The Beach Boys - Never Learn Not to Love (1968)

In late spring 1968, Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys was driving through Malibu when he noticed two female hitchhikers. He picked them up and dropped them off at their destination. Later, Wilson noticed the same two girls hitchhiking again. This time he took them to his home on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. He told the girls about The Beach Boys recent involvement with the Maharishi and they, in turn, told him about their own guru, a guy named Charlie. Dennis then went to a recording session; when he returned later that night, he was met in his driveway by “Charlie,” who happened to actually be Charles Manson. Wilson then walked into his home and found about a dozen people occupying the premises, most of whom were young women, but all of whom were members of Manson’s cult, the Manson Family.

Unaware of what evil Manson was capable of, Dennis was initially fascinated by Manson and his followers, referring to Manson as "the Wizard" in a Rave magazine article. Wilson and Manson briefly became friends and, over the next few months, members of the Manson Family (mostly women who were treated as servants) were housed at Wilson's household, costing Wilson a small fortune to maintain.

In late 1968, Wilson told Record Mirror magazine that when he met Manson, he found that he had great musical ideas and that they were now writing together. Dennis also introduced Manson to a few friends in the music business, including The Byrds' producer Terry Melcher, whose home at 10050 Cielo Drive would later be rented by director Roman Polanski and his wife, actress Sharon Tate, where less than a year later, Manson family members would murder Tate and several others.

In September 1968, Dennis Wilson reworked (and The Beach Boys recorded) a Manson song, heard below, which was originally titled "Cease to Exist" that you can read more about and listen to here. The song was credited solely to Dennis Wilson. Angered by this, Manson threatened Wilson to murder him and his children. According to one of The Beach Boys collaborators, Van Dyke Parks, Wilson supposedly responded by grabbing Manson by the head, throwing him to the ground, and pummeling him. Wilson then attempted to cut ties with Manson by moving out of his own home, but allowing Manson and his followers to remain.

In August 1969, Manson Family members committed the Tate-LaBianca murders. That November, Manson was apprehended and later convicted for numerous counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Some attribute Dennis Wilson's subsequent spiral of self-destructive behavior to the guilt he felt for ever having introduced Manson to the Hollywood music scene.



The Beach Boys - Never Learn Not to Love (1968)

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Lyrics:

Cease to resist
Come and say you love me
Give up your world
Come on and be with me
I'm your kind, I'm your kind and I see

Come on, come on
I love you, pretty girl
My life is yours
And you can have my world
I'm your kind, I'm your kind and I see

Never had a lesson I ever learned
I know I could never learn not to love you
Come in, now closer
Come in closer, closer, closer

Submission is a gift, give it to your lover
Love and understandin’ is for one another
I'm your kind, I'm your kind and I see

Never had a lesson I ever learned
I know I could never learn not to love you
Come in now closer
Come in closer
Come in closer

Country Joe and the Fish - Cetacean (1968)

Together, recorded in 1967 and released in 1968, was the third album released by today’s featured band. Before recording started, Country Joe McDonald had departed from the group, forcing them to use the name “The Fish” for a brief period of time. But by the time recording had begun, Country Joe had reunited with his bandmates and contributed to the recordings.

The song heard below is the tenth track on Together. The title refers to cetaceans, which are marine mammals such as whales, dolphins, or porpoises. The song was written by the band’s original bassist, Bruce Barthol, who made his exit from the band one month after this album’s release. The album itself didn’t sell all that well, with the most common belief attributing the lack of sales to Country Joe’s absent songwriting due to his hiatus.



Country Joe and the Fish - Cetacean (1968)

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Lyrics:

Open the door and love walks in
Close the door and you’re alone again

The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - Eighteen Is Over the Hill (1968)

It’s often been written that this band’s “leader,” Bob Markley, was only a member of the band because he was chasing the money, girls, and the celebrity status that came along with being in a popular band. According to rock historians and his bandmates, Markley wasn’t much of a musician and could hardly play a note. But luckily for him, he could at times be quite poetic and thus contributed his fair share to what would amount to very appealing music.

The song heard below was released on the band’s fourth album, Volume 3: A Child’s Guide to Good and Evil. If you’re bewildered about their albums’ naming conventions, you can find some insight on one of our previous posts. The album is widely considered one of the best to be put out by the band, but the song heard below doesn’t quite reinforce Markley’s ability to sometimes be poetic. Where the song really shines is in its melody and complex studio techniques.

The cover art for the album was created by renowned artist John Van Hamersveld, who most notably designed covers of albums for The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, among others. Although the album is now considered an accomplished psychedelic record, it sold poorly upon its initial release and failed to chart nationally.

The song heard below is what I consider to be the highlight of the album. The lyrics were written by Markley and the music was written by his bandmate Ron Morgan.



The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - Eighteen Is Over the Hill (1968)

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Lyrics:

Antique white lace
A plastic face
A tinfoil place
An empty space
You are so hung up on yourself
And nothing else

I like too much the rain
The power of my brain
The sunshine
And the open road
Ahead of me

Laughing because
It’s right to laugh
Dress up at night
In the right dress
You can’t change me
Into something
That I’m not

I like too much the rain
The power of my brain
The sunshine
And the open road
Ahead of me

I’ll hear your line
Some other time
When miming
Performance rhyme
The way you feel
It is so phony
And unreal

I like too much the rain
The power of my brain
The sunshine
And the open road
Ahead of me

I like too much the rain
The power of my brain
The sunshine
And the open road
Ahead of me

Ellen Margulies - The White Pony (1968)

Ellen Margulies is an American singer who was briefly in the duo “Tom & Ellen” (with Tom Everett) which released the single “Too Many Things” b/w “My Up Is My Down” in 1966. It appears to be the only single released by the duo.

It also appears that Margulies recorded one more single, as a solo artist in 1968, before exiting the music industry for good. In ’68, Margulies recorded “The White Pony” b/w “Meditation.” “The White Pony” was written by Roger Joyce, Steve Steinberg, and Danny Secunda, while “Meditation” appears to only have been written by Joyce, who also served as producer, arranger, and conductor.

