Miss Mercy death: GTOs co-founder and Frank Zappa muse dies aged 71

Musician, groupie and style icon was popular figure on the Sunset Strip scene of the 1960s

Miss Mercy (far left) with band The GTOs (Pamela Des Barres/Omnibus Press)

Miss Mercy, a founding member of Frank Zappa-formed band GTOs (Girls Together Outrageously) and the groupie collective of the same name, has died at the age of 71.

The Californian’s death was confirmed by her former bandmate, fellow groupie and friend Pamela Des Barres on Tuesday (28 July), who wrote on Instagram: “My beloved sister for most of my life, Miss Mercy has just passed.

“Words don’t work for me at this moment. I can’t imagine my world without her in it.”

No cause of death was given.

Born Judith Edra Peters in 1949, Miss Mercy, also known as Mercy Fontenot, was a well-known figure on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip scene in the Sixties. It was here that she met her future GTO members, who formed an all-girl band at the suggestion of Zappa.

A 1969 Rolling Stone article about the band said: “The GTOs are a sociological creation of Frank Zappa’s. He didn’t create the GTOs; he merely made a ‘group’ of them... and now is presenting them.

“The GTOs in all their freaky splendor are outasite. Each has a personality all her own, and together they are not to be believed — tummeling, chattering, laughing, telling stories, leaping about. The visceral reaction is full freak, but once you get into it, you don’t even notice.”

The group were active for two years from 1968 to 1970, with Zappa producing the band’s only album, Permanent Damage, in 1969. The record featured musical contributions from Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck.

The GTOs later staged a one-off reunion in 1974.

 

 

 

 

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My beloved sister for most of my life, Miss Mercy has just passed. Words don’t work for me at this moment. I can’t imagine my world without her in it. #pameladesbarres #groupie #thegtos #missmercy #imwiththeband

A post shared by THE Pamela Des Barres (@pameladesbarres) on Jul 27, 2020 at 10:14pm PDT

In Memoriam MISS MERCY February 15, 1949 – July 27, 2020 #MissMercy #RIP #InMemoriam #RestInPeace #groupie #thegtos #permanentdamage #GirlsTogetherOutrageously

Posted by Frank Zappa on Tuesday, 28 July 2020

Following the band’s split, Fontenot married guitarist Shuggie Otis, having a son Lucky together. The couple later divorced.

Miss Mercy features prominently in Des Barres’ famous rock and roll memoir, I’m With the Band, about her life around bands including Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones.