Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets is the fourth album by the Mothers of Invention, and fifth overall by Frank Zappa, released under the alias Ruben and the Jets. Released on December 2, 1968 on Bizarre and Verve Records with distribution by MGM Records, it is a concept album, influenced by 1950s doo-wop and rock and roll. The album's concept deals with a fictitious Chicano doo-wop band called Ruben & the Jets, represented by the cover illustration by Cal Schenkel, which depicts the Mothers of Invention as anthropomorphic dogs. It was conceived as part of a project called No Commercial Potential, which produced three other albums: Lumpy Gravy, We're Only in It for the Money and Uncle Meat.
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by the Mothers of Invention | ||||
Released | December 2, 1968 | |||
Recorded | July 1967 – February 1968 | |||
Studio | Apostolic (New York) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 40:34 | |||
Label | Bizarre/Verve | |||
Producer | Frank Zappa | |||
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention chronology | ||||
| ||||
Ruben and the Jets chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Cruising with Ruben & the Jets | ||||
|
The album and its singles received some radio success, due to its doo-wop sound. Subsequently, the name Ruben and the Jets continued with a different lineup, led by musician Rubén Guevara Jr., who recorded the albums For Real! (1973) and Con Safos (1974). Zappa produced the former.