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

Pink Floyd - Ibiza Bar (1969)

As far as Pink Floyd’s discography goes, there may not have been a more diverse effort than their third studio album, More. Released in 1969, More was a soundtrack for the eponymous movie released that same year. The soundtrack, composed entirely by Pink Floyd, ranged from acoustic folk songs to heavy grunge and psychedelia. And because it was meant to be played over the film, more than half of its tracks were instrumentals. More was the first album to be released by the band without their original front-man Syd Barrett. As such, the album is often viewed as the birth of what would later become the iconic Pink Floyd style and sound.

Written by Roger Waters, the song below is primarily known as being the ninth track on the More album. However, before the More album was released in June 1969, the song was first released as the B-Side to a March 1969 single, backing Floyd’s other hard rocker, “The Nile Song,” as its A-Side.



Pink Floyd - Ibiza Bar (1969)

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Lyrics:

I'm so afraid of mistakes that I've made
Shaking every time that I awake
I feel like a cardboard cut-out man
So build me a time
When the characters rhyme
And the storyline is kind

I've aged and aged since the first page
I've lived every line that you wrote
Take me down, take me down
From the shelf above your head
And build me a time
When the characters rhyme
And the storyline is kind

I live where I'm left
On the shelf like the rest
And the epilogue reads like a sad song
Please, pick up your camera
And use me again
And build me a time
When the characters rhyme
And the storyline is kind

Yeah!

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

The Hollies - Maker (1967)

The Butterfly album by The Hollies was the last album to feature Graham Nash as a member of the group. For some time, there was a growing divide between Nash and the other members of the band regarding the musical direction of the group. Nash, as he recounts in his autobiography Wild Tales, wanted to take the band in a more political and “enlightened” direction by writing lyrics that alluded to drug use, sex, and the issues he saw in the world around him. Conversely, his fellow bandmates (lead by Nash’s best friend growing up, Allan Clarke) wanted to keep the formula they had been successfully using: happy-go-lucky pop music. The straw that broke the camel’s back came when Nash learned that the group wanted their next album to be entirely made up of covers of Bob Dylan songs. (This would later be released, without Nash, as Hollies Sing Dylan and was disliked by fans and critics alike.)

The song heard below was written and composed entirely by Graham Nash. It was featured as the third track on the Butterfly album, released in November 1967, which coincidentally featured more tracks written and sang by Nash than any Hollies album had yet. In the United States, Butterfly was released under the title Dear Eloise / King Midas in Reverse. On that version of the album, the track below was found on the flip side as the tenth overall song.



The Hollies - Maker (1967)

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Lyrics:

Days of yellow saffron.
Nights with purple skies
Melting in the sunbeams
From my maker's eyes

Mountain-colored lilac
In the distant haze
I would like to lie here
Timing all my days

Move past my window
Sunshine is shimmering
Jack-o-lanterns glimmering
Giant moths are flickering around

See, the moon is hiding
Underneath the sea
Pretty soon he'll venture
To take a look at me

So I humbly stand here
Beneath his golden glow
Doesn't he remind me
Of somebody I know?

I must be leaving
Back to reality
Don't you just pity me?
I could so easily stay here

Andwella's Dream - Shades of Grey (1969)

At the age of sixteen, Dave Lewis joined his first band, known as Method, in his native home of Northern Ireland. After the band relocated to London the following year, 1968, they renamed themselves to what you see above.

By 1969, the group had released their first album, Love and Poetry, with all of its source material having been written and arranged by Lewis before the age of eighteen. The album featured Lewis on vocals, guitar, and keyboards, Nigel Smith on bass and vocals, and Gordon Barton on drums. Although the album failed to be commercially successful, it has since garnered more popularity and praise.

By 1970, the group had once again renamed themselves (this time, to just Andwella), and Lewis, remaining a member, simultaneously began a solo career. Andwella went on to release two more albums, and Lewis himself continued as a singer-songwriter, opening for such notable acts as Don McLean and Fairport Convention.

