Band COULDN’T Nail Down TOUGH Vocal…Finally LET Random Kid at Studio TRY…It Hit #1-Professor of Rock
Vložit
- čas přidán 9. 11. 2023
- In 1967, the illustrious Summer of Love, A psychedelic sunshine pop standard, hit number one on the US charts, Incense and Peppermints by Strawberry Alarm Clock but the song was cloaked in controversy, first of all, it was supposed to be a B-SIDE, then it was found that the song was allegedly based off of an instrumental idea from two of the band members who given credit. One Ed King, who would go on to help compose Sweet Home Alabama in Lynyrd Skynyrd… Then when the band was recording it, they hated the lyrics so no one in the band wanted to sing them, amazingly they were sung by a friend of the band, a 16-year-old kid who happened to be at the recording as a guest! Up next we get the story from An interview with the cofounder of this mystery band, Mark Weitz on Professor of Rock.
Thank you to this episode’s sponsor, Zenni
GET ZENNI Glasses HERE: imp.i279709.net/vn5gLd
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive Producer
Brandon Fugal
Honorary Producers
Remnarc, Kevin riley, Paul Moore II, CharleyAnne, Jaimee Hammack, Dan Tierney
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out my Hand Picked Selection Below
Professor's Store
- Van Halen OU812 Vinyl Album amzn.to/3tLsII2
- The 80s Collection amzn.to/3mAekOq
- 100 Best Selling Albums amzn.to/3h3qZX9
- Ultimate History of 80s Teen Movie amzn.to/3ifjdKQ
- 80s to 90s VHS Video Cover Art amzn.to/2QXzmIX
- Totally Awesome 80s A Lexicon amzn.to/3h4ilrk
- Best In Ear Headphones (I Use These Every Day) amzn.to/2ZcTlIl
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check Out The Professor of Rock Merch Store -bit.ly/ProfessorMerch
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check Out Patron Benefits
bit.ly/ProfessorofRockVIPFan
Help out the Channel by purchasing your albums through our links! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you, thank you for your support.
Click here for Premium Content: bit.ly/SignUpForPremiumContent
bit.ly/Facebook_Professor_of_...
bit.ly/Instagram_Professor_of...
#classicrock #60smusic #vinylstory #onehitwonder
Hey Music Junkies, Professor of Rock, always here to celebrate the greatest artists and songs of all time. Hit the Subscribe button below to be a part of a community dedicated to the timeless music of the rock era, and look us up on Patreon to be a part of curating the rock era.
It’s time for another edition of Bottled Lightning. Most call ‘em one-hit wonders we call them Bottled Lightning… where a band’s one big Song ruled the charts but wasn’t able to sustain long-term domination… Here’s the deal. There are certain songs that when played, are more effective than a time machine. They evoke the decade better than any other emotion or feeling outside of being there.
Unfortunately, I never got to experience the 1960s I was born in the decade after. But growing up, I got a first-hand experience of growing up in that wondrous decade from my Dad who told me about all of his experiences coming of age in that time. I’ve also heard hundreds of stories from the many artists from that time who released life-changing music.
I remember my Dad telling me about several songs from the 60s that were so potent, so drenched in the sounds of that era that it instantly took him back. To him, Incense and Peppermint was one of those songs. A slice of Psychedelic Sunshine pop and one of the first #1 hits of that genre by a band with an equally groovy name Strawberry Alarm Clock.
The song went to #1 in the Summer of Love and has lived on since then in pop culture. There’s an interesting story behind it. It was allegedly based off of an instrumental idea by band members keyboardist Mark Weitz and guitarist Ed King. God bless the last Ed King who passed away from cancer a few years ago. Ed would go on to be a charter member of Lynyrd Skynyrd and create one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time.
Mark Weitz and Ed King created the instrumental Idea only they didn’t get any credit for it. It was officially credited to producer/A&R man John S. Carter and Tim Gilbert of the band the Rainy Daze. At the very least Weitz has stated that he and Ed should’ve received a co-writing credit. Sadly It’s an oft-told story from the early days of Rock and Roll... musicians not being fairly credited or compensated. Then their friend a 16-year-old kid named Greg Munford who was attending the rescind session as a visitor to watch was given the chance to sing the song when the band members weren’t big fans of the lyrics which John S. Carter wrote using a rhyming dictionary. - Zábava
Poll: What is your pick for the best piano or keyboard riff of the rock era?
