Monocled Alchemist

L.A. Sounds 1965-1969: Selected 100 Jewels, Part Two

Sunset Strip 1960s: In 2010 I completed my list of 100 nuggets from Los Angeles. It was a list of some of my favourite records released during 1965-68, all of which have made a massive impression on me over the years.

I’m pretty sure that regular visitors to my site know the kind of music bag I’m into, especially my love for 12 string janglers, fuzz and Farfisa combos, protest singers and folk rockers. Yeah, you get the picture – Destination COOL!! 

I decided to indulge myself with 100 jewels from Los Angeles (and the surrounding areas) and like before I will only list songs that I have on original vinyl or a decent vinyl reissue.

The Mamas & the Papas – ’Strange Young Girls’ (RCA Victor RD-7834) September 1966

The Mamas & the Papas were the commercial face of the Los Angeles male/female vocal outfits and popularized the harmony folk rock and sunshine pop sounds from that region.

Their popularity has probably meant that many underground 60s aficionado’s have snobbishly overlooked their greatness because songs like ’Monday Monday’ and ’California Dreamin’ are probably fixtures on Oldies Radio (I’m guessing this is so because I’ve never listened to the radio since the mid 80s)

Take the sublime psychedelic folk of ’Strange Young Girls’ for instance. It’s a brilliant observation of the sights, sounds and LSD on the Sunset Strip in 1966 and it would surely garner plaudits had it been recorded by more hip male/female vocal groups – too many to mention but you’ll all know where it’s at.

Check out these lyrics:

”Walking the strip
Sweet, soft and placid
Offering their youth
On the altar of acid”
”Colours surround them
Be-jeweling their hair;
Visions astound them,
Demanding their share.”

’Strange Young Girls’ can be found on The Mamas & the Papas second studio album recorded during the Summer of  ’66.

Instrumentation was provided by Hollywood’s elite session musicians. Hal Blaine (drums), Larry Knechtel (organ) and Joe Osborne (bass).

The Arrows – Apache ’65’/’Blue Guitar’ (Sidewalk Records 1) February 1965

The first record released on Mike Curb’s Sidewalk label, outta Hollywood, was this hard to find 45 by The Arrows. It eventually got a release on (Tower 116) and became a Top 100 Billboard hit.

On this disc Davie Allan hasn’t yet discovered the fuzz, instead he fires up his surf guitar to great effect.

It’s an up-tempo and loose version of ’Apache’ which was a number 1 hit for The Shadows in England during the Summer of 1960.

The Rose Garden – ’Next Plane To London’/’Flower Town’ (Atco 45-6510) August 1967

The Rose Garden were originally called The Blokes, a young group of Byrds obsessives going nowhere in the crowded Los Angeles music scene.

Some time in late 1966 a young girl singer called Diane DeRose joined their ranks and a name change to a more  ‘in’ name occurred.

The sunshine pop of ’Next Plane To London’ proved to be their only hit record, reaching the Top 20 on Billboard at the tail end of 1967. It’s a song notable for the ’airport voice’ instead of a guitar solo.

The gimmick obviously worked although I’m not a great fan of the song. Far superior is the flip ’Flower Town’ recorded at the famous Gold Star Studios in Hollywood.

’Flower Town’ is a rewrite of ’Portland Town’, a traditional folk song, given to them by Kim Fowley after a chance meeting in his Los Angeles office.

He managed and produced The Belfast Gypsies who recorded ’Portland Town’ so he knew the song well. My guess is that ’Flower Town’ is probably Los Angeles.

Line-up:

John Noreen (lead guitar)
Jim Groshong (guitar)
Bruce Bowdin (drums)
Bill Fleming (bass)
Diane DeRose (vocals)

The Shindogs – ”Who Do You Think You Are” / ”Yes, I’m Going Home” (Viva V.601) June 1966

I don’t think I could have a Los Angeles teenage rock exposé without including The Shindogs, who were the ’house band’ on TV Show Shindig!

