Ruben and the Jets
Encyclopedia
For the celebrity photographer go to Tony Duran (photographer)
Ruben and the Jets was a Los Angeles
-based doo-wop
, rhythm and blues
and rock and roll
band active between 1972 and 1974. Led by Ruben Guevara, band members included Tony Duran, Robert "Frog" Camarena, Johhny Martinez, Robert "Buffalo" Roberts, Bill Wild, and Bob Zamora. They released two albums, the first of which was produced by Frank Zappa
, whose band The Mothers of Invention
had previously released an album titled Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
, for which Guevera had named his band.
titled Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
, with members of The Mothers of Invention
taking on the personas of a fictional 1950s doo-wop group. Singer/songwriter/musician Ruben Guevara approached Frank Zappa
following a concert to tell him how much he loved the album, pointing out that he shared a first name with the album's fictional lead singer, and that Guevara had performed music of the style. Two years later, Zappa suggested that Guevera start his own band, and eventually gave approval for the band to be named "Ruben and the Jets". The band toured alongside the Mothers of Invention in 1972. Former Mothers of Invention member Euclid James (Motorhead/Motorishi) Sherwood, came to join the band in 1973.
Zappa took on the duty of producer for the band's 1973 debut album, For Real!
, which was released by Mercury Records
. Mothers of Invention band member Jim Sherwood contributed saxophone and tambourine performances to the album, and Zappa wrote one of the album's songs, "If I Could Only Be Your Love Again," and played guitar on another track from the album, "Dedicated to the One I Love." During the band's 1973 tour, Ruben and the Jets were booked alongside Three Dog Night
and West, Bruce and Laing
, and played alongside the likes of Tower of Power
, Azteca
, and Cheech & Chong. Ruben and the Jets released a second album, Con Safos
, before disbanding in the mid-1970s. The band is referenced during the final scene of Up in Smoke
, in which Cheech Marin
's character, Pedro De Pacas comments that Alice Bowie, the punk rock
band that he and Tommy Chong
's Anthony "Man" Stoner character led in the film, will be "bigger than Ruben and the Jets." Guevara appears in the film as Tom, a trumpet player for the band.
Ruben and the Jets was a Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
-based doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
, rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band active between 1972 and 1974. Led by Ruben Guevara, band members included Tony Duran, Robert "Frog" Camarena, Johhny Martinez, Robert "Buffalo" Roberts, Bill Wild, and Bob Zamora. They released two albums, the first of which was produced by Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
, whose band The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention were an American band active from 1964 to 1969, and again from 1970 to 1975.They mainly performed works by, and were the original recording group of, US composer and guitarist Frank Zappa , although other members have had the occasional writing credit...
had previously released an album titled Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
Cruising With Ruben & The Jets is an album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in December 1968, and controversially reissued in an alternate mix with newly recorded bass and percussion in 1984.-Concept:...
, for which Guevera had named his band.
History
In 1968, Frank Zappa released a concept albumConcept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
titled Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
Cruising With Ruben & The Jets is an album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in December 1968, and controversially reissued in an alternate mix with newly recorded bass and percussion in 1984.-Concept:...
, with members of The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention were an American band active from 1964 to 1969, and again from 1970 to 1975.They mainly performed works by, and were the original recording group of, US composer and guitarist Frank Zappa , although other members have had the occasional writing credit...
taking on the personas of a fictional 1950s doo-wop group. Singer/songwriter/musician Ruben Guevara approached Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
following a concert to tell him how much he loved the album, pointing out that he shared a first name with the album's fictional lead singer, and that Guevara had performed music of the style. Two years later, Zappa suggested that Guevera start his own band, and eventually gave approval for the band to be named "Ruben and the Jets". The band toured alongside the Mothers of Invention in 1972. Former Mothers of Invention member Euclid James (Motorhead/Motorishi) Sherwood, came to join the band in 1973.
Zappa took on the duty of producer for the band's 1973 debut album, For Real!
For Real!
For Real! is the debut album of Ruben and the Jets. Released in 1973, the album was produced by Frank Zappa, whose Cruising with Ruben & the Jets album was the source of the band's name...
, which was released by Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
. Mothers of Invention band member Jim Sherwood contributed saxophone and tambourine performances to the album, and Zappa wrote one of the album's songs, "If I Could Only Be Your Love Again," and played guitar on another track from the album, "Dedicated to the One I Love." During the band's 1973 tour, Ruben and the Jets were booked alongside Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One...
and West, Bruce and Laing
West, Bruce and Laing
West, Bruce and Laing were a blues-rock power trio super-group consisting of Leslie West , Jack Bruce and Corky Laing . In 2009 West and Laing teamed up with Jack Bruce's son, Malcolm, and began touring as West, Bruce Jr...
, and played alongside the likes of Tower of Power
Tower of Power
Tower of Power is an American R&B-based horn section and band, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing for over 43 years. They are best known for their funky soul sound highlighted by a powerful horn section...
, Azteca
Azteca (Band)
Azteca was an American Latin rock/jazz fusion group formed in 1972, started by Coke Escovedo and his brother Pete Escovedo, who had just finished stints with Latin rock pioneering band Santana...
, and Cheech & Chong. Ruben and the Jets released a second album, Con Safos
Con Safos
Con Safos is the second and last album by Ruben and the Jets, recorded in 1974 as a follow-up to their 1973 debut For Real!, which was produced by Frank Zappa...
, before disbanding in the mid-1970s. The band is referenced during the final scene of Up in Smoke
Up in Smoke
Up in Smoke, directed by Lou Adler, is Cheech and Chong's first feature-length film, released in 1978 by Paramount Pictures. It stars Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Edie Adams, Strother Martin, and Stacy Keach....
, in which Cheech Marin
Cheech Marin
Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin is an American comedian, actor and writer who gained recognition as part of the comedy act Cheech & Chong during the 1970s and early 1980s, and as Don Johnson's partner, Insp. Joe Dominguez on Nash Bridges...
's character, Pedro De Pacas comments that Alice Bowie, the punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band that he and Tommy Chong
Tommy Chong
Tommy Chong is a Canadian-American comedian, actor, writer, director, activist, and musician who is well known for his stereotypical portrayals of hippie-era stoners...
's Anthony "Man" Stoner character led in the film, will be "bigger than Ruben and the Jets." Guevara appears in the film as Tom, a trumpet player for the band.