It’s rumored that Margulies was unaware of her songs being released until sometime after the year 2000, leading one to assume that she never saw any royalty money from her recordings.



Ellen Margulies - The White Pony (1968)

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Lyrics:

Prague lee wing raindrops come down from the skies
Like crystalline tear drops, they roll from my eyes
I reach for the sunlight, the bright rainbow door
And chase the white pony through doomed skies once more

I’ll ride so high, where cotton clouds fly
And cellophane nightingales always sing
There I’ll seek worlds that could be
And I’ll know that I can do anything

Cross-legged, I sit in this cold, cloistered room
Trying to see if the flower will bloom
I’ll taste the sweet pollen and open my eyes
And ride the white pony through crumbling skies

I’ll ride so high, where cotton clouds fly
And cellophane nightingales always sing
There I’ll seek worlds that could be
And I’ll know that I can do anything

I’ll ride so high, where cotton clouds fly
And cellophane nightingales always sing
There I’ll seek worlds that could be
And I’ll know that I can do anything

Fleetwood Mac - Albatross (1968)

When a band has a history of nearly fifty years- such as this one does- their history can become quite complex and convoluted. Fleetwood Mac is predominately remembered in the United States by the body of work they released from 1975 through the early ‘90s, when the lineup featured their most well-known singer, Stevie Nicks. However, Nicks joined the band on New Year’s Eve in 1974, more than seven years after the band had first come together.

Originally, the band came together in July 1967 when Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, and (a short while later) John McVie left John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers to form this new group. With the addition of guitarist Jeremy Spencer, the first true lineup had been solidified. The band got their name from a song they had recorded during some studio time while they were still in the Bluesbreakers; and, that song got its name from combining the surnames of Mick Fleetwood and a shortening of John McVie’s surname.

The song below was released as a single in November 1968, after the group had already released two studio albums and added an eighteen year old guitarist by the name of Danny Kirwan. The song was written by Peter Green with the assistance of Kirwan, who had only been in the group for a few months at that time. It was recorded without Jeremy Spencer, as he had a tendency not to work well with Green.

The song has been featured in multiple movies, documentaries, and as the introduction music for a British television program. It’s also regarded for heavily influencing David Gilmour’s (of Pink Floyd) playing style. The song is also noted for inspiring The Beatles’ Abbey Road song, “Sun King.”



Fleetwood Mac - Albatross (1968)

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Lyrics:

(instrumental)

Bert Sommer - Jennifer (1968)

Today’s featured artist, Bert William Sommer (born February 7, 1949), was a friend of The Left Banke’s Michael Brown and was chosen to be one of the new lead singers of Brown’s Left Banke (along with Michael McKean) when the group divided and competed with one another. Although the effort was unsuccessful and short-lived, it provided Sommer with connections that aided in advancing his career.

Sommer also made a connection with Leslie West (later of Mountain), which led to him writing five songs (“And When It’s Over,” “Things Are Going My Way,” among others) for West’s band The Vagrants in their mutual hometown of Long Island, New York.

It was these connections and experiences which led to Sommer getting his first record deal with Capitol Records; and, nearly simultaneously, being cast as the character Woof in the original West Coast production of Hair. It was also his giant afro which was used in the original playbill promoting the play.

Photo credit.
Perhaps most notable is the fact that Sommer played at Woodstock. While making his first album for Capitol, titled The Road to Travel, he befriended Capitol’s Vice President of Rock Music, producer Artie Kornfield. Kornfield was a co-creator of the Woodstock festival and reserved a slot for Sommer to perform. Sommer was the third act to perform on the opening day, after Richie Havens and Sweetwater, and sang ten songs over the span of an hour. When recalling the standing ovation he received after performing Simon & Garfunkel’s “America,” Sommer famously quipped, “Yeah, I got the standing ovation… on their way to the bathrooms!”

The song below is the second track on Sommer’s debut album, The Road to Travel, released in 1968. It was also the lead song performed by Sommer during his set at Woodstock. The music and lyrics were written by Sommer himself, and the track was produced by Artie Kornfield.



Bert Sommer - Jennifer (1968)

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Lyrics:

Jennifer’s heaven, for Jenny I’d stay
Skin shining white as a dove
Lying beside her, I melted away
Into her river of love

Whoa, I’m lost in a maze
Counting the ways that she smiles
Time is slipping away
Lost in the arms of her love
So gentle and wild

Jennifer’s something you handle with care
Fragile as crystals of glass
Jennifer’s lips are as soft as the air
Kissing her here in the grass

Whoa, I’m lost in a maze
Counting the ways that she smiles
Time is slipping away
Lost in the arms of her love
So gentle and wild

Jennifer’s heaven, for Jenny I’d stay
Skin shining white as a dove
Lying beside her, I melted away
Into her river of love
Into her river of love
Into her river of love

Simon & Garfunkel - America (1968)

In 1964, Paul Simon was living in London, England with his then-girlfriend Kathy Chitty. His debut album with Art Garfunkel, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. had recently been finished recording and was now in the stage of being mixed and having the artwork created/picked out. Simon’s producer, Tom Wilson, informed him that he wanted Paul to come back to the United States to assist with the work. Not wanting to leave his girlfriend behind, Simon suggested he and Kathy go together, where they could spend five days touring the country before he got back to work. The resulting road trip became the inspiration for the song heard below.

It was in 1966 when Simon eventually wrote the song; and, according to a former disc jockey from Saginaw, Michigan, Bob Dyer, Simon wrote the song while he was in town- in Saginaw- to perform in a concert series.

The finished song was first released in 1968 on Simon & Garfunkel’s third album, titled Bookends. That version of the song begins with a segue from the previous track; so the version heard below- the single- was chosen for being featured here instead, as the intro is cleaner. The single version heard below and released in 1972 reached #92 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #25 in the UK. It features Hal Blaine and Larry Knechtel from The Wrecking Crew on drums and bass, respectively.