To hear another wonderful track from Love and Poetry, be sure to check out our previous post Andwella's Dream - Man Without a Name (1969).



Andwella's Dream - Shades of Grey (1969)

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Lyrics:

I used to play a game that stayed the same
When grey was grey every day
I used to sleep alone in a place called home
I used to own a car

Then I went away one sunny day
Now I see blue instead of grey
And I think of things in a better way
‘cause grey is not grey

And I have many friends
Who are proud to spend their days with me
And we sing life's song under the morning sun
Grey is never grey

And I play the game as best I can
Where every man equals any man
And I think of things in a better way
‘cause grey is not grey

I used to play a game that stayed the same
When grey was grey every day
I used to sleep alone in a place called home
Used to own a car

Then I went away one sunny day
Now I see blue instead of grey
And I live my life in a better way
‘cause grey is not grey

Country Joe and the Fish - Who Am I (1967)

In mid-1965, the publisher of the magazine Et Tu Brute, Country Joe McDonald, wanted to make a “talking issue” of his political, underground magazine. He recruited the talents of four other musicians, including Barry “The Fish” Melton, who had previously been in The Instant Jug Band with McDonald. Together, the outfit self-produced one-hundred copies of Talking Issue #1. It became popular enough that the duo of McDonald and Melton was able to pick up gigs performing it live at the ubiquitous coffee houses found throughout Berkeley, California.

By 1966, the duo expanded to a six-piece ensemble, relocated to San Francisco, and self-produced their second EP, the psychedelic Country Joe and the Fish, to great local acclaim. By December 1966, the group’s popularity had grown so vast, that they were signed to Vanguard Records, who they wound up releasing five albums for through 1970 (and one more album, Reunion, with Fantasy Records in 1977).

Alongside some of their San Francisco contemporaries, Country Joe and the Fish were at the forefront of the 1960s “hippie” ideologies: encouraging free-love, promoting the responsible use of LSD, and connecting your mind and spirit to nature.

The song heard below was first seen on I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die, the band’s second album for Vanguard, released in 1967. It was also re-released as the A-Side of a single in 1968, backed with “Thursday.” Written by Country Joe McDonald, the song is a poignant, existential outpouring of McDonald’s thoughts at the time it was written, presumably sometime in early 1967.



Country Joe and the Fish - Who Am I (1967)

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Lyrics:

Who am I
To stand and wonder- to wait
While the wheels of fate
Slowly grind my life away?
Who am I?

There were some things that I loved one time
But the dreams are gone I thought were mine
And the hidden tears that once could fall
Now burn inside at the thought of all
The years of waste, the years of crime
Passions of a heart so blind
To think that, but even still
As I stand exposed, the feelings are felt
And I cry into the echo of my loneliness

Who am I
To stand and wonder- to wait
While the wheels of fate
Slowly grind my life away?
Who am I?

What a nothing I've made of life
The empty words, the coward's plight
To be pushed and passed from hand to hand
Never daring to speak, never daring to stand
And the emptiness of my family's eyes
Reminds me over and over of lies
And promises and deeds undone
And now, again, I want to run
But now there is nowhere to run to

Who am I
To stand and wonder- to wait
While the wheels of fate
Slowly grind my life away?
Who am I?

And now, my friend, we meet again
And we shall see which one will bend
Under the strain of Death's golden eyes
Which one of us shall win the prize
To live and which one will die
'tis I, my friend, yes 'tis I
Shall kill to live again and again
To clutch the throat of sweet revenge
For life is here only for the taking

Who am I
To stand and wonder- to wait
While the wheels of fate
Slowly grind my life away?
Who am I?

Who am I?