Jump by Van Halen
I'll nominate the "Prelude" to Billy Joel's "Angry Young Man".
The Way It Is Bruce Hornsby
Downtown One Too Many
Enola Gay OMD
Open Arms Journey
No-one Is To Blame Howard Jones
Head Over Heels Tears For Fears
96 Tears The Stranglers
Looking For Jack Colin Hay
Life Of Surprises Prefab Sprout
Circle Of Life Elton John
Light my fire by the doors
Let it be
Piano Man, Only The Good Die Young, or really anything by Billy Joel
I’m 74 in a few days. Sometimes I just stand at the frig and wonder what I’m looking for. BUT! I remember and can sing every word to every song of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. I lived in an awesome time of the best music EVER!
Yeah, ain't it strange!! I'm soon to be 68 & I'm the same way! I hope we nevet lose THOSE memories!
When that happens, go back to where you were before going to the fridge & you'll remember. Works for me!
@@Paul-ju5px IF you remember WHERE YOU WERE before that, anyhow. yeah it might work.
Hmmmmm......... hadn't thought of that! @@tracyavent-costanza346
You got that right! Happy birthday 🎂
Tonight I arrived at my daughter’s home to celebrate Thanksgiving. Little did I know she would sit me down and surprise me with a “concert” of all my 60s and 70s favorite music played from the original albums on a turntable from the 70s! I asked her why and she said “this was your gift to me during my childhood and I want to share it with you again.” ❤
Really sweet story! Lucky you, lucky daughter. ❤
@@barbaramonaco105 Thank you! I shed a few tears for sure.
How very special! What a wonderful gift ❤
That is beautiful!
What a wonderful daughter. Love it!
I was a junior in HS when Strawberry Alarm Clock played at our San Fernando high school gymnasium. We were all blown away. The following year Jim Morrison and the Doors played there, and later The Turtles played for us. I feel blessed to have lived through that.
Right place and the right time.
I saw The Kinks at a local high school in 1971 - my first concert. I was 10 years old, had won 2 tickets in a contest, and my babysitter accompanied me.
OH...yes...you were.
Can’t imagine bands playing at school gyms. Just another world from today.
I saw Bill Murray in a doughnut shop.
Having been a teenager in the 1960s, I agree with Professor Rock that the 60's-70's was the greatest time for a rock music lover.
I'm 72 & I think the best music era was the '80s, much as I liked the '60s & '70s. This particular song was a real favorite though.
I disagree entirely. The baby boomers have been pushing that nonsense at least since I was a child in the 80s.
@@herbie_the_hillbillie_goathor
By the mid-seventies or a bit earlier, rock got hit in the prairie oysters . Blame Generation Jones for that , not the Boomers!
Nobody listens to doowop or Bobby Darin generationally
Grunge was the last national fad
This time period endured and speaks to everybody
In 1967 I was 9 years old. My great-grandmother passed away one night, and my brother and I rode in the back seat of my mom's car as we drove over to my grandmother's house to gather. This song was playing, and every time I hear it I am instantly transported back to that car ride. Bittersweet memory tied to a great song.
Oh I’m sorry about your grandma. Yes bitter sweet.
the real memories of the period were mixed. that much I can directly relate to. we are the same age. I also lost a gramma in about 1970 but she lived in chicago and my folks
went there to the funeral. my brothers and I stayed home. I don't even remember who watched us, maybe my surviving gramma who lived until 1988. She lived in the valley (north side LA LA land when we were southwest) so I knew her a lot better.
In 1967, I was a High School Senior in Las Cruces, New Mexico and in a local band called The Psychedelic Sweet Potatoes (don't laugh, that was pretty cool back then). Las Cruces also happens to be the campus location for New Mexico State University. Our band was engaged by a campus committee to be the opening band for a concert on campus (auditorium style, not stadium). It turned out that we were opening for a band called The Strawberry Alarm Clock. We had never heard of them before. As Mark mentions in this interview, there was no "Nation-wide" distribution of music. The cultural centers for new music were on the East and West Coasts of the US. The music of the time slowly trickled across the country and took many months before hitting out of the way places. When I heard them do the song Incense and Peppermints, I instantly became a fan. However, it was still at least 3 or 4 months before I was able to find their 45 in the local record store. Thank you Professor, for this trip down memory lane.
