{"key":"26663","name":"The Electric Prunes","bio":"The Electric Prunes are a psychedelic rock band which formed in 1965 in Los Angeles and are best known for two US Top 40 hits from 1966 - \"I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)\" (#11) and \"Get Me To The World On Time\" (#27) - and the song \"Kyrie Eleison\" from their 1968 album \"Mass in F Minor\" which also appears in the 1969 \"Easy Rider\". The band broke up 1970 but would reunite in 2001. The band's best known lineup consists of Jim Lowe (vocals), Mark Tulin (bass), James Spagnola (guitar), Ken Williams (guitar) and Preston Ritter (drums).The Electric Prunes are a rock band who first achieved international attention as an experimental psychedelic group in the late 1960s, and contributed one track to the soundtrack of Easy Rider. After a period in which they had little control over their music, they disappeared for a period of 30 years, reforming as a recording and touring band in 2001.HistoryOriginsThe group started in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, though during the group's long disbandment, rumors circulated that they were from Seattle, probably because their records were very popular in that city. The first members, Ken Williams (guitar), James Lowe (lead vocal), Michael Weakley (drums) and Mark Tulin (bass) called themselves The Sanctions, and later, Jim and the Lords. Soon, Dick Hargrave joined on organ, but shortly thereafter left to pursue graphic arts. Their lineup changed many times, including one lineup with Kenny Loggins.Lowe, Tulin, Williams and Weakley were introduced to David Hassinger, then resident engineer at RCA studios, who arranged for them to record some demos at Leon Russell's home recording facility (which he called Sky Hill Studios). Hassinger also suggested they needed a new name. In response, the band produced a long list of suggestions, with The Electric Prunes last as a joke. Somehow it stuck.A single Ain't It Hard\/Little Oliver (the A side a cover, the B side original) was released from these sessions, and flopped.Early successThe Prunes' next single, I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) (1966), was chosen from material Hassinger sourced from the established songwriting team of Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz. It remains their highest charting success, reaching 11 in the USA and 49 in the UK. Personnel included Jim Lowe on vocals, James \"Weasel\" Spagnola and Ken Williams on guitar, Mark Tulin on bass and Preston Ritter on drums. This is regarded by many as the classic Prunes lineup.Their third single, Get Me to the World on Time, was also successful but less so, peaking at 27 in the USA and 42 in the UK. However both their first album, The Electric Prunes: I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) (1967) and consisting mainly of Tucker\/Mantz material, and the followup Underground (1967) which featured mainly original Prunes material, charted in the lower reaches of the Billboard charts.By the time Underground was complete, there had been several more personnel changes. Original drummer Weakley returned to replace Ritter, and Spagnola was replaced on guitar by Mike Gannon, who appears on only two songs. Their fourth single Everybody Knows You're Not In Love appears on this album.The Axelrod periodThe Prunes' third album, Mass in F Minor (1968), was a psychedelicized setting of the Mass written and produced by David Axelrod, and somewhat of an underground favorite. Kyrie Eleison from this record was used to back the Mardi Gras drug trip scene in Easy Rider. The band reportedly broke up during the recording, and Axelrod completed the album using Canadian band The Collectors and session musicians. There was a planned tour to follow the album release, which was cancelled after one disastrous show at which it was obvious that the Prunes couldn't play the music, some of which they had seen for the first time only days previously.This was followed by Release of An Oath (1968), another religious-themed Axelrod work this time combining Jewish and Christian liturgy. It was produced by Axelrod using top session musicians for all instruments, backing the Prunes vocal work.\"the new improved Electric Prunes\"To add to the indignities heaped upon the original band members, the following album Just Good Old Rock and Roll (1969) was recorded by another, completely different group of musicians, originally from Colorado, who were assigned the Prunes' name, which was not legally owned by Hassinger (according to James Lowe in a recent interview). The album cover read the new improved Electric Prunes. This band toured and also released a single on Reprise Records in 1969, but had totally dissolved by 1970.Reissues and reformationThrough the inclusion of their classic \"I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night\" on the seminal \"Nuggets\" compilation on 1960s psychedelic gems the Electric Prunes continued to reach new fans in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. That track in particular has been a regular of psychedelic bands through the decades including Australia's Prince Vlad & the Gargoyle Impalers in the early to mid 1980s. The track was covered by psychedelic punks The Damned in the 1980s, under their alter ego of Naz Nomad and the Nightmares, and was also a feature of The Damned's live set in the mid-80s.The late 1990s saw renewed interest in the Electric Prunes, with the release of Stockholm, a concert recorded by the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation while the (original) Prunes were on tour there in 1967. An early collection of recordings by The Sanctions and Jim and The Lords was also released, recovered from unplayed 35-year-old acetates.After a long period of 30 years, the original quartet of Lowe, Tulin, Williams and Weakley met in the studio to consider a revival. As a result Lowe, Tulin and Williams (the three who had played on all the early recordings) were joined by two new members including James Lowe's son to reform the band. They began touring internationally in 2001, and in 2002 released a new recording titled Artifact and a DVD album called Rewired.Continuing the momentum in 2007, the trio of Lowe, Tulin, and Williams released a new CD entitled Feedback and have also taken residence in myspace, reaching out to fans of new and old.They are now recording and touring with a new drummer, Walter Garces, who has been called the \"drum guru\" of LA.