Simon & Garfunkel - America (1968)

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Lyrics:

Let us be lovers
We’ll marry our fortunes together
I’ve got some real estate here in my bag

So we bought a pack of cigarettes
And Mrs. Wagner’s Pies
And walked off to look for America

“Kathy,” I said, as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
“Michigan seems like a dream to me now”
It took me four days to hitch-hike from Saginaw
I’ve come to look for America”

Laughing on the bus
Playing games with the faces
She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy
I said, “Be careful, his bowtie is really a camera”

“Toss me a cigarette; I think there’s one in my raincoat”
“We smoked the last one an hour ago”

So I looked at the scenery
She read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field

“Kathy, I’m lost,” I said, though I knew she was sleeping
“I’m empty and aching and I don’t know why”

Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They’ve all come to look for America

All come to look for America
All come to look for America

Ultimate Spinach - Visions of Your Reality (1968)

This band was a notable act from the Boston, Massachusetts area which briefly attempted to combat the “San Francisco sound” alongside other bands, such as Beacon Street Union and Orpheus, through their mutual, fledgling producer, Alan Lorber, and his promotion of the “Bosstown Sound.” Formed from the remnants of a band known as Underground Cinema, this band was led by their primary songwriter, lead vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Ian Bruce-Douglas.

The song heard below was featured on the band’s second album, Behold & See, which was released in 1968, the same year as the release of their first album, which had been self-titled. Although the group’s first album achieved moderate success (#34 on the Billboard 200), their second album did not fare as well, peaking at #198. Bruce-Douglas would later lament that much of the band’s lack of success was due to producer Alan Lorber, who he believed was more interested in making a profit than artistic creativity or integrity. Bruce-Douglas left the band sometime after their second album, forcing Lorber to assemble a new line-up to create their contractually-obligated, third album, Ultimate Spinach III. That album, though, lacking the songwriting, singing, and musical talents of Bruce-Douglas, failed, and the group disbanded soon after.



Ultimate Spinach - Visions of Your Reality (1968)

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Lyrics:

I don’t want to be a rusty suit of armor
Or a tumbled-out, forgotten castle in your mind
I just want to be a twisted willow
So I can leave your shallow thinking far behind

I can feel the darkness in your shadows
And the melting of ice behind your troubled eyes
And the discoloration of all the words you’re saying
As you’re hunted without mercy by your lies

I’ve flown so high, I’ll never return
And I’ve been to the bottom of the dregs of your troubled soul
And I’ve basked in the sun of your revelations
But, I guess you and I, we have different goals

So, go and slay your dragons in blind amusement
And topple imagination with a song
And the moon- it plays little mind games
So you’ll wonder where all the stars have gone

Listen to me

You have spoken to be about nothing
And you’ve shown me fantasies in a crystal ball
And you’ve promised me the world for my asking
Don’t you know that, to me, it means nothing at all?

Because, I know you’d leave me a burnt out matchbox of forgotten roses
Inside a get-well card I had to address by myself
But that’s not what I need from another stranger
So, I guess I better do things without your help

So, I guess I better do things without your help
So, I guess I better do things without your help

Bubble Puppy - Hot Smoke & Sassafras (1968)

Rod Prince (lead guitar) and Roy Cox (bass) put together this band in San Antonio, Texas, 1966, after their previous band, the Bad Seeds, had disbanded. Although they were beat to the punch by The 13th Floor Elevators and The Golden Dawn, they’re regarded as one of the first psychedelic rock bands out of the state of Texas. Their name was inspired by a children's game played in Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley. They were also one of the first psychedelic bands anywhere to use dual lead guitars- featuring the technique as early as 1967- a full two years before Wishbone Ash and the Allman brothers, who popularized the technique. Rounding out the band was Todd Potter (second lead guitar) and David “Fuzzy” Fore (drums).

The band had their first and most prominent taste of success in the spring of 1969, when their song heard below (and recorded in 1968) made it to number fourteen on the Billboard 100. The title of the song came about when somebody in the band misheard a line on an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies. The song’s success led them to recording their first album, A Gathering of Promises, in 1969, which unfortunately sold poorly.

A falling out with the band’s label, International Artists (who had also signed The 13th Floor Elevators and The Golden Dawn) led the band to hire Nick St. Nicholas of Steppenwolf as their manager and move out to Los Angeles. They changed their name to Demian to avoid any contractual issues, and to erase any connection to the bubblegum pop genre. As Demian, they released one self-titled album in 1971 and split up in 1972 after the album’s lack of success. Since, the group has gotten back together at various times, reuniting under their Bubble Puppy name. They released an album, Wheels Go Round, in 1987 and have performed live as recently as 2012.



Bubble Puppy - Hot Smoke & Sassafras (1968)

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Lyrics:

In the mist of sassafras
Many things will come to pass
And the smoke shall rise again
To the place above where it began

Time will bring the fire and flame
Surely as it brought the rain
But in the gardens of the moon
Time is held within the silver spoon

If you're happy where you are
Then you need not look too far
If you've found your place at last
Then you need not use the looking glass

The Lemon Pipers - Everything Is You (1968)

The Lemon Pipers, as previously mentioned, were victims in a never-ending struggle between what they wanted to play versus what their record company wanted them to play. They wanted to be a rock outfit infused with psychedelics; their label, Buddah Records, wanted them to record what would later be called bubblegum pop. To get their foot in the door, the band recorded a song given to them by their label, “Green Tambourine,” and it shot straight to number one. Not happy with their new pop label, the success of the song led the band toward being faced with an ultimatum: to either record more money-making bubblegum pop music, or get dropped from their label.

With their backs to the wall, the group agreed to record more bubblegum pop singles. However, there was a little victory for the band when it came time to record albums. With a bit of pleading, the band was sometimes able to put a little bit of their own rock and psychedelic flavor into some songs, or even able to record some of the songs they had written themselves. Unfortunately, the bubblegum songs that were handed to them were generally the more favorable tracks with the public.