The Syn - 14 Hour Technicolour Dream (1967)

This English band was formed in 1965 by Steve Nardelli and John Painter from a band called High Court, as well as Chris Squire, Andrew Jackman, and Martyn Adelman from a band called The Selfs. The band primarily performed R&B covers but, like nearly everyone, transitioned into playing psychedelic-sounding songs in late 1966.

Notably, the group opened for Jimi Hendrix in 1967 when Hendrix performed at the Marquee Club in London that year. If you recall, that was the same performance that featured the members of The Beatles in attendance and introduced Hendrix to the world. Needless to say, The Syn were nervous about performing before such musical icons; and, after Hendrix’s legendary set, they must have been glad that they went on before him rather than after.

The group disbanded later in 1967. Both Chris Squire and Peter Banks (who replaced John Painter) went on to form Mabel Greer’s Toyshop, which was eventually renamed Yes.

The song below was recorded and released during the band’s psychedelic period in 1967. Written by Steve Nardelli and Andrew Jackman, the song was the B-Side of their second single that year and featured the A-Side “Flowerman.”



The Syn - 14 Hour Technicolour Dream (1967)

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Lyrics:

(Dream, dream)
Dreaming
(Dream, dream)
Dreaming

Reality is getting you down
Just can't seem to get your feet off the ground
Could it be that you're caught up in a gravitational pull?
Is it society making you out to be a fool?

Forget it, child, you can become a freak
The prettiest girl that the world has ever seen
At the fourteen hour Technicolor
Fourteen hour Technicolor dream

Shades of orange and shades of green
Shades of purple, yellow, and tangerine
Shades of blue, black, and even cream
It's a fourteen hour Technicolor dream

You got your freedom, do what you like
Shoot yourself, root yourself
That'll be alright
At the fourteen hour Technicolor
Fourteen hour Technicolor dream

(Fourteen hour Technicolor)
Dream
(Fourteen hour Technicolor)
Dream
(Fourteen hour Technicolor)
Dream
(Fourteen hour Technicolor)
(Fourteen hour Technicolor)
(Fourteen hour Technicolor)
Dream

Fourteen hour Technicolor dream, yeah
And it's groovy
‘cause they're showin' movies
Yes, they are
And everybody's gonna be there, yeah
Suzy Creamcheese gonna be there, yeah
Yes, and I said a’have a Havana
And smoke a banana if you want to
I said, I said do what you want to

(Dream, dream)
Dreaming
(Dream, dream)
Dreaming

The Searchers - Popcorn, Double Feature (1967)

The Searchers’ drummer since 1960, Chris Curtis, had convinced the band to record a cover of Bobby Darin’s “When I Come Home.” Curtis was the band’s chief songwriter, song selector, a figurehead member, often the band's main public relations representative, and the only member who could sing the high harmonies. Unfortunately for Curtis (and the band), their 1966 release of “When I Come Home” didn’t do as well on the charts as they were used to, and the band indirectly laid the blame on Curtis’s song choice. Consequently, some internal strife came about between Curtis and the other members, ending with Curtis leaving the band in April 1966 after the end of an Australian tour. Notably, Curtis would go on to form the band Roundabout, which eventually evolved into Deep Purple.

With Curtis’s departure, a man by the name of John Blunt became the group’s new drummer. This latest incarnation of the band- which now consisted of Frank Allen (lead vocals, bass), John McNally (guitar, backing vocals), Mike Pender (lead vocals, guitar), and now John Blunt- was responsible for the song heard below.

Don’t forget to check out the exclusive story we received from Frank Allen!

The song heard below was composed by the acclaimed duo of Larry Weiss and Scott English, who would later be individually renowned for writing “Rhinestone Cowboy” for Glen Campbell and “Mandy” for Barry Manilow, respectively. It was first recorded and released by Time Wilde on Tower Records, to very little acclaim. The Searchers’ version of the song was released in January 1967, backed with the B-Side “Lovers,” on the Pye label.



