Barking Pumpkin Records, is an American record label founded by
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
in 1981. Zappa named the label after
his wife's smoker's cough
Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. S ...
when she tried to quit the habit. Barking Pumpkin was initially distributed by
CBS Records.
History
Zappa had founded the
Zappa Records label in 1977, and formed a deal with
Phonogram Inc.
Phonogram Incorporated was started in 1970 as a successor to Philips Phonographic Industries, a unit of the Grammophon-Philips Group (GPG), a joint venture of Philips N.V. of the Netherlands and Siemens A.G. of Germany.
Phonogram was the name ...
, to distribute the label in the United States and Canada.
[ Its first releases were the (mostly) live album '' Sheik Yerbouti'', followed by the dystopian rock opera '' Joe's Garage''.][ Zappa later released the single independently in the US in early 1980.
After spending most of 1980 on the road, Zappa founded Barking Pumpkin and released the album '' Tinsel Town Rebellion'' in 1981.][Lowe, 2006, ''The Words and Music of Frank Zappa'', p. 161.] Also in 1981 the label released three individual volumes in the '' Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar'' series which were initially sold only in the United States by mail order.
In 1984 Zappa intended to move Barking Pumpkin distribution to MCA Records. '' Thing-Fish'' was produced as a test pressing by MCA.[ A deal was then made with EMI, which allowed '' Them or Us'' and ''Thing-Fish'' to be distributed by ]Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
in the United States.[
In response to the conflict with MCA, Zappa created a sarcastic "]Warning
Warning may refer to:
Signal
* Precautionary statement
* Warning sign
* Warning system
* Warning (traffic stop), issued by a police officer in lieu of a citation following a traffic stop
Books
* A Warning (book), ''A Warning'' (book), a 2019 ...
/Guarantee" notice which appeared on these albums, as well as '' Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention''. The warning said that the album "contains content which a truly free society would neither fear nor suppress", and the guarantee claimed that the lyrics would "not cause eternal torment in the place where the guy with the horns and pointed stick conducts his business".[
Dweezil Zappa released his debut album '' Havin' a Bad Day'' on Barking Pumpkin in 1986. After an album on another label, he released '' Confessions'' on Barking Pumpkin in 1991, and formed the group Z, with Ahmet Zappa, releasing '' Shampoohorn'' on Barking Pumpkin.
Two compilations, '' Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute'' and '' Quaudiophiliac'', were released posthumously by Barking Pumpkin in 1996 and 2004, along with the previously unreleased album '' Everything Is Healing Nicely'' in 1999.
In 2012, the Zappa Family Trust regained control of Frank Zappa's recorded music catalog and made a distribution arrangement with Universal Music Enterprises to reissue the Zappa catalog on the Zappa and Barking Pumpkin labels.]
Artists
; Former
References
External links
The official Frank Zappa website
*
{{Authority control
American record labels
Record labels established in 1980
Frank Zappa