Major Lingo was formed in 1982, when John Ziegler met Tony Bruno at the Spirit Room in Jerome, Arizona.
[1] The two were joined by Dave Rentz on drums and Teddy Rocha on bass, and began to play shows in the Verde Valley and elsewhere in the state.
By early 1990, Major Lingo returned to Arizona, leaving behind Tim Alexander, who decided to remain in the Bay Area and soon thereafter joined Primus.
[3] Tony Bruno and John Ziegler remained constants, but Sally Stricker left the band again, to be replaced on vocals by Christine Thomas.
In 2002, they celebrated their 20th anniversary with a show in Jerome's Spook Hall, which featured most of the former members of the band joining the current lineup in various configurations, and saw the release of their odds-and-ends album Lost and Found.