They had an ever changing line-up but when Shindig! was cancelled during January 1966, The Shindogs settled on a regular line-up and released some singles that were commercial failures although this 45 did break into the lower reaches of the Billboard Top 100.

’Who Do You Think You Are’ had the potential to be a real sunset strip garage swinger but the vocal arrangement, for me, really subdues the power and the song just fizzles out. Far superior is the 60s pop ’Yes, I’m Going Home’ on the flip.

James Burton (lead guitar) and Glen D. Hardin (organ) eventually went on to become part of Elvis Presley’s backing band.

Jan & Dean – ’A Beginning From An End’/’Folk City’ (Liberty F-55849) December 1965

Jan & Dean were a successful duo from Los Angeles who recorded the surf hit ’Surf City’ in 1963, a brilliant song about a mythical place in Southern California full of beautiful girls, hot rods and rock ’n’ roll groups.

By 1965 the kids on the Strip had moved on and the ’in’ sound was edgy protest/folk rock and Brit Invasion sounds. Jan & Dean’s response was ’A Beginning From An End’ which flopped, not even entering the Billboard Top 100.

The obscure and never mentioned flip ’Folk City’ is an apt entry into my Los Angeles select 50. The song is a re-write of ’Surf City’ with different lyrics, more akin with the musical shift in L.A from surf to folk rock. This would have made a much better A-side.

”I got a Hohner harmonica and a Vox 12 string,
Folk City here we come.
You know there’s lots of protest songs that I want to sing,
Folk City here we come.”

Both songs were included on the 1966 Jan & Dean LP ’Folk ’n Roll’

The Monkees – ’Words’ (first version) October 1966

This is an alternate version of ’Words’, a Monkees B-Side recorded during October 1966 but never released until this take appeared on The Monkees CD ’Missing Links – Volume 2’ in 1990.

This original version differs from the released remake with it’s use of a flute solo instead of the Hammond B-3 organ and a psychedelic backwards tape section reminiscent of The Leaves recording from their debut studio album.

Darius – ’Sweet Mama’ (Chartmaker CSG 1102) 1969

I remember buying a bootleg copy of the Darius album back in the mid 80s and being decidedly disappointed with it but I suppose during that time I was only interested in 60s garage.

I just did not know where Darius was at, yeah he looked a cool cat on the sleeve with his long hair and dressed in black but his music just wasn’t my scene.

Thankfully, over the years my tastes have changed somewhat and I highly recommend this set, full of Darius original songs and played beautifully by Hollywood’s finest session musicians, including Jerry Scheff (bass), Toxey French (drums), Ben Benay (lead guitar) and Mike Deasy (guitar) in other words Darius was back by Goldenrod.

Check out their psych fest album also on Chartmaker.

The album was recorded at Harmony Studios, Hollywood sometime in 1969.

Darius has a vocal style similar to Arthur Lee on some tracks and was obviously influenced by the Love sound.

It’s a shame that the album sank without trace and even today Darius is largely unknown. German label World In Sound reissued it in 2001 with some bonus cuts. 

Richard Twice – ’Generation ’70 (Philips PHS-600-332) 1970

The obscure Los Angeles singer/songwriting duo Richard Atkins and Richard Manning, collectively called Richard Twice released a fascinating harmony/pop psych drenched long player in early 1970, most likely recorded at the back end of ’69.

’Generation ’70′ leads off the album as the first track on side 1 and it’s a curious fuzz interlude that could have been quite heavy but the overall sound is mostly delicate with soft rock touches of harmonies and brass.

It was chosen as the single to promote the album but I doubt it faired that well.

Not a great deal has been written about Richard Twice, although ’If I Knew You Were The One’, from this set was compiled on one of those Fading Yellow CDs.

One look at the credits on the back cover shows some heavyweight backing musicians with Drake Levin (Paul Revere and the Raiders) adding guitar and Mark Tulin (Electric Prunes) providing bass.

Notable Hollywood sessionmen like Larry Knechtel, David Cohen and Rusty Young also provided their services.