The song heard below was one of the songs given to the band to record. It was written for them by Paul Leka, the same man who had co-written “Green Tambourine” for the band. Leka was a prominent song-writer and arranger, having also notably written “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” for Steam. Although the song below didn’t top the charts like “Green Tambourine,” it’s still considered one of the band’s (and Leka’s) more notable tracks.



The Lemon Pipers - Everything Is You (1968)

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Lyrics:

I don’t need the sun to shine on me every day
All I need is your love to brighten up my way
You don’ have to say the words “I love you” every day
As long as you stand by my side, I know you’re here to stay

I no longer live in dreams, since I have found “everything” is you
You gave me life to change my world, since I have found “everything” is you

Now and then, I need your kiss- temptations all around
But most of all, I need you near when I’m feeling down
You make me smile; you make me laugh; you’re my favorite clown
I treasure nights we spend together, making silent sounds

Now I no longer live in dreams, since I have found “everything” is you
You gave me life to change my world, since I have found “everything” is you

The Gentle Soul - Flying Thing (1968)

If you haven’t seen our previous post featuring The Gentle Soul, you may want to check that out first. There’s a good, little biography about the group, including the famous names they worked with and why they had to split up. The best part, though, is that it features an interview conducted with half of The Gentle Soul, Pamela Polland.

You’ll notice near the beginning of that post that there was a song The Gentle Soul recorded, which had been written by a fourteen year old Jackson Browne. The song heard below in this post is that song. “Flying Thing” was one of the three songs Jackson Browne had written by the age of fourteen. He wrote the music and lyrics, but the arrangements were done by The Gentle Soul (Pamela Polland and Rick Stanley). It wasn’t released on The Gentle Soul’s only album (probably because it wasn’t written by them, as claimed by Pamela Polland herself), but it was released on one of the two singles the band put out. Unfortunately, like with their rest of their music, the single wasn’t promoted and it made little impact on the charts.

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A Special Edition post with Rick Stanley of The Gentle Soul!
After a little over a year of correspondence, I’m proud to announce that The Gentle Soul’s Rick Stanley has supplied numerous stories to share with A Bit Like You And Me. Rick was kind enough to share a bunch of excerpts from an upcoming autobiography he’s writing, titled My Song of Life. There was a very large quantity of material, so I’ve taken the liberty of chopping it down to the very best parts.

Excerpts from My Song of Life by Rick Stanley
[...]Not long after my audition with Stephen [Stills, to try out for Buffalo Springfield], Terry [Melcher] contacted Pamela [Polland] and was raving about the two of us. He wanted to get us in the studio as soon as possible to make a demo for the Columbia Record exec.’s who make the decisions about signing new acts.

What happened next is a bit hazy in my fading memory-pictures, but I think some time passed before Terry had time to get us into the studio. Pamela had already started to recruit other musicians to back us up; and, I somehow ended up in the Valley, staying in a rented house with two of the potential band members: Riley “Wyldflower” Cummings and a drummer from Riley’s sort of Beatle-esque group. They had toured the southwest and one of the groupies latched on to them in Tulsa, by offering the money she received from an insurance claim for her broken leg, so that the drummer could buy a new set of drums. Riley wrote his own songs in the vein of the early Beatles- like “Love Me Do” and “Twist and Shout”- which didn’t interest me at all. It had been done and couldn’t possibly attract a record company or get us on the radio.

Riley was six-foot five-inches tall with wild, light-brown, curly hair and almost always stoned. He was a likable Irish-American, son of a car dealership owner in the valley, and played decent rhythm guitar in the typical pop band genre. But Pam and I were really acoustic folk musicians and I couldn’t understand why she wanted a pop guitar player who couldn’t really sing well enough to add a harmony. I think she just liked him. And so, she would come over and we would practice her songs and a few others in preparation for the Columbia demo with Terry. Meanwhile, we were trying to come up with a name for our group, which is probably more fun than practicing.

The original group with Riley “Wyldflower” Cummings and Sandy Konikoff [before The Gentle Soul was finalized as a duo]

One night, Riley had “scored” a kilo of grass with the groupie’s money and proceeded to lie back on his bed and blow pot smoke into the face of his cat, who just lay there on his chest, looking up at him and throwing cat-kisses with his eyes. Riley said, “He’s such a gentle soul,” and, I jumped on this and said, “That’s the name for our group! ‘The Gentle Soul’!” And so it was! I felt like Riley must have thought that marijuana was a universal balm for all creatures great and small, and that it couldn’t possibly do any harm. The next day, the cat was acting like he’d eaten fifty pounds of cat nip- running, flipping, and jumping in a spastic frenzy- seeing something in la la land and lunging for it, only to flop upside down on his back. He got up and bashed headlong into the patio window and lay there unconscious for a while. I guess the poor thing managed to get out of the house and we never saw it again.

Soon, we all moved in to an old house on Venice Beach that Pam and the groupie managed to lease. Each of us had our own room and I rigged up some bamboo curtains on the walls all around my little abode, and slept on an old mattress with a new cotton cover that I found in a thrift store. Pam still had her own place, but would come over to practice. The groupie and the drummer had the choice room downstairs, and Riley and I had our little rooms upstairs. I was beginning to feel like this wasn’t going anywhere. The drummer didn’t know how to drum and Riley’s main focus was getting high. Anyway, nature doesn’t allow a vacuum to persist, and thus brought a stranger to the house. He arrived when the drummer was away for some reason and proceeded to seduce the groupie without much effort. After four days of being serviced by the stranger, her previous lover returned: the inadequate drummer. The groupie pretended that nothing had happened with the stranger, and offered the attic as her new lover’s bedroom.