@jonabbott7538 It's just a coincidence, but I have been through Las Cruces dozens of times on my cross country trips. I even went on the campus once to look around. Now I have a good Facebook friend who lives in Las Cruces. I thought it was a very nice place. I remember The Strawberry Alarm Clock very well. I started my senior year of high school in 1969. When the song Incense and Peppermints first came out, I went wild. I loved it and I still play it today on CZcams. It has always been one of my favorite songs. I love the music of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. After that I didn't like the direction that rock music was taking, although there were a few exceptions here and there. I like the name The Psychedelic Sweet Potatoes. Did you all ever record anything? Well, thanks for your post. I enjoyed reading it. It's always good to hear from people of my own era. Take care.
@@DONRHOLLOWAY We did not record anything unfortunately. We didn't have any original stuff. However, being in a college town, our band was made up of members from both coasts, as well as other places. We had a keyboard player from L.A. who introduced us to the Doors music. Our lead guitar player was from New York City and he brought us the Blues Project. We discovered a really cool black dude on campus who was always singing and strutting around. We asked him to audition as our singer. He was from Boston and introduced us to Jimi Hendrix music. I played Bass and our drummer was another local friend of mine. And when we played, we blew everyone away, because nobody had heard this music before. We became a "show" band, where everyone danced as individuals at the front of the stage and watched our singer put on an incredible show. He would jump around and do splits, all sorts of stuff. We played together for about 2 years, before everyone headed out in different directions and other endeavors. I wound up going to Trinidad, West Indies and finishing up my college career at the Queens College there.
Thank you for sharing your experience and ties to Las Cruces. You take care as well.
I'm from Albuquerque and we lived in San Ysidro for years.
Oh wow I love Las Cruces lived there from
76 to 81. Such great memories. Great friends and concerts.
Oh man, do I remember that song. I was absolutely crazy about it. I turned 8 years old in January 1960, so the 60s was really my decade. I am 72 now and I can still remember the lyrics to countless songs from the 60s because they had such a deep impact on me. Sometimes I joke that 90% of my brain is made up of song lyrics. But my love for music didn't stop with the 60s, because there was still great music in the 70s and 80s. I went to college in the late 70s and 80s after a stint in the Navy and still love The Jefferson Airplane, ELO, Boston, Journey, The Classics IV, The Steve Miller Band, James Taylor, Elton John, The Beatles (of course), and on and on. Good music never grows old. And it also helps keep us young at heart.
@DONRHOLLOWAY,. Sail On Sailor. USN 73-77 USS BLANDY DD 943 and USS VULCAN AR-5 HOMEPORT NORFOLK. MR3
I'm born in 72 sister born in 66 thats all we listen to, I was a crazed Beatles fan in the 80s, wish I'd been born 20 years earlier. All the music was better.
@@dalehood1846 I enlisted in the Navy in 1972. I made three deployments on USS Enterprise CVN-65, USS Ranger CV-61, USS Kitty Hawk CV-63. Loved my time at sea and the ports we visited. I worked Intermediate Level on Avionics for the S-3A antisubmarine aircraft. I was an Aviation Electronics Technician. Got out as an AT2. I spent all my time at North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego. Anchors Aweigh.
My handyman in Palm Springs used to be part of Strawberry Alarm Clock, or so he told me. My plumber in Venice was in the movie Gasssssssssssssssss, and I was able to confirm this when I bought the DVD and saw him in it.
Not only was music from back then better , the stories behind the songs were even more amazing. Thanks for sharing.
The 60s, the most influential decade in music.
Oh gosh yes, you should watch the Documentary on The Muscle Shoals , it was so interesting the stories they have on the songs and artists they worked with.
We barely even got to hear the STORIES behind the music back then. You got some snapshots of rumors written by journalists in music magazines and such. I'm grateful for nowadays when you can see so many in-depth interviews like THIS ONE. You then find out that the real stories are so much better than the rumors you were fed way back when.
What, you don't love WAP from Cardi B?!?
Maybe you’re listening to the wrong music. There is a lot of really good stuff out there: The Dip, Heavy Heavy, Fruit Bats, Vampire Weekend, Jukebox the Ghost, Black Keys, Revivalists.
In July 1969 for my 18th birthday I received tickets to see Steppenwolf in Louisville, KY. The opening band was Strawberry Alarm Clock. I can close my eyes and still hear them play Incense and Peppermints. Great music.
Always loved this tune. The song that most defined the 60's, at least to me, was White Rabbit. Grace's vocals still gives me chills.
