Frank Zappa Muse Miss Mercy Passed Away At 71

RIP

Miss Mercy, the Frank Zappa muse and co-founder of GTOs (Girls Together Outrageously), has passed away at the age of 71. The tragic news was confirmed by a social media post of fellow GTO Pamela Des Barres, no cause of death was given. She 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.”

Frank Zappa’s official Facebook page also posted Miss Mercy’s in memoriam which you can check out below.

Miss Mercy was born Judith Edna Peters on February 16, 1949 in L.A. County, California and she’s also known as Mercy Fontenot. She became a popular groupie, style icon, and musician on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip scene in the 1960s – it was also the decade she met Frank Zappa who encouraged her to form the all-girl group The GTOs.

The GTOs were only active for two and a half years and had a one-off reunion in 1974. They had one album titled “Permanent Damage” released in 1969 which was produced by Zappa. The LP featured contributions from Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck.

After the band’s breakup, Miss Mercy married guitarist Shuggie Otis and had one son, Lucky.