The producer, Alex Hassilev was also the studio guy who produced the weird ’Cosmic Sounds’ LP by The Zodiac and The Electric Prunes connection continued with James Lowe being listed as associate producer and engineer.

The music was recorded at Alex Hassilev’s Studio in Hollywood.

The Boston Tea Party – ’Words’/’Spinach’ (Challenge 59368) June 1967

The Monkees version of ’Words’ was also released in most markets during June 1967, although they first recorded the song way back in October 1966.

The demo version from Boyce & Hart was recorded even earlier during August ’66.

The Boston Tea Party version of ’Words’ probably pre-dates The Monkees hit having an earlier release on the small Los Angeles label Big Boss before being picked up by Challenge.

Maybe the label should have considered ’Spinach’ on the flip, as their plug side as it’s a psych highlight with a freak-a-delic organ sound.

The Boston Tea Party originated from Burbank and were successful enough to release a few more 45s and an album on Flick Disc.

I’ll probably write about the group again at some point but until then hear their ’Words’.

line-up:

Mike Deperna (keyboards)
Richard Deperna (bass)
Travis Fields (vocals)
David Novogroski (drums)
Mike Stevens (guitar)

The Bushmen – ’What I Have I’ll Give To You’/’Baby’ (Dimension D-1049) June 1965

Next entry in my Los Angeles select is this powerful double-sider from The Bushmen on the short lived Dimension label.

They released records from 1962-65. The Bushmen were a four piece that included William D Lincoln and Hamilton Wesley Watt. David Potter may have been the drummer but I’m not 100% certain.

Check out the European picture cover of this 45, The Bushmen looked a motley crew. ’Baby’ is a raucous R&B blast of sonic bliss that screams outta my speakers and is a version of a song The Sorrows released in England during April 1965.

Somehow The Bushman obtained a copy of this record and expertly recorded it adding a seedy mix of L.A. swagger.

The jangler ’What I Have I’ll Give To You’ sounds like a different outfit as the music is poles apart.

This time around The Bushmen are in folk rock mood and produce another winner more in keeping with what was happening on the Strip.

William D Lincoln and Hamilton Wesley Watt also recorded material together in The War Babies, The Word and Euphoria.

William D also wrote songs for The East Side Kids and collaborated with Bernie Schwartz on his studio album ’The Wheel’.

Pacific Ocean – ’16 Tons’/’My Shrink’ (VMC Records V 738) February 1969

Another obscure psychedelic rock 45 released on VMC Records was this one by Pacific Ocean, both tracks having been culled from their album ’Purgatory’. It’s an album I’ve not heard but gets decent enough reviews on the net.

’My Shrink’ is a group original and is a short blast of late 60s groovy rock by a power trio with a certain charm – not pretentious in any way.

Gotta love that keyboard sound and psych guitar frills, reminds me of another Los Angeles outfit The Hook.

line-up:

Tony Carr
Steve Rusty (drums)
Tony Harris
Ron Hensless
Edward James Olmos (keyboards/vocals)

Magnum Opus – ’Up From The Sea’/’Nothing But Time’ (VMC Records V 737) late 1968

Here’s a very obscure psychedelic record by Magnum Opus on Los Angeles label VMC Records, a subsidiary of Vance Music Corp established by Steve Vail during late 1967.

Their roster always recorded at Hollywood Sound Recorders.

However, I know nothing about Magnum Opus and bought this record years ago because The David recorded for the same label, so I decided to take a chance. ’Up From The Sea’ is a pleasing psych rock performance with hippie lyrics with the repeated line,

”We’re recently up from the sea.”

John Guess is credited on both sides of the label as arranger, producer and songwriter. So maybe no band existed and the fruits of labour on this 45 are a John Guess solo studio recording.

He is probably the same person who engineered a VMC album by Dennis Olivieri called ’Come To The Party’. He is also credited as the engineer and producer of the 1971 album by Sundance.