There's a YT video with her vocals isolated.
Live at Woodstock is the best!
GREAT SOCIETY 's White Rabbit is one of my favorite songs of all time😊
My all time favourite song
Yes! White Rabbit! Another "time machine" song would be "Itchy koo Park."
Being a teenager in the 60's was the best. I truly believe I was born in the right year, 1951. I turned 13 in 1964 just when The Beatles came along. You could tell there was something in the air that was about to happen particularly to people under 30 and music became the glue that brought it all together and though it started with The Beatles, the music industry became our catalyst. It was truly a revolution built on peace and love; it was great to watch and great to participate in. We could actually tell the world what we wanted. My Sister, who was 3 years older than me told me about how she had to keep her mouth shut when she was 13-16 because no adult wanted to hear it. Adults still didn't want to hear us, but our voices became so big and so loud that they couldn't stop us. If you weren't a teen in the 60's, man, you missed an unbelievable era. The 70's were cool, but the 60's were supreme.
Some selected words from your post: "Something", "Revolution", "Supreme(s)"
Could not agree more. I was in high school and college late 60s through the early 70s. Amazing music. Still listen to it.
I agree, 1951 was an excellent year to be born. Don't know about you, but the summer of 1969 was the best!
I would love to go back and experience the 60s. The Summer of Love, Woodstock, everything.
Also born in 1951. It was a good vantage point to take in some great foment in music, and all art really. But it also put me at prime fodder for the draft upon graduation.... class of '69.
"Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Tommy James & The Shondells is another defining song of the 60s.
And Sweet Cherry Wine.
Crimson & Clover
Love that song.
Me too! Love Crystal Blue Persuasion! Peace and love, brotherhood!
Dude, there were literally hundreds of songs that defined that era. If I wanted to spend all my time at work, and piss off my boss, I could name at least 300 to 400. But getting fired sucks,
Our good Professor may be the luckiest man in the world, having one-on-one time with all these musical greats.
Mind-boggling that "Incense and Peppermints" was not instantly recognized as an A-side and potential hit in 1967. I know it was an instant classic to me when it first hit my ear. What a great slice of summer-of-love era psychedelia.
I agree. It was perfect and reflected our mood as teenagers. The music like Incense and Peppermint and Sweet Cherry Wine and songs like that were beautifully innocent then.
8 Miles High gives me the 60"s feels.
Ed King & Strawberry Alarm Clock rule!!! What a guitar player he was, a legend! Roll on Ed 🍻!!
Long Live Sir King🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Agreed. Miss him!
The best!@@claytonb9685
Natty Boh!
@@No-hz1xj HELL YA!!! 🍻🍻🍻🍻🤘
Ed King (one of my top five favorite guitarists) was vastly underrated and never really got the credit he truly deserved, and it's a crime that he and Weitz were denied credit for this song!!!!
So unfair! Also, Ed King was in Lynyrd Skynyrd in the 70s.
He’s not underrated. He was a member of one of the greatest bands of all time Lynyrd Skynyrd. He wrote one of the greatest and most recognized guitar licks of all time. My mom could of hummed that lick. I grew up on it. My daughter loves it. It’s played every week at Alabama Crimson football games, she’s a GA Tech graduate. My 7 yo grandson uses it as his walk out song for little league baseball. How in the world is that underrated. I heard Ed say in a interview that Sweet Home Alabama kept him in a mansion his whole life!!! How in the world is that underrated??? That’s 4 generations and counting.
Uriah Heep had some of the best keyboard riffs ever. Some of their best ones include 'Look at yourself', 'The macician' s birthday', 'Sunrise', 'July morning' and 'The hanging tree'.
I love Uriah Heep, he should talk about them!
Salisbury!
I remember "White Rabbit" by The Jefferson Airplane with Grace Slick's haunting vocals. I definitely think that belongs in this category! 😊
❤❤❤
I don't know if you covered this or not, and perhaps it was only a huge hit in our region (? the Detroit metro area), but In-A-Gada-Da-Vida was definitely a psychadelic rock hit that was part of the soundtrack of my very early years.
Another eponymous hit from my preschool years was Blood Sweat and Tears' "Spinning Wheel".
Iron Butterfly...major...major hit with that song. OH YeaH.
My high school band played “Spinning Wheel”. It had some of the most difficult time signatures within it, continuously changing. The saving grace was being able to listen to it while the sheet music was in front of me. Finally got it, though. Funky!
