DJ version credited to Junier Mintz", which "has been claimed not to exist", but is supposed to be depicted in Greg Russo's book Cosmik Debris.)

The Venezuelan copies were made by Fabrica Venezolana de Discos, C.A., and the titles were named "Comenzaron A Caer Las Lagrimas" for "Tears Began To Fall" and "El Boogie De Junier Mintz" for "Junier Mintz Boogie".

A picture of the italian promo copy can be seen here, and here Junier Mintz Boogie is credited to Frank & The Mothers. Also included a cover scan.
 
 
 

Side A:

1. Tears Began To Fall    (2:45)    [both from Fillmore East June 1971]

Side B:

1. Happy Together

Pictures can be found here.
 
 
 

Side A (Radio Spots, stereo):

1. Spot 1
   
2. Spot 2
3. Spot 3
4. Spot 4
5. Spot 5
6. Spot 6
   

Side B (Radio Spots, mono):

1. Spot 1
2. Spot 2
3. Spot 3
4. Spot 4
5. Spot 5
6. Spot 6
   

Side A:

1. Magic Fingers    [from 200 Motels, Mono]

Side B:

1. Magic Fingers    [from 200 Motels, Stereo]