October Country – ’My Girl Friend Is A Witch’/’Just Don’t Know’ (Epic 5-10320) April 1968

This Los Angeles group had regional success with their debut 45 ’October Country’ (also recorded by The Smoke) and had in their corner Michael Lloyd of WCPAEB & The Smoke fame who wrote the majority of their songs, arranged, produced and played on all of their recordings.

Most of October Country’s music is lush orchestrated pop, a Michael Lloyd trademark of course, but ’My Girl Friend Is A Witch’ is something of a departure and a rather cool psych rocker.

Lloyd re-recorded ’Witch’ in 1969 for feline cartoon Cattanooga Cats.

Eddie Hodges – ’Love Minus Zero’/’The Water Is Over My Head’ (Aurora 156) Oct 1965

Eddie Hodges is probably better known as being a child actor from the late 50s/early 60s but having moved to Hollywood to be at the heart of the movie industry he found himself in Folk Rock City just at the right time and was signed up as a recording artist releasing several records that fall below my radar.

His cover of Dylan’s ’Love Minus Zero’ proved popular enough to get him an appearance on Hollywood A Go Go, the clip has survived and has been uploaded to You Tube.

Eddie looks really neat and tidy and fairly uncomfortable to me as go go dancers weave their magic behind him.

Far superior is the surf styled folk rock beat of the flip ’The Water Is Over My Head’ written by Al Kooper and Irwin Levine.

This tune would have been better suited as the plug side as it was for The Tokens and The Rockin’ Berries who had a Top 40 hit with it in England.

The Byrds – ’The World Turns All Around Her’ (Columbia PC 9254) recorded August 1965

Soon after arriving back home in Los Angeles after their 1965 UK tour The Byrds were in Columbia Recording Studios, Hollywood laying down tracks for their second LP.

One of the first songs they recorded was ’The World Turns All Around Her’, another Gene Clark gem that is a sadly neglected masterpiece. I always marvel at just how perfect The Byrds sounded on record and this song is simply pop at it’s purist.

’The World Turns All Around Her’ was released in December 1965 on the album ’Turn Turn Turn’ but somewhat surprisingly overlooked for 45 status.

The Devons – ’It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’/’Are You Really Real’ (Decca 31822) August 1965

The Devons were another likely Gary Usher studio project, he arranged and produced both sides, even writing the flip ’Are You Really Real’, a Dylanesque folk rock protest jewel.

The often recorded ’It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’ has a sweet arrangement with some solid guitar and vocals, sounding a lot like The Searchers.

It was a Billboard Chart Spotlight in the last week of July 1965 but appears to have gone unnoticed after this.

Both sides have yet to see any compilation action and every reference guide I have fail to even mention The Devons. Something of an enigma.

The Toads – ’Leaving It All Behind’/’Babe, While The Wind Blows Goodbye’ (Decca 318470) Sept 1965

According to FA&F, The Toads originated from San Mateo, California but this 45 has the folk rock sound of Los Angeles all over it and was almost certainly recorded in L.A.

’Leaving It All Behind’ was written, arranged and produced by Gary Usher. 

Indeed he was also responsible for the Dylanesque flip ’Babe, While The Wind Blows Goodbye’ which was co-written by Raul Abeyta, a songwriting collaborator during his early sixties surf days.

Maybe The Toads were one of his fictitious groups?

Whatever the true story, ’Leaving It All Behind’ is killer folk rock with resplendent jangle that appears to have been ignored for decades until the song was compiled and given title honours for a Misty Lane release.

The Tangents – ’Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go?’/’Stand By Me’ (Impression Records 111) April 1966

Folk rock standard ’Hey Joe’ was performed and/or recorded by countless 60s groups particularly outfits from Los Angeles. 

The Tangents were one such band who offered their version in April ’66 on the hip Hollywood label, Impression.

It’s been decades since The Tangents had any comp action, the last time was on Highs In The Mid Sixties #2.

Their take is a straight forward folk rock interpretation with no frills. I’d like to have heard some tambourine in the mix for instance, but at least it’s way better than the horrendous version by The Byrds.

