Though plenty of rock stars would write and sing about groupies, the G.T.O.'s turned this concept inside out -- they were a rock group comprised of a handful of well-known groupies. An acronym for "Girls Together Outrageously," the G.T.O.'s were mentored by Frank Zappa and left behind one album, 1969's Permanent Damage, showing off their witty, surreal lyrics, idiosyncratic harmonies, and freaked-out charm before they went on to other pursuits.

The G.T.O.'s featured Miss Pamela (born Pamela Ann Miller, later Pamela Des Barres), Miss Sparky (born Linda Sue Parker), Miss Christine (born Christine Ann Frka), Miss Sandra (born Sandra Lynn Rowe), and Miss Mercy (aka Mercy Fontenot, born Judith Edra Peters). First coming together in 1968, the members were given their stage names by Tiny Tim. Miss Pamela and Miss Sparky first met when they were both students at Cleveland High School in Los Angeles and bonded over their love of music, while Miss Christine and Miss Sandra were friends originally from San Pedro who moved to L.A. to be closer to the city's rock scene. When Miss Christine landed a job as Frank Zappa's live-in nanny for his daughter Moon Unit, she and Miss Sandra moved into his home; later Miss Pamela took over the position. Zappa, being a major figure on the Los Angeles music scene and a person with a keen interest in unusual personalities, was fascinated by these women and their stories, and in time they were joined by Miss Mercy, who had recently settled in L.A. after leaving behind the hippie scene in San Francisco. They began hanging out together, first taking over the dance floors at rock clubs, originally calling themselves the Cherry Sisters and later the Laurel Canyon Ballet Company.

As Zappa encouraged them to write songs and form a rock group, he gave them their new name, the G.T.O.'s, and signed them to his Straight Records label. Zappa produced their sole album, 1969's Permanent Damage; the Mothers of Invention served as the backing band, while Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart, Davy Jones of the Monkees, and Lowell George of Little Feat made guest appearances. Before the record was finished, another woman joined the group, Miss Cynderella (aka Miss Cinderella, born Cynthia Sue Wells, later Cynthia Cale-Binion), while Miss Lucy (born Luz Selenia Offerrall) came on board after Permanent Damage was completed. Once the album was released, the G.T.O.'s played a few live shows decked out in the outrageous makeup and clothes that were their trademark (including a memorable gig with the Mothers, Alice Cooper, and Wild Man Fischer), but it's believed they performed on-stage only five or six times.

While Permanent Damage attracted a cult following, it was well short of a hit, and before 1970 was over, the G.T.O.'s had called it quits. Miss Christine posed for the cover of Zappa's solo album Hot Rats and was said to be the inspiration for the song "Christine's Tune" by the Flying Burrito Brothers; she died of a drug overdose on November 6, 1972. Miss Sparky got married and moved to New York. Miss Sandra had a child with artist Cal Schenkel and died on April 23, 1991, from cancer. Miss Mercy married R&B guitarist Shuggie Otis; she died on July 27, 2020. Miss Cynderella had a brief, tempestuous marriage to Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale. Miss Lucy married musician Gordon McLaren and acted in several Zappa-related films; she lost her life to AIDS in 1991. And Miss Pamela married singer Michael Des Barres of Silverhead, the Power Station, and Chequered Past; as Pamela Des Barres, she wrote a best-selling memoir about her days as a groupie, 1989's I'm with the Band. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi