From the Archive: Missing Persons
Walking In L.A.
Good Morning!
Today we’re resurfacing an article from 2022 & listening to “Walking In L.A.” by Missing Persons.
1997: 25 years ago next month, my company sent me to new hire training in Los Angeles.
The 3 of us from Portland made friends in class, and one night, a local guy took us on a driving tour of the city. It was late(ish), but we couldn't figure out why the streets were empty. When I asked, he just said, "Man, no one walks here." and laughed. Fair enough.
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1979: Almost 20 years before that, Dale and Terry Bozzio met and married after meeting while working with Frank Zappa. Guitarist Warren Cuccurullo worked with Zappa on his Joe's garage record and met the couple. Two became 3, and Missing persons were born. The band convinced Cuccurullo's father to finance their first EP and recorded it at Zappa's studio. The trio first used session musicians to flesh out their sound before later adding bassist Patrick O'Hearn and keyboardist Chuck Wild, and three became 5
Two years after recording that first EP, the band signed with Capitol and re-released the EP, selling ~250000 units. They then went back into the studio; the result was 1982's "Spring Session M," an anagram of "Missing Persons" (heh).
Released in October of 1982, the record peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 and ultimately went Gold. It also spawned four singles: "Words," "Windows," "Destination Unknown, "and my favorite, "Walking In L.A."
Like many bands, Missing Persons burned bright and burned fast; The Bozzios divorced, and Cuccurullo went on to spend over 15 years with Duran Duran. He will be included when the band is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next month
2022: Missing Persons' most significant legacy might be how underrated they are and how many other bands/artists they've influenced over the years. I recently picked up a copy of the record. Listening to it again, I found myself listing off artists standing on their shoulders.
And, of course, even today, nobody walks in L.A.
More:
Of course the top track goes to the legendary Walking In L.A., a song propelled to attention from the bands famous sped-up performance of the track at the ill-fated US Festivals in 1983. Although the track is noticeably slower on the album, that doesn't diminish the quality of the Rock on display. The guitar playing is still fierce, the drumming is still heavy, and Dale's vocals still bring energy.
Read the rest of the review here.
Listen:
“Walking In L.A.” by Missing Persons| Spring Session M, 1982
Click the record to listen on your platform of choice.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this track!
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Thanks for being here,
Kevin—
This band really nailed that classic early 80s style I think about all the time when I remember this time. They had rock roots and pop twists, something really emblematic of the time, and they did it really well.
Like all the praise from the other comments, I was a huge missing persons fan in the 80s. I got to see them live at least twice. On both Spring Session M, and Rhyme and Reason tours.
Terry Bozzio’s drumming was beyond anything I had heard before at the time. I couldn’t get enough of his playing. And his innovation with electronic drums was legendary. The song “No Way Out” closing their debut album to this day blows my mind.