The Searchers - Popcorn, Double Feature (1967)

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Lyrics:

Everybody’s goin’ through changes
Everybody’s got a bag of his own
Everybody’s talkin’ about places
Can only be found in the greater unknown

People are flyin’
And babies are cryin’
Don’t nobody care at all
There’s love and there’s laughter
And good things come after
Just follow the bouncing ball

Popcorn, double feature
Whole world’s a funny farm
Blind man is your teacher
No need to be alarmed

Music’s coming out of the woodwork
Soundin’ so strange and nobody sleeps
Met a little man on the corner
He’s holdin’ a flag and makin’ a speech

Coffee each mornin’
“Don’t Park” is the warnin’
They tow your machine away
There’s so much confusion
That’s built on illusion
What’s making the music play?

Popcorn, double feature
Whole world’s a funny farm
Blind man is your teacher
No need to be alarmed
Not much

Coffee each mornin’
“Don’t Park” is the warnin’
They’ll tow your machine away
There’s so much confusion
That’s built on illusion
What’s making the music play?

Popcorn, double feature
Whole world’s a funny farm
Blind man is your teacher
No need to be alarmed
Not much

Popcorn, double feature
Whole world’s a funny farm
Blind man is your teacher…

Hawkwind - Hurry On Sundown (1970)

This English band was one of the first to billed as “space rock.” And although the band is remembered as one of rock’s earliest “space rock” groups, they also encompassed elements of hard rock, heavy metal, progressive rock, and psychedelic rock throughout their forty-seven years (and counting) career.

Formed in November 1969, the band was spotlighted by their lead singer, primary songwriter, and guitarist Dave Brock. Throughout the band’s history, there have been over forty members of the group, including notable names like Lemmy (who would later form Motörhead), Ginger Baker (of Cream, Blind Faith, etc.), and even Arthur Brown (of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown) for a few years in the early 2000s.

The song heard below is the very first track of the band’s very first album, eponymously titled Hawkwind and released in August of 1970. The song was written by Dave Brock and produced by a founding member of The Pretty Things, Dick Taylor.



Hawkwind - Hurry On Sundown (1970)

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Lyrics:

Well, hurry on sundown
See what tomorrow brings
Hurry on sundown
See what tomorrow brings

Well, it may bring war
Any old thing
Look into your mind’s eye
See what you can see
Look into your mind’s eye
See what you can see
There’s hundreds of people
Like you and me

Oh, hurry on sundown
Hurry on sundown
Oh, hurry on sundown
Hurry on sundown

Well, hurry on sundown
See what tomorrow brings
Hurry on sundown
See what tomorrow brings

Well, it may bring war
Any old thing
Look into your mind’s eye
See what you can see
Look into your mind’s eye
See what you can see
There’s hundreds of people
Like you and me

Oh, hurry on sundown
Hurry on sundown
Oh, hurry on sundown
Hurry on sundown

Dantalian's Chariot - Coffee Song (1968)

As mentioned previously, Zoot Money was a vocalist and keyboardist who attempted to make a name for himself in the world of jazz, soul, and R&B since 1961 with his backing band the Big Roll Band. Not reaching the success he aimed for, Zoot decided to split the group up in 1967 and try a more psychedelic approach, with some of the same members, since his previously preferred styles were falling out of fashion.

Together with Andy Summers (later of The Police), Zoot Money assembled this band, Dantalian’s Chariot. The name of the band was suggested by the band’s publicist, Jim Ramble, who was inspired from by The Lesser Key of Solomon, a medieval book about witchcraft, with Dantalion being a powerful Great Duke from hell.

The band released their first single, “Madman Running Through the Fields,” with the idea of creating a full-length album to encompass it after its release. Unfortunately, before the album could be finished, their label decided to drop them, not approving of their new psychedelic sound. Soon after, in April 1968, the group disbanded.

It wasn’t until 1996 that the unfinished album saw the light of day, when it was released by Wooden Hill. Although the album couldn’t be released exactly as it may have been in 1967/1968, the effort was made to have the album keep its originally intended psychedelic nature. The song below, written by Ray Smith and Tony Colton, was one of the lost tracks, buried for nearly thirty years.