The attic was where we practiced, and this didn’t suit lover-boy at all. He never spoke a word to any of us; only the groupie was privy to his profound thoughts. He would just sit and stew when we were up there, making all kinds of bored and inconvenienced expressions, with his little poet’s pad in full view and his pencil sticking out from behind one ear. I didn’t like this asshole’s attitude at all. He didn’t contribute anything for rent, expected to be fed, and all for the price of having sex with the groupie when the drummer wasn’t around. You may be a bit surprised to know who this guy was. It was Jim Morrison- you know, The Doors.

The whole thing finally came to a head when the drummer discovered Jim and his true love going at it in his own bed. He flew into a rage, but ended up begging the groupie to stay with him. It was clear that she finally understood why he wanted her: the bloody drums and the rest of her insurance money to live on, of course! So, that day, he packed up his drums and left the house. Jim didn’t hang around much longer either[...]

Thanks,
Rick Stanley

There is a lot more to tell about Rick's unusual life; check out My Song of Life by Rick Stanley when it comes out. If you want to know when it’s released, just send your email to nr.stan[at]gmail[dot]com.

How hilarious is that? Even though Rick didn't seem to appreciate Jim Morrison's antics, I have to say it sounds pretty amusing all these years later! And it's definitely fun to know that The Gentle Soul's name was helpfully inspired by a cat. A big 'thank you' to Rick Stanley for sharing such interesting excerpts from his forthcoming book, My Song of Life! Be sure to check out the book when it's released, as it contains other stories involving Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Levon Helm, and many, many more!

And now that you've enjoyed this exclusive story, why not check out what other exclusive stories we've received?

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The Gentle Soul - Flying Thing (1968)

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Lyrics:

She’s a flying thing that sings
With her eyes like smoky rings
And the sun can feel her presence in the sky

And I think I’m gonna stay
‘cause there’s nothin’ in our way
And she says that she can teach me how to fly
(Teach me how to fly)

If I could love her more than I have ever loved before
Then tomorrow I’ll be standing at her door

And when I hear her voice
I have no other choice
But to bend back my head and search the sky

Her hair is spun so fine
Roses fell like laughing wine
And she says that she can teach me how to fly
(Teach me how to fly)

If I could give her all the things she’s never had before
Then tomorrow I’ll be standing at her door

To see her walking by is to see a windy sky
And the clouds reflecting in her eyes

And the softness of her skin
Makes me wonder where I’ve been
And she says that she can teach me how to fly
(Teach me how to fly)

If she could love me more than she has ever loved before
Then tomorrow I’ll be standing at her door

She’s a flying thing that sings
With her eyes like smoky rings
And she says that she can teach me how to fly
(Teach me how to fly)
And she says that she can teach me how to fly
(Teach me how to fly)
And she says that she can teach me how to fly
(Teach me how to fly…)

The 31st of February - Morning Dew (1968)

David Brown and Claude “Butch” Trucks had both traveled, separately, from their hometown of Jacksonville, Florida to Tallahassee, Florida after graduating from Englewood High School and enrolling at Florida State University for the 1965 fall semester. They came together when they found themselves living on the same floor of the same dormitory and sharing a mutual interest in the new folk rock sound being pioneered by The Byrds. Together, they teamed up with Scott Boyer, who had also gone to Englewood High School in Jacksonville and had been living in Tallahassee as a professional musician.

The three new bandmates decided to call themselves The Bitter Ind. (Independents) and attempted to find work in Daytona Beach, Florida after Brown and Trucks left school after their freshman year. They struggled, but landing a performance at Club Martinique introduced them to Gregg and Duane Allman, who, at that time, were in a band called the Allman Joys. Their meeting with the two future stars would be paramount to their careers.

After the Daytona show, The Bitter Ind. returned home to Jacksonville, Florida, deflated from a lack of work. Not long after, Butch Trucks received a call from Duane Allman that his band would be in town, playing at a club called the Beachcomber, and needing a drummer to fill in for the night. Trucks played with the band and then convinced the Beachcomber’s manager to allow his band, The Bitter Ind., to perform as well. The manager agreed, liked what he heard, and used the group as his house band through 1967.

After 1967 and the end of the Beachcomber gig, the band decided to change their name, briefly using The Tiffany System before settling on The 31st of February. They relocated to Miami, Florida, signed a record deal with Vanguard Records, and released their first album, The 31st of February, in 1968. Unfortunately, it didn’t sell very well.

The group soon crossed paths with Gregg and Duane Allman once again, who were now members in a band called The Hour Glass. The 31st of February and the Allman brothers joined forces under The 31st of February name and began working on a new album together. Interestingly, one of the tracks on the album was an early version of “Melissa” (which would later be re-recorded by Gregg and Duane Allman as members of The Allman Brothers Band, and released in 1972). But, unfortunately, here in 1968, the album was shelved, never finished when the group split up before finalizing any of the tracks.

It wasn’t until 1972, after Duane and Gregg Allman found success in The Allman Brothers Band, that there became an interest in the members’ previous group. For this reason, The 31st of February’s unfinished second album finally saw the light of day, being released under the title of Duane & Greg Allman (which had misspelled “Gregg”).

The song heard below was the opening track on The 31st of February’s unfinished second album. It was recorded by Scott Boyer, David Brown, Butch Trucks, Duane Allman, and Gregg Allman in 1968, but released in 1972, as mentioned above.

The song itself was written in 1961 by Bonnie Dobson, and first recorded by Dobson in 1962. The lyrics are supposed to represent a conversation between the last man and woman left alive after a nuclear holocaust. Dobson stated that the lyrics were inspired by the 1959 movie titled On the Beach.