I’ve recently been in contact with Tangents bassist Terry Topolski and he kindly sent me a promo picture of the group from 1966. Terry confirmed The Tangents line-up as:

Bob Shelton, rhythm guitar & lead singer; Terry Topolski, bass guitar; Warren Brodie, drums; and Jim Janesick, lead guitar

Time Of Your Life – ’Ode To A Bad Dream’/’You Make Me Feel So Good’ (Ionic Records 101) Sept 1966

Time Of Your Life were an obscure group of teenagers from Long Beach, California whose claim to (none) fame was this super cool garage psych swinger on Ionic Records outta Hollywood.

It has been confirmed from several online sources that the drummer in this combo was John Christensen who was also a member of Opus 1 of ’Backseat ’38 Dodge’ infamy.

That record made my Los Angeles select 50 in 2010.

According to the liners of Fuzz, Flaykes & Shakes #1, the flip of this 45, a version of The Zombies tune ’You Make Me Feel So Good’ was actually by another group called The Town Cryers, but a mix up with the record labels meant that Time Of Your Life were credited with both sides.

This mistake was confirmed by noted garage expert MTM when I posed the question on the G45 Forum recently.

He interviewed John Christensen some years ago and he suggested that The Town Cryers could have been an earlier Bob Renfro group.

The latter wrote ’Ode To A Bad Dream’.

The Byrds – ’All I Really Want To Do’/’I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better’ (CBS 201796) Aug 1965

The second Byrds 45 coupled a Bob Dylan composition ’All I Really Want To Do’ with the all time folk rock classic ’I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better’ by Gene Clark and I think it’s only right that this Byrds monster is number 1 on my L.A. mix.

’All I Really Want To Do’ is a different mix than the one that appeared on the LP ’Mr Tambourine Man’.

Surprisingly, this 45 sold poorly in America especially after the million selling debut record. Soon after the single was released the B-Side was promoted as the A-Side with DJ copies issued on red vinyl.

Maybe because Cher’s version of ’All I Really Want To Do’ was out selling The Byrds version?

The British seemed to dig it more and it reached number 4.

Love – ’7 And 7 Is’/’No. Fourteen’ (Elektra EK-45605) July 1966

The last ever recording session with the original line up of Love resulted in the cataclysmic ’7 And 7 Is’

Arthur Lee wrote the song at the Colonial Apartments in Hollywood after rising early one morning while the rest of his cohorts were still asleep.

The mystifying lyrics seem to touch on his childhood but I’ve read in some liners that it’s a song about an old girlfriend.

Johnny Echols once described ’7 And 7 Is’ as ”controlled chaos” and I must say I can hear why. The backbeat is so fast that drummer Alban Snoopy Pfisterer had to make over 20 takes to get it right.

When I was still a teenager (early 80s) I somehow discovered the music of Love and excitedly took the LP ’Da Capo’ to my friends house who was havin’ a beer and dope party.

Everyone hated the record especially ’Orange Skies’, She Comes In Colors’ and ’7 And 7 Is’ because this piece of greatness had the improvised jazzy fade.

The muppets just didn’t get it. Side Two never got played!

THE DOVERS – ’I Could Be Happy’/’People Ask Me Why’ (Reprise 0439) Nov 1965

The Dovers from Santa Barbara were virtually ignored back in the mid 60s and their fragile sounding folk rock was probably never heard by anyone except their loyal fanbase (if they had one).

Lack of any promotion and decent gigs meant that The Dovers’ perfect moody teen jangle wouldn’t even be a footnote in the history books.

This twin spin, recorded at the famous Gold Star Studios was first released on the tiny Miramar label based in Hollywood.

It was released on Reprise some weeks later. Frontman and songwriter Tim Granada had the talent and his band of Dovers had thee sound but it seems that Los Angeles and the important movers and shakers in the record industry were oblivious.

The Standells – ’Why Pick On Me’/’Mr. Nobody’ (Tower 282) Sept 1966

During 1966 The Standells could do no wrong with a big hit in ’Dirty Water’ and a sell out tour supporting The Rolling Stones.

Their final release of ’66 was this great two sided punk gem, full of attitude and full of fuzz and that’s two of the main ingredients that ’Flower Bomb Songs’ constantly craves.

However, flip the hit ’Why Pick On Me’ over and become charmed by the instant raunchy fuzz punk of ’Mr Nobody’.

This record has been an ever present on my turntable since the 80s. Being the outsider loner type I pretty much embraced ’Mr Nobody’ as my personal 60s punk anthem. I was that guy – Mr Nobody.

I know all of The Standells music has been re-issued and is easy to get but I’m surprised that ’Mr Nobody’ was never compiled (still hasn’t) back in the 80s heyday of garage compilations.

The Bonniwell Music Machine – ’The Eagle Never Hunts The Fly’ (Warner Bros 1732) 1967

Pictured is my 80s bootleg LP of the second Music Machine album simply titled ’The Bonniwell Music Machine’. 

It’s a perfectly sounding copy in stereo, so much so that I’ve never felt the need to upgrade to an original.

The killer tune from said artyfact is the breathtaking and innovative garage rock of ’The Eagle Never Hunts The Fly’ which is apparently about world poverty.

Not only was Sean Bonniwell ahead of the game with his music he was 20 years ahead of Sir Bob Geldof’s ’Feed The World’ shindig.

’The Eagle’ has everything that any lysergically minded hipster would want from three minutes of music, pounding bass (natch), fuzztoned guitars (absa fuckin’ lutely), eerie organ (too right) and manic vocals (oh yeah!).

This great song was recorded by the original line-up of The Music Machine but after the band signed to Warner Bros, Bonniwell must have decided to apply his surname to proceedings.

”The eagle never hunts the fly,
Listen and I’ll tell you why.
lives on the bottom of the sky
That’s why”

The Seeds – ’Mr Farmer’/’Up In Her Room’ (GNP Crescendo 383) Jan 1967

Most copies of this Seeds release came with ’No Escape’ on the flip but this version had ’Up In Her Room’ on the other side of ’Mr Farmer’ as well as a picture sleeve if you were lucky.

Whenever I’ve seen clips of The Seeds on You Tube from various 60s TV Shows I’ve always been surprised at how weird Sky Saxon is.

His performances and movements are strange to say the least. Maybe this was the appeal of The Seeds to many. I just knew he was different and The Seeds sound coloured my world back in the 80s.

Everyone knows their big hit ’Pushin’ Too Hard’, some may be even aware that ’Mr Farmer’ is the coolest but has anyone ever noticed or realised just how GREAT ’Up In Her Room’ is?

The whole of The Doors first album appears to based on the bluesy ’organ heavy’ rush of this classic.

The Human Expression – ’Optical Sound’/’Calm Me Down’ (Accent AC 1226) Sept 1967

Having formed an alliance back in Westminster High School, south of Los Angeles, The Human Expression were still teenagers when they recorded their three classic 45s. ’Optical Sound’ was their follow up to ’Love At Psychedelic Velocity’.

’Optical Sound’ shows this teen band at the very limits of their capability, each musician stretching themselves as far as their ability will take them.

The result is a magnificent broody acid psych masterpiece, full of strange and weird waves of sound, reverb and other worldly experimentation.  

The Human Expression did not play that many gigs. According to the liners of the Collectables CD, they played the odd set at Gazzari’s on the Sunset Strip and a ’Battle Of The Bands’ contest.

The Sons Of Adam – ’Tomorrow’s  Gonna Be Another Day’/’Take My Hand’ (Decca 31887) Dec 1965

The Sons Of Adam could have been serious contenders for the Los Angeles royal throne had they stayed together longer than the brief period that they were a recording act.

Guitarist and singer Randy Holden would quit the Sons after an argument (according to his website) and the band eventually fizzled out with drummer Michael Stuart turning up in a future line-up of Love.