Dantalian's Chariot - Coffee Song (1968)

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Lyrics:

There’s a full-time reservation
Made in the bar at the railroad station
And there’s a story, a kind of fable
On a card at the corner table

On it is a message, been there sometime
It starts off “The coffee tasted so fine”
It says, “One day this may find you
These few words may just remind you
We sat here together just to pass time
And you said how the coffee tasted so fine”

It goes on to say, “I love you
If you should find this, I must hear from you”
It gives a number, but the name has faded away
All that is left are just the words, “Maybe someday”

Well that’s the story and the fable
Never leave alone from a corner table

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

The Masters Apprentices - Wars or Hands of Time (1966)

This band was originally formed in 1964 under the name The Mustangs in Adelaide, Australia. Starting out as a surf outfit, the group transitioned into beat music after experiencing The Beatles’ June 1964 tour of Australia. Although members of the band would often be rotated out, the group managed to achieve immense popularity throughout Australia, making television appearances and regularly selling out concerts in neighboring cities. In late ’65, the band decided to rename themselves to “The Masters Apprentices” (sic), claiming to be the apprentices of legends such as Robert Johnson, Bo Diddley, and Chuck Berry.

By 1966, the band was offered a chance at a record deal with Astor Records, provided that they submitted a four-track demo. Only have three songs, members Mick Bower and Rick Morrison wrote the track “Undecided” in fifteen minutes. With another fifteen minutes, the track was recorded and finalized, meeting the requirements of a demo put forth by Astor.

By August 1966, the band had made their way to beat-burgeoning Melbourne in an effort to expand their musical reach. It was a few months later in October that they released their first single, featuring “Undecided” as the A-Side and “Wars or Hands of Time,” the song heard below, on its reverse. Thanks to local support from radio DJs, the single became a huge success in the coming months of 1967.

Written by the band’s Mick Bower, “Wars or Hands of Time” was the first anti-Vietnam song released in Australia. It was inspired by the fact that Australia had recently begun drafting young males for the Vietnam conflict in 1965. Since its release, the song has become an Australian classic and sold well worldwide.



The Masters Apprentices - Wars or Hands of Time (1966)

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Lyrics:

Though I have to go, I will be thinking of you
When I'm far away, try to remember what I said
The day I live, I’ll still be dreaming of your love

Wait for the clouds to pass your way
Wait for me; I'll be back some day

At dusk we said goodbye; you said you'd try hard not to cry
But I could feel a chill fall lonely on my shoulder
In the wind on the beach where someday I'll return

Wait for the clouds to pass your way
Wait for me; I'll be back some day

Wars or hands of time will not destroy our dreams of days
That are to come; our tears were shed with understanding
Don't be sad, I'll catch the wind on home to you

Wait for the clouds to pass your way
Wait for me; I'll be back some day

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

KAK - Lemonaide Kid (1968)

In 1966, high school students Gary Lee Yoder and Dehner Patten were first introduced to one another when Patten replaced Bob Daigl in Yoder’s band, The Hideaways. In that same year, The Hideaways had dissolved and Yoder and Patten started a new band, The Oxford Circle. Although The Oxford Circle was primarily based in Davis, California, they managed to travel all around northern California for live shows. They even made it to San Francisco, where they opened for acts such as the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Janis Joplin.

When The Oxford Circle disbanded in late 1967/early 1968, it was the father of Yoder’s writing partner, Gary Grelecki, who gave Yoder and Patten their next big shot. Working for CBS, Grelecki’s father persuaded the boys to record a demo with their new bandmates Joseph David Damrell (bass) and Chris Lockheed (drums). With that new demo and a single by The Oxford Circle, Grelecki’s father had enough material to persuade his connections to get the boys signed to Epic Records. They called themselves KAK and relocated to San Francisco.