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/26663_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"39767","name":"Ultimate Spinach","bio":"Ultimate Spinach was founded in 1967 under the name of 'Underground Cinema' as the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Ian Bruce-Douglas. The same year the band changed their name to 'Ultimate Spinach' and recorded their first record for MGM, produced by the ambitious Alan Lorber. Lorber created together with MGM the marketing concept of the 'Boston Sound' (later 'Bosstown' sound) to propose (and sell) an alternative to the West-coast bands. The three Boston bands starting that \"movement\" were Ultimate Spinach, Orpheus and The Beacon Street Union. These bands, all produced by Alan Lorber, had musically not much in common and 'Ultimate Spinach' was the most interesting band to come out of this hype. Their first self-titled record, inspired by West-coast bands like The Doors and Jefferson Airplane, presented an original mixture of psychedelic rock, folk and classical music. All lyrics and music were written by leader Ian Bruce-Douglas. 'Ultimate Spinach' privileged long elaborated suites, alternating instrumental passages, poetry and multipart vocals (the voice of Barbara Hudson reminding Grace Slick and Sonja Kristina) with original arrangements, including flutes, sitar, harpsichord and the electronic Theremin instrument. The record sold well, but the band was a victim of the hype and got negative critics by the press. The second record \"Behold and See\" was released in 1968 and followed the direction of the first with tighter tracks and the same overall quality. At the end of 1968 the band was reformed with Bruce-Douglas keeping only singer Barbara Hudson, but finally he left the band prior to the recording of the third self-titled 'Ultimate Spinach' record, leaving Barbara Hudson as the only original member. The record moved away from the psychedelic sound of the first two records and consisted of mainstream rock songs. 'Ultimate Spinach' recorded some of the most original psychedelic rock records. (Martin Horst)","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/39767_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"5464","name":"Moby Grape","bio":"Moby Grape was an American roots rock and psychedelic rock group of the 1960s that was known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting, and who collectively merged elements of jazz, country, and blues together with rock. Due to the strength of their debut album, several critics consider Moby Grape to be the best rock band to emerge from the San Francisco music scene in the late sixties.The group was formed in late 1966 in San Francisco. Frontman and rhythm guitarist Skip Spence (the original drummer for the Jefferson Airplane), lead guitarist Jerry Miller and drummer Don Stevenson (both formerly of the Frantics), rhythm guitarist (and son of actress Loretta Young) Peter Lewis (of the Cornells), and bassist Bob Mosley all wrote songs for their debut album Moby Grape (1967). In a marketing stunt Columbia Records immediately released five singles at once, and the band was perceived as being over-hyped. Nonetheless, the record was critically acclaimed, and fairly successful commercially, with The Move covering its sardonic ode to hippiedom, \"Hey Grandma\". Spence's \"Omaha\" reached the lower rungs of the American singles charts in 1967, and Miller-Stevenson's \"8:05\" became a country rock standard (covered by The Grateful Dead, Robert Plant, Guy Burlage, and others). Moby Grape has today achieved the status of a highly respected rock album.In addition to the marketing backlash, band members found themselves in legal trouble for charges (later dropped) of consorting with underage females, and the band's relationship with their manager rapidly deteriorated. The second album, Wow, was a critical and commercial failure. During its recording, Spence came to the studio with an axe, intending to kill Stevenson; he was committed, and after being released from Bellevue Hospital traveled to Nashville to record his only solo album, Oar. The band released three more albums: Moby Grape '69, Truly Fine Citizen, and 20 Granite Creek. In 1972 bob mosley released his only solo album, after which he left the group. The remainder soldiered on for two decades, recording and performing to a small but devoted audience.Moby Grape was an example of a talented band who, through a combination of mismanagement and inexperience, never fully realized their potential. Along with the Flamin' Groovies, they were somewhat of an anomaly in the San Francisco rock scene; their concision and their strong roots in country music and early rock and roll seemed to work against them. In addition, perhaps because they were so versatile, their image was somewhat nebulous; as writer Robert Christgau put it, \"All they really lacked was a boss, and what could be more American than that?\"","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/5464_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"23228","name":"The Pretty Things","bio":"The Pretty Things are a 1960s and 1970s rock and roll band from London. They pioneered a raw approach to rhythm and blues (and later, psychedelia) that influenced a number of key bands of the 1960s British invasion, particularly The Rolling Stones, and David Bowie whose first hero was Phil May.Pretty Things was preceded by Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys which consisted of Dick Taylor, fellow Sidcup Art College student Keith Richards and Mick Jagger. When Brian Jones joined Little Boy Blue and the Blues Boys as guitarist, Taylor was pushed from playing guitar to bass and the Rolling Stones were formed.Several months later Dick Taylor (born Richard Clifford Taylor, 28 January 1943, in Dartford, Kent) quit the newly formed Rolling Stones to pursue his schooling when he was accepted at London Central School of Art, where he met up with Phil May (born Phillip Arthur Dennis Kattner, on 9 November 1944, in Dartford, Kent) and they formed Pretty Things.Taylor was once again playing his preferred guitar with May singing and playing harmonica. They recruited Brian Pendleton (born 13 April 1944 in Wolverhampton\u2013died 16 May 2001 in Maidstone, Kent) on rhythm guitar; John Stax (born John Edward Lee Fullegar, 6 April 1944 in Crayford, Kent) on bass; and, after trying a couple of different drummers, including Pete Kitley and Viv Andrews, stuck with Viv Prince (born Vivian St John Prince, 9 August 1944, in Loughborough, Leices).Early careerThey caused a sensation in England, and their first three singles \u2014 \"Rosalyn\" #41, \"Don't Bring Me Down\" #10, and the self-penned \"Honey I Need\" at #13 \u2014 appeared in the UK singles chart in 1964-1965. They never had a hit in the United States, but had considerable success in their native United Kingdom and in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and the Netherlands in the middle of the decade. However, in the U.S. they, along with The Yardbirds and Van Morrison's Them, were a huge influence on hundreds of garage bands, including the MC5 and The Seeds.Their early material was hard-edged blues-rock influenced by Bo Diddley (they took their name from Diddley's 1955 song \"Pretty Thing\" in humorous contrast to their unkempt long-haired appearance) and Jimmy Reed, much like that of their contemporaries The Stones and The Yardbirds. They were known for wild \"rock and roll\" behaviour and shocking the establishment; their song \"Midnight to Six Man\" defined the mod lifestyle. Around this time, the first of what would be many personnel changes over the years also began, with Prince the first to go late in 1965. He was replaced by Skip Alan. Pendleton left late in 1966, and was not initially replaced. Then, Stax quit early in 1967 and Jon Povey and Wally Waller joined to make the band a five piece once again.After an uncomfortable flirtation with mainstream pop on the Emotions album in 1967, they embraced psychedelia, producing the groundbreaking concept album S.F. Sorrow during 1967-68. This album, released in late 1968, is arguably one of the first rock operas, preceding The Who's Tommy by about a year. It was recorded in the legendary Abbey Road Studios six months after The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Pink Floyd's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Each album shares a similar forward-thinking late-1960s psychedelic sound (as well as sharing the same record producer, Norman Smith, as the Floyd). S.F. Sorrow was followed by the highly-acclaimed record album Parachute, which continued the psychedelic sound and was named \"Album of the Year\" in 1970 by Rolling Stone Magazine. During this period they also recorded an album for a young French millionaire, Philippe DeBarge, which was intended only to be circulated among the man's social circle. The acetate has since been bootlegged.Later careerFrom this point on, the group enjoyed less in the way of commercial success, but the devotion of a strong cult following, especially with critics and other rock musicians. Their material in the early 1970s tended towards more the hard rock and early heavy metal end of the spectrum, although still blues-based, on albums like Silk Torpedo. 1980's Cross Talk saw them incorporating influences of punk and New Wave into their hard rock sound; like most of their records, it was an artistic but not a commercial success.With a new manager, Mark St John, they gigged sporadically during the 1980s. By the end of the decade their profile had almost disappeared, when founder members Phil May and Dick Taylor reformed the band for a successful European blues tour in late 1990 with Stan Webb's Chicken Shack and Luther Allison. This gigging outfit included drummer Hans Waterman (formerly of Dutch rock group Solution), bassist Roelf ter Velt and guitarist\/keyboardist Barkley McKay (Waco Brothers and Pine Valley Cosmonaut's with Jon Langford of Mekon Fame). This line up regularly toured the European mainland playing a revitalised set that show cased their earlier, rootsy blues and r'n'b materiel, until late 1994. By 1995, they reformed the Cross Talk line-up and added Frank Holland on guitar in place of Peter Tolson. Their label, Snapper Music, issued remastered CDs with many bonus tracks, plus a DVD of a re-recording of S.F. Sorrow at Abbey Road Studios (with Dave Gilmour & Arthur Brown guesting). They toured more frequently, including a tour of the U.S. for the first time in decadesOriginal rhythm guitarist Brian Pendleton died of lung cancer on May 16, 2001.In the early 2000's, they released new recordings, including a live album and the studio album Rage Before Beauty.In 2003, Alan Lakey's biography of the band, Growing Old Disgracefully, was published by Firefly. The book dealt with the long and involved history of the band, and paid special attention to the legal proceedings issued against EMI in the 1990s.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/23228_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"41187","name":"Clear Light","bio":"Clear Light was an American psychedelic rock band of the 60s. They released a self-titled album in 1967, which has sometimes been reissued as Black Roses. Members included Bob Seal (guitar), Cliff DeYoung (vocals), Doug Lubahan (bass), Dallas Taylor (drums), and Ralph Schuckett (keyboards). They appeared in the movie THE PRESIDENT'S ANALYST starring James Coburn performing the song \"She's Ready To Be Free\". (Clearlight - all one word - is a different band, a 70's symphonic prog rock band from Germany)","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/41187_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}