Holden of course went on to The Other Half then progressed to Blue Cheer.

’Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day’ captures The Sons Of Adam in rockin’ mood. The flip ’Take My Hand’ is another cool side with a neat guitar break which should have been a whole lot louder.

Although they were based in Los Angeles, The Sons Of Adam were regular visitors to San Francisco and gigged often at the Fillmore Auditorium and the Avalon Ballroom playing with the likes of Love, The Charlatans, Big Brother and the Holding Company and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

The Bees – ’Leave Me Be’/’She’s An Artist (She Belongs To Me)’ (Mirwood 5503) August 1965

Here’s a rather nice double sided folk rock 45 to track down on Mirwood Records. Both sides are perfect examples of this genre and really it’s where it was at in L.A. circa 1965 after The Byrds and The Turtles started hitting big. 

The Bees came from Los Angeles, California and became quite a popular live attraction around the L.A area playing local venues and private parties.

They even were broadcast on TV show ’Hollywood A Go Go’ but I don’t know what song they played, so if anyone knows let me know.

Members of The Bees included George Caldwell and Robert Zinner who would go on to form W.C. Fields Memorial Electric String Band, John York played bass (he was in a later line up of The Byrds), Cary Slavin played drums (he later played in The Factory), Ron Reynolds (12 string guitar) and Peter Ferst.

The top side of their first 45 was the uncompiled ’Leave Me Be’ written by Robert Zinner. This one is a very pleasant up beat folk rocker with jangle.

She’s an artist

The flip is an excellent cover of the Bob Dylan song ’She’s An Artist” (She Belongs To Me). This has been covered many times before of course and perhaps my favourite ever version is by English band The Masterminds.

Their version can be found on the Sequel CD An ’Immediate Alternative’.The Bees version can be found on Ya Gotta Have Moxie Volume 1. Produced by Norm Ratner.

A reader sent me the following update about The Bees – I have been doing a lot of research on the HOLLYWOOD A GO GO TV show and have the answer as to what songs the Bees performed on their only show performance on Nov. 9, 1965.

The second and third numbers they performed were ”She’s An Artist” and ”Leave Me Be” which were the A and B sides of their 45 single on Mirwood 5003.

The first song they sang was the George Caldwell penned ”Mimi’s Song” which is of interest because George married Mimi who was a Gazzarri go-go dancer on the show.

The Electric Prunes – ’Get Me To The World On Time’/’Are You Lovin’ Me More (But Enjoying It Less) (Reprise 0564) April 1967

The third single by The Electric Prunes and follow up to the smash hit ’I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)’ was the ultra catchy ’Get Me To The World On Time’ –which is basically psychedelic effects (mind bending oscillations and tremolo) over a Bo Diddley beat.

For once this greatness was rewarded with another hit record. It even managed to climb the charts to number 42 in England.

The flip ’Are You Lovin’ Me More (But Enjoying It Less’ is just as good and has always been a firm EXPO67 favourite.

Unless I get injected with monkey gland serum, change personality and start buying techno records, I should think that The Electric Prunes will remain in my top 5 groups of all time.

The Bobby Fuller Four – ’I Fought The Law’/’Little Annie Lou’ (Mustang 3014) Oct 1965

Bobby Fuller hailed from El Paso, Texas but sometime during 1964 made the decision to relocate to Hollywood to try for the big time in the music business.

His band achieved some success before Bobby Fuller died in mysterious circumstances.

Fuller was found dead with a petrol soaked rag stuffed in his mouth in July 1966. The LAPD ruled his death as a suicide, citing ’no evidence of foul play’.

’I Fought The Law’ wasn’t an immediate hit but the record slowly crawled up the charts and became an all time classic.

The clean cut Bobby Fuller who shunned the ’long hair’ of the beat and folk rock groups had the appeal of a young Elvis Presley and had such a great voice.

For readers who don’t know the music of The Bobby Fuller Four you just gotta seek out the music because it’s all highly rated and I would say exceptional 60s rock and roll.

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