The 31st of February - Morning Dew (1968)

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Lyrics:

Walk me out in the morning dew, my heart
Walk me out in the morning dew, my heart
Though I can't walk you out in the morning dew, my heart
Though I can't walk you out in the morning dew, my heart

Thought I heard a young girl cry, yeah
Thought I heard a young girl cry, yeah
No, you didn't hear no young girl cry at all
No, you didn't hear no young girl cry

Thought I heard a young girl cry, yeah
Thought I heard a young girl cry, yeah
No, you didn't hear no young girl cry
No, you didn't hear no young girl cry at all

Now there is no morning dew
Now there is no morning dew
What they've been sayin’ all these years has come true
What they've been sayin’ all these years has come true

Got no morning dew

The Magic Lanterns - No Milk Today (1968)

This group didn’t get a Top 30 hit until 1968 when they had already been together for six years. In total, the band was able to scrape together three charting songs in the US as well as three in their native UK. But prior to their charting days (which at one point featured Godley & Creme), the band was still hard at work, hoping to make a name for themselves in their home of Warrington, Lancashire. Although the band never really hit the big time, they put together a handful of songs that are definitely worth listening to.

The song heard below was written by Graham Gouldman in 1966 for the band The Hollies, still featuring Graham Nash. Its lyrics, although seemingly strange, had very little to do with milk. Gouldman has been quoted as stating that his father was largely responsible for the message of the song. He said that he and his father had seen a sign on a neighbor’s home, “no milk today,” indicating to the neighborhood milkman that the home wouldn’t need their daily milk delivered for whatever reason. It was expressed to Gouldman by his father that there could be various reasons why the house didn’t require milk on that day. One such reason he hypothesized was that the man who lived in the house had recently been left by his significant other, resulting in less need for milk and adding much depth to the simple sign.

When the song had been passed up by The Hollies, it was given to Herman’s Hermits. It was the second hit song Gouldman had written for Herman’s Hermits (the first being “Listen People,” reaching number three), reaching number seven on the charts. The version of the song heard below was covered by The Magic Lanterns in 1968 for their debut album, Lit Up – with The Magic Lanterns, recorded on CBS Records for distribution in the UK. The most obvious difference made by The Magic Lanterns in their cover is the increase and decrease of tempo.



The Magic Lanterns - No Milk Today (1968)

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Lyrics:

No milk today
My love has gone away
The bottles stand forlorn
Greeting the summer dawn

“No milk today”
It seems a common sight
The people passing by
Don't know the reason why

How could they know
Just what this message means?
The end of my hopes
The end of all my dreams

How could they know
The palace there had been?
Behind the door
Where my love has been

No milk today
It wasn't always so
The company was gay
We'd turn night into day

As music played
The faster did we dance
We felt it both at once
The start of our romance

How could they know
Just what this message means?
The end of my hope
The end of all my dreams
(Hey!)

How could they know
A palace there had been?
Behind the door
Where my love has been

No milk today
It wasn't always so
The company was gay
We'd turn night into day

As music played
The faster did we dance
We felt it both at once
The start of our romance

How could they know
Just what this message means?
The end of my hope
The end of all my dreams
(Hey!)

How could they know
A palace there had been?
Behind the door
Where my love has been

No milk today
My love has gone away
The bottles stand forlorn
Greeting the summer dawn

“No milk today”
It seems a common sight
The people passing by
Don't know the reason why

Wichita Fall - Hectivity (1968)

Although I have little back-story on this band, I can confirm that the original members were David Roush (guitar & vocals), Len Feigin (now spelled “Fagan,” drums), Larry Watson (bass), and Phil Black (guitar). They were based in Los Angeles, California and, according to those who heard them live, said that they sounded like Buffalo Springfield at their shows.

In June 1967, The Beatles’ released their famed masterpiece Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and every record company in the world was hoping to release similar sounding material. The executives at Liberty Records offered some cash to Wichita Fall hoping to cash in on the heavily-orchestrated concept album craze. Although the band was reluctant to abandon their rock sound, they agreed to make a record.

After laying down their initial four-instrument tracks, Liberty Records brought in renowned orchestra arranger Artie Butler to overlay orchestration over the entire album. Using his arrangements, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra was soon interlaced in each and every song. The band’s drummer, Len Feigin, was so displeased with what they were doing to the band’s album that he quit, being replaced by three session musicians: Hal Blaine, Jim Gordon, and John Guerin.

The finished product was an album titled Life Is But a Dream, released in 1969. It was critically panned and sold very poorly. Heard below is the album’s ninth track, recorded in 1968 and released in 1969 with the rest of the album. Personally, it’s my favorite track from an album mostly overshadowed by cheesy, pop orchestration. Although the album may be a little too sugar-coated to digest in a single sitting, this song is strong enough to stand on its own. It’s just a shame it wasn’t released two years earlier when sunshine pop was at its peak.



Wichita Fall - Hectivity (1968)

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Lyrics:

Could you use a dreamer?
Yes, I really could
You know I really could

Could you use a schemer?
No, I’d rather not
You know I’d rather not

All day long sing a song
(Let’s sing my song, sing my song)

Got some friends coming home for dinner
Coming home, they are, they are
Unexpected as they may be
I’ll be kind to them, you’ll see

Could you use a dreamer?
Yes, I really could
You know I really could

Could you use a schemer?
No, I’d rather not
You know I’d rather not

All day long sing a song
(Let’s sing my song, sing my song)

Someone have they no I’m not
Request have some time on my own
Though I know you’ll never see them
I’ve got troubles of my own

J. K. & Co. - The Times (1968)

Remember the episode of The Simpsons where Homer realized he didn’t actually know what his middle initial stood for? Homer J. Simpson? As it turned out, the “J.” stood for “Jay” and Homer tried to become a hippie. In a similar fashion, J.K. & Co. was created around the talents of a fifteen year old artist named J.K., which stood for – ready? Jay Kaye. Kaye, who had been raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, had gone to Vancouver to work on an album with the musical arranger Robert W. Buckley, a fellow teenager. There wasn’t really a band when Kaye’s album was made, so “& Co.” was used to encompass all of those involved with its production.

The album they collectively worked on was titled Suddenly One Summer and released in July 1968. In a very strange decision, the track chosen to be released as a single by the record company, White Whale, was the opening instrumental intro, which was only thirty-six seconds long. Naturally, the song didn’t garner much attention nor help in getting the album circulated.