Together as KAK, Gary Lee Yoder, Dehner Patten, Joseph David Damrell, and Chris Lockheed only recorded one album. It was recorded in Los Angeles at CBS Studio over the span of two days. Although a few low-level partitions were used, the album was primarily recorded like a live album, with little to no overdubs being involved. The album, self-titled, was released in 1968 and sold poorly. A large reason for the lack of sales was the reluctance of the record label to promote the album or even the band itself. Besides two half-page ads in Rolling Stone magazine, the band had been given virtually no promotion.

With no manager to guide them, the members of KAK weren’t sure what steps to take after the release of their album. They performed about a half dozen more shows, all booked by themselves, and then disbanded.

After the split, Patten and Lockheed would go on to perform in a band called Cherry Jam, amongst many others, until Patten settled down in Oregon where he still lives today. Yoder released a solo album for Epic before joining Blue Cheer, with which he remained from 1969 to 1972. All members continue to play, separately, to this day.

The song heard below was the last track on the band's only album, released in 1968.



KAK - Lemonaide Kid (1968)

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Lyrics:

Life’s road is not clear to me
No, the mapwork has not been laid
I thought I’d take a little detour
And go sit in the shade
Well, I got to take it easy, babe
I better watch out what I do
I saw the lemonade kid on the peppermint sticks
He had a mind-blowing kitty
He said he’d set it aside for you

Lemonade and I went walking
We met a man down the path
He said he was Donk, the feast-giver
Ooh, this can’t last
Oh, no- yes it can
Due to the kid’s luck
You know the feast was good
Well, we drank our fill and we ate until
The sun went down and the moon stood still

Here’s the road again
Oh, no, we can’t be sold
Just when things were getting good
The kid had to go
“Well, I’ll see you later”
“I hope you can make it back again someday”
“Got a lot more tricks to show you”
“And I’ve got a lot more places where we can play”

Life is just a play
And the world is its theater
Do you want to have a bit part
Or do you want to be a leader?
You’ve got to think for yourself
Don’t want to put any notions in your head
‘cause the only one that counts is watchings inside ya
And the way you act, he might as well be dead

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

Group 1850 - Mother No-Head (1967)

In November 1964, Hugo Gordijn went to the basement of a bowling alley in Scheveningen, in The Hague, in the Netherlands to see a band called The Klits. Led by Peter Sjardin, the Dutch band hired Gordijn to be their manager. On New Year’s Day in 1966, the band renamed themselves Groep 1850, or, “Group 1850” if you prefer it in English. They consisted of Peter Sjardin on vocals, flute, and organ; Daniel van Bergen on guitar and piano; Ruud van Buuren and Rob de Rijke on bass; and Beer Klaasse on drums.

The band released six singles and two full-length albums in what remained of the 1960s, sans a year-long break-up beginning somewhere in 1968. They didn’t get a ton of exposure and predominately remained a “garage” type band, so it’s presumable that a career highlight for them may have been getting to open for The Mothers of Invention in September 1967 at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.

Written by Hans van Hemert and Peter Sjardin, this song was the A-Side of a single released by the band in late December 1967. Like the rest of the world, the band was heavily into psychedelic rock and fell into the more “acid” rock genre of the period. They sounded a bit like the earlier Pink Floyd, even featuring some progressive rock aspects which were far ahead of their time.



Group 1850 - Mother No-Head (1967)

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Lyrics:

Who is crying?
Who is dying?
She is mad
She is sad
It is Mother No-Head
It is Mother No-Head
She is dead
She is dead

Who is crying?
Who is dying?
She is mad
She is sad today
It is Mother No-Head
It is Mother No-Head
But she is dead
She is dead
Yes

Who is crying?
Who is dying?
She is mad and
She is sad today
It is Mother No-Head
It is Mother No-Head
She is dead
She is dead today

She is dead today
She is dead today…

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

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