I,too, grew up way back then and my friend told me that they were trying to sing, “In the garden of Eden,” but were too high to sing it correctly.
EVERYBODY owned Innagaddadavida when I was in high school. All these songs were the background of my life. Memories.
@@monicacollins8289 I was a preschooler at the time and I remember it (although I liked Blood Sweat & Tears more at the time).
"Incense and Peppermints" is one of those songs I heard and took for granted. It was one of those instances in my experience where the band name (Strawberry Alarm Clock) and the music were disconnected from each other. Both kind of floated through my "timeline". It has a similar appeal to "Kicks" by Paul Reviere and the Raiders and the title cut from The Byrds' *Fifth Dimension.*
When you mentioned how you got to experience the 60s vicariously through your father, Adam, it compelled me to say the following. It's 10 November, 2023 as I comment, the 4th anniversary of my own father passing away. It was he who was my own window to that era, not to mention my principal music resource.
Thanks for sharing Eric!
It’s the 12th anniversary of my father passing. Sometimes it’s easier to remember him without crying, but not today.
My heart goes out to you on this difficult day, Eric.
It just doesn’t get easy, does it? In 4 days is my dad’s 13th anniversary and sometimes it feels like yesterday and I almost call to ask some question about gardening. Condolences to all missing their dads and/or moms.
Ed King is one of the most underrated guitarists of our time.
Ed King!! What a special guitarist!! Not only "Sweet Home Alabama" but his soloing on "Working for the MCA" was just amazing!! What special sound he created!
Working for MCA is my favorite Skynard song. Ed just peels the paint off the wall from the opening lick and doesn’t stop until the joint is demolished. What a banger!
And, Saturday Night Special
And, Whiskey Rock a Roller
I remember creating a dance routine with a friend in 6th grade gym class with this song in 1967. You are 100% right that this song embodies the ‘60s to the point that you can almost taste it!!
It is a decade defining smash.
I love dancing to that song!
Sunshine psychedelic pop. Indeed it was. It was uplifting, even without any "outside help." 📻 🪻 ☮️
Yes it was!
Guaranteed to brighten your day.
What's amazing is how mature Mumford's voice was for 16 yrs old.
Whoa...'little to win and nothin to lose' our refrain as young hippies or trying to be. This was such a cool sound. Great interview. RIP Ed King. Thanks, Mark Weitz! ❤
R.I.P. to a legend.
You've probably already done this one, but 'Mississippi Queen' by Mountain was a game-changer when it came on the radio back in 1970. The cowbell; the fuzzy, blaring guitar. I was not quite ten when I first heard it back then, and Wow! I just looked it up, and apparently it only made it to 21 on the billboard charts, yet now it gets soooooo much airplay on the oldies stations. I just watched the official video for it, too, here on CZcams. It was put up three years ago, and is great fun.
Will do! I'll cover it!
@@ProfessorofRock Excellent!
I love that one too! There are so many gems from that time. I was in junior high and high school in the 60s. Lucky me!
@@ProfessorofRock Thank you Professor! Mississippi Queen was my husband's favorite song. He'd turn it up and bust off the knob! LOL. He passed away in 2018. I'd be honored to watch your video covering Mountain and Mississippi Queen.
That song was a game changer.
This song is for me exactly as you said, defines the era, and takes me right back to the feel of it. Alongside it is "Time of the season" by the Zombies, and Crystal Blue Persuasion by TJ and the Shondells (as others have mentioned). Thanks Prof for another great episode.
All great songs.
I remember when EVERY PAIR OF PANTS became bellbottoms. I remember reluctantly embracing that fact, but EMBRACE IT I sure did. There was the AM/FM radio dichotomy going on. Because of that, we stopped buying singles and started getting WHOLE ALBUMS. The best time to be alive... there were so many surprises every time an album was released.
For me it became Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Donovan, Jethro Tull, Moody Blues, CCR, the Beatles... and the Monkeys, Jackson 5 for the pure pop lover in me.
Don't forget Crimson and Clover
@@Ceba-pw8hk You are so right!
I have to agree. Time of the Season by the Zombies. Rod Argents keyboards were 60s signature. I think because every home back then had an organ.
There should be an Emmy for great CZcams channels. Professor of Rock should be the first to claim the statue. I lived through the '60s and '70s etc music scenes and still learn something from every episode. Love those intro promos.