Fortunately, the album did receive a little attention on the underground radio stations in California. Attempting to feed off of that success, Kaye assembled an actual band together to go out to California and perform live. Although they were on the California scene during the height of the late ‘60s, Kaye and the band never recorded any material and they called it quits by the end of the ‘60s.

The song heard below, written by Jay Kaye, is the tenth track on the Suddenly One Summer album.



J. K. & Co. - The Times (1968)

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Lyrics:

I’ve been thinking of all the times
That have gone and are yet to come
The days, they’ll be a’changing
And with them, so will I

To look at nature’s beauty
And feel each drop of rain
To watch 'em here with laughing
As they lap against the shore

To be playing in the snow
Or dancing through leaves in the spring
Or walking down a deserted street
In the late, late warm summer eve

Playing with the yo-yo
When I’ve got nothing to do
Watching TV quite late at night
Or just being here with you

Watching other people
As they go ‘bout their way
Spending some hours in the green grass park
Or maybe even a day

These times I will remember
As I move along
Although they’re gone, I’ll remember them
And think of times to come

The Art of Lovin' - Daily Prayer (1968)

Coming out of Newton, Massachusetts, this five-piece band was composed of high school kids who managed to stay together long enough for the release of one album. They were composed of Gail Winnick (vocals), Paul Applebaum (vocals, guitar), Johnny Lank (bass), Sandy Winslow (drums), and Barry Tatelman (saxophone). Although the band drew comparisons to the San Francisco Sound and received generally positive reviews, they were forced to split apart when its members decided to go off to college. You’d have to think their choice to go off to college was also a sure way to avoid being drafted into Vietnam.

With the exception of the band’s cover of a song by Tim Hardin (“(How Can We) Hang On To A Dream”), each of this group’s songs were written by Paul Applebaum. The song heard below, featured on the band’s only album, The Art of Lovin’, was featured as the sixth track. If you enjoy listening to it, I highly recommend getting a copy of The Art of Lovin’. The entire album is a real joy to listen to.



The Art of Lovin' - Daily Prayer (1968)

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Lyrics:

All the words come flashing by me
Watch the letters fly
And the sequence, as an ember
Burning so high

Causes spaces far between us
Dealing with our minds
Thinking only to talk in letters
That can only rhyme

And we follow in our blindness
And we read the daily prayer
And we walk the streets of kindness
Frozen by the stares

Of a young man who’s lost the language
Looks behind their eyes
And the thoughts of danger
Are all thoughts of surprise

Thinking only of frozen pathways
Banked by hidden lies
Follow through the twisted causeways
Of the empty skies

And we follow in our blindness
And we read the daily prayer
And we walk the streets of kindness
Frozen by the stares

And we follow in our blindness
And we read the daily prayer
And we walk the streets of kindness
Frozen by the stares

The National Gallery - Diana in the Autumn Wind (1968)

Chuck Mangione and Ray Karshner got together in 1967 and released one single under the name Bhagavad-Gita, named after Hindu scriptures. The single was two versions of the same song, “Long Hair Soulful,” featuring one with lyrics and one which was purely instrumental. When the single failed to chart, they gathered studio musicians together to form this band and made one full-length album. Karshner didn’t join the band as a member, but he was responsible for the producing, arranging, and co-writing all of the lyrics (with one song being entirely his). Mangione, on the other hand, joined as a member of the band, playing trumpet, piano, horn, etc., as well as co-writing nine out of the band’s ten songs with Karshner. The other members of the band, all session musicians and singers, were never listed on the group’s sole album, and are therefore anonymous to me. After the band’s album failed to make virtually any impact, the group of session musicians was dissolved. Mangione would go on to great success in the ‘70s, with his most popular song, “Feels So Good,” arriving in 1977.

The National Gallery’s only album was titled Performing Musical Interpretations of the Paintings of Paul Klee. And that’s exactly what the album was. Each track on the album was named after a painting done by the abstract artist known as Paul Klee. Klee, who was of German ancestry but born and raised in Switzerland, had been born in 1879 and passed away in 1940, long before the creation of this 1968 album. The painting, seen above, that the song below was based on was titled Diana in the Autumn Wind. The lyrics and music were interpreted from the painting by Ray Karshner and Chuck Mangione and the resulting track appeared as the second song on The National Gallery’s album. As was the case with Mangione and Karshner's previous collaboration, this song too made no impact on any charts.



The National Gallery - Diana in the Autumn Wind (1968)

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Lyrics:

The leaf that’s green in summer
Will die and fall to ground
The fresh bouquet of yesterday
Today is ugly brown

The happiness of springtime
Is sadness in the fall
The autumn haze makes yesterdays
Much harder to recall

Diana in the autumn wind
Goodbye, goodbye my lover
Diana in the autumn wind
Goodbye my springtime lover
Diana in the autumn wind
Goodbye, goodbye forever

The theater of August
Is silent in the snow
The clown that played the masquerade
Has come to close the show

Diana in the autumn wind
Goodbye, goodbye my lover
Diana in the autumn wind
Goodbye my springtime lover
Diana in the autumn wind
Goodbye, goodbye forever

The Magic Mixture - It's Alright By Me (1968)

This band, originally called Maton’s Magic Mixture, was formed in 1968 in London. It was composed of Jim “Terry” Thomas, Stan Curtis, Melvyn Hacker, and Jack Collins (“Jack McCulloch”). Hacker had gotten Thomas into music, and they’re probably the co-founders of this particular band. The band was offered to make their first record on the low-budget label Saga Records in 1968. Although they accepted, they were disappointed to find out that they had signed all of their rights away to the music the moment they got paid for it. And they were only paid one hundred fifty pounds each. The album, titled This is the Magic Mixture, would be the group’s first and last album. They played a few live shows, but when their lead singer Jim Thomas quit, the band folded behind him.

Jim Thomas would soon start calling himself Terry Thomas and create the British rock band Charlie in 1971, as well as produce and write songs for Bad Company and Foreigner in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Jack Collins would go on to perform with The Five Day Week Straw People, which eventually evolved into Andromeda.

