Warren with Missing Persons at the US Festival, May 1983 "A lot of makeup, a lot of hairspray, a lot of eighth notes in the bass parts, and odd time signatures!" is how Warren described the band in a 2001 interview.
Warren with Missing Persons at the US Festival, May 1983
In January 1980, Dale and Warren began writing songs together, and they convinced Terry (Dale's then-husband) to form a band with them. The band went through several name changes, eventually settling on Missing Persons. Zappa gave Warren his blessing and let him go, cautioning him about the music industry. As a gesture of his support, Frank even let them use his brand new UMRK studio to record their demo 4-song EP, titled Missing Persons. Patrick O'Hearn and Chuck Wild joined the band and they were ready to go. The band started touring and promoting their EP, and they appeared in the movie Lunch Wagon. "Mental Hopscotch" became the #1 song of the year for 1981 on Los Angeles radio station KROQ.
The combination of all this musical talent seemed to have great potential, and they sold 7000 copies merely though relentless self-promotion. However, it took two years of side jobs and concerts before they were finally signed to Capitol Records in March 1982.
Capitol re-released the 4-song Missing Persons EP (sold 250,000 copies), followed by the hit album Spring Session M (reached #17, going gold) in 1982. The band achieved awareness in the public mind chiefly through Dale's self-made provocative outfits, which unfortunately overshadowed the excellent music. "Destination Unknown," "Walking in L.A.," "Words," and "Windows" were released as singles. The band ended 1982 on a promising note, playing to a sold-out crowd of 18,000 at the Long Beach Arena on New Year's Eve.
Though they had great success in southern California, including an appearance at the May 1983 US Festival, and some nationwide radio airplay, the band never achieved the commercial success they had dreamed of. 1984 brought the experimental album Rhyme and Reason, which featured Warren's newly invented "Missing Link" guitar. After the Rhyme and Reason tour, the band began work on Color In Your Life, an album that seemed to aim for a more conventional sound. The album was released, after a few problems, in June 1986, and a short tour was begun. Almost immediately, however, the tour ground to a halt; Terry and Dale were divorcing, and the conflicts between them became too much to overcome. Missing Persons was over.