This song, the opening track to the second side of This is the Magic Mixture, was written by band member Jim Thomas (as were all of the other songs on the album). Unfortunately, because Saga Records decided against putting any money behind producing the album, this song and all the others slipped into instant obscurity. It took years before the album was ever released in the United States, but failed to make an impact there, as well.



The Magic Mixture - It's Alright By Me (1968)

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Lyrics:

You say you seek the brightness of another kind of life
You must leave the drabness behind
‘cause life is so boring; it’s tiring and dull
And there’s so much more you must find

Well that’s alright by me
Yes, it’s alright by me
You know it’s alright by me

You seek the colors of the rainbow
And the pastel shades of night
And you’re troubled to define just this
You want to let the grass caress you
As the night wind sweeps along
Then to feel the cool ray’s kiss

Well that’s alright by me
Yes, it’s alright by me
Oh, it’s alright by me

Can you imagine life with no pain?
A barring existence
A sun with no rain

Well that’s alright by me
Yes, it’s alright by me
Yes, it’s alright by me

Can you imagine life with no pain?
A barring existence
A sun with no rain

So, go if you want to and leave all behind
Your friends, your home, and yourself
But don’t forget reality is always on your side
And to come back when you find yourself

Well it’s alright by me
Yes, it’s alright by me
Oh, it’s alright by me

Chamaeleon Church - Spring This Year (1968)

When the Boston-based band called the Lost broke up in 1967, their singer/guitarist Ted Myers met Tony Schueren through some friends he had in the Ultimate Spinach band. Beginning to work together, they recruited another ex-Lost member, Kyle Garrahan, to play bass. Myers, who was still under contract to a New York City producer named Alan Lorber, met Chevy Chase while recording in New York. Chase was added to the band’s lineup as their drummer, and Alan Lorber agreed to produce them. They called themselves Chamaeleon Church (sometimes spelled Chamæleon Church) and would on release one album, self-titled, on the MGM label. The band was short-lived, however, and they broke up in 1969, having never made any sort of commercial success. The band’s biggest association with fame would be that their drummer, Chevy Chase, would go on to be an international star as an actor, comedian, and original cast member of Saturday Night Live.

Released on the band’s only album, Chamaeleon Church, in 1968, this song was written by the band’s Ted Myers. It’s the only track on the album where you can hear Chevy Chase’s voice. Chase is heard in the background, emulating the voice of a circus barker.



Chamaeleon Church - Spring This Year (1968)

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Lyrics:

Spring this year
Has put my dreams behind me
Nothing to know now
And no place to go now

Like a fool
I let my pride overrule me
Windows I sit by and
Watch the spring slip by now

When you’re looking for something
That you know has no meaning
And you don’t want to find it
‘cause it might bring you down
So you go in a circle
With no end or beginning
If you’re seeking perfection
It’s the wrong way around

Spring this year
Is filled with false guarantees here
Flowers may sprout now
But I’m still left out now

Spring, I fear
Has made me look kind of foolish
Just goes to show me
How terribly lonely I am

When you’re looking for something
That you know has no meaning
And you don’t want to find it
‘cause it might bring you down
So you go in a circle
With no end or beginning
If you’re seeking perfection
It’s the wrong way around

Spring is here
But I can hardly feel it
I see the sunlight
But my heart is air-tight

I could spend the days out somewhere tripping
But why look for love when it will just hang me out again?

Boyce and Hart - I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight (1968)

In the late '50s, Tommy Boyce (born Sidney Thomas Boyce, 1939) was rejected numerous times when trying to start a career as a singer in Los Angeles. Thinking he maybe ought to focus his talents elsewhere, he took the advice of his father and decided to focus on his songwriting. He wrote a song called “Be My Guest” and waited in a hotel for six hours waiting to give it to the man staying there, Fats Domino. He was able to persuade Domino to promise to give the song a listen, and Domino liked it enough to record it in October 1959. With his foot in the door, Boyce eventually met Bobby Hart (born Robert Luke Harshman, 1939) in 1959. The duo began writing songs together and finally got their break in 1964, writing “Lazy Elsie Molly” for Chubby Checker. Developing a bit of a reputation, the duo would go on to write successful songs for Jay and the Americans (“Come a Little Bit Closer”), Paul Revere and the Raiders (“(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone”), The Leaves (“Words”), and The Monkees (“(Theme from) The Monkees,” “Last Train to Clarksville,” and many others).

The duo was responsible for most of The Monkees’ earliest songs, often being the musicians heard playing on their earliest albums. While Boyce and Hart were using studio time to create Monkees songs, they were also working on songs to build their own career. The song heard below was written by Boyce and Hart, produced by Boyce and Hart, and featured vocals from both of them. It was recorded in 1968, released as a single, and was later featured on the duo’s second album, I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonite?. The song reached number seven on the Cash Box charts and number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. It was by no means the most popular song they wrote, but it was the most popular song they released under their own name.



Boyce and Hart - I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight (1968)

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Lyrics:

If I had told her that I loved her
She would have stayed ‘til who knows when
But I guess she couldn't understand it
When I said, “I want to be your friend”
Because a friend would never doubt you
Or ever put you uptight
And now I wonder
What she's doing tonight

Oh yes, I wonder
What she's doing tonight
Oh, I wonder what she's doing tonight

We were so close, but we should've been closer
And it's making me feel so sad
But I tell myself I didn't lose her
Because you can't lose a friend you never had
(Come on now)
Because a friend won't say it's over
And go out just for spite
And now I wonder
What she's doing tonight

Oh yes, I wonder
What she's doing tonight
Oh, I wonder what she's doing tonight

(Alright, Bobby, let's go)

Because a friend will always be there
If you're wrong or if you're right
And now I wonder
What she's doing tonight

Oh yes, I wonder
What she's doing tonight
Oh, I wonder what she's doing tonight

Tonight
Tonight