"In the year 2525" is a great 60's song. As a child in the 60's my older sister was a large influence of my life. I found a single at a used book store in Dallas. I had to dig out a 45 adapter. It's so science fiction. I love it
What a great, well spoken guy! I remember this song being on my parents K-Tel compilation record, "24 Heavy Hits" alongside "Journey to the Center of My Mind", "Mony Mony", and "She'd Rather Be With Me". Thanks for another great interview!🙏
Janis with Big Brother: "Down On Me."
Sonny and Cher: "And The Beat Goes On."
The Who: "Happy Jack."
The Intruders: "Cowboys To Girls."
The Sandpipers: "Never My Love."
The Delfonics: "La La Means I Love You."
Omg K-tel! I memberrr 😄
I just realized, it wasn’t K-Tel, it was Crystal Corp. out of Nashville.
Wow, I hadn't thought about Journey to the Center of the Mind for a long time. Fantastic!!!
Whoa, did NOT know about this vocal. A 16-yr-old? Sounds like a 45-yr-old man. Now this song gets to blow my mind again, all these years later.
This will stand alongside “The Letter” by the Box Tops with Alex Chilton doing that vocal at 16 as well. What the heck was in the water back then?
Or hearing groups like the Spencer Davis Group (edited) and realizing how young they were as well, yet nailed they their vocals (often better than later efforts by the various members after they split).
I thought that Randy Seol, the drummer sang that song...
@@b_uppy you mean Spencer Davis Group? With little Stevie Winwood on vocals?
@@cwize
Yes, thank you.
Think Steve Winwood, and Paul Rodgers are great examples of young, super talented white kids that could nail songs. Think Aretha Franklin was an example of another young person that could sing the heck out of a song...
The Box Tops song, The Letter, was popular around the same time (fall 1967) with mature sounding 17 year old Alex Chilton on lead vocals
The completely unique thing about those guys- They had TWO bass players! I bought that single the moment it showed up in the local record shop.
Now, THAT’s rare for a band.
Not sure about double bass, but they def had two drummers
I was born in 1960, but I had a cousin ten years older who saw to it that I experienced all the great music of the 60s. I learned to love late 50s music from my parents. So I am lucky! I have experienced a lot of great music!
Most bands don’t want to sound dated because they think it will limit their longevity and maybe that happened for SAC. But the fact that this song is so recognisably 60s psychedelia makes it a classic. I’m sure a lot of us would have loved to experience the Summer of Love and Incense and Peppermints sends us there.
Agreed. I have a "Summer of Love" double album on cassettes & it is quite the time travel capsule. The one song that gives me that feeling the fastest is "Incense & Peppermints". "I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night" by the Electric Prunes, Scott McKenzie's "San Francisco", Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth", & the Byrds' "Eight Miles High" are all up there.
Professor - here is another one Psychotic Reaction. I believe it is also a one hit song and also the late 60s
I was born in 1964, and this really takes me back to that magical time!
I lived next door to the house some of the band members rented in 67/68. We would sit on the wall and listen to them play. It was awesome. Thanks Professor, for bringing back some wonderful memories!
I am glad I was born in 1970. 50s and 60s music was still playing on the radio.
Seeing Mark Wieze playing the melody of Incence and Peppermint on the piano, I have to learn to play this song! 😊
Cool! Do you play? How many years?
@@ProfessorofRock Started piano lessons in the first grade. I still practice. Here is a video about my piano.
czcams.com/video/GI31JfRJVWY/video.htmlsi=0TGyY_JBpkKWl_Nf
I was born in 1966 but didn't really start listening to popular music until 1977. I loved the music that was popular at that time, but as you said the music of the 60s was still prominent on the radio also. It was so cool to listen and learn about songs and artists of the previous decade, many of which I enjoyed just as much as the contemporary music of that time.
@@chrisoakley5830 Me too. Thanks for your comment.
My dad was born in 1970 and ABC was the #1 song in the country! My mom was born in 1969 when Get Back was at #1.
How do you manage to get these incredible interviews? I'm a truck driver in Oklahoma and love listening to these legends talk about their music.
Because he has 3/4 million followers. These people crave publicity. Its why they joined bands in the first place.
I second this, especially as we likely only have a few more years to talk to some of them!
Boomer!
@@jimmywilson4809Sooner!
Artists, especially from back then, truly and genuinely just loved creating and performing music, and love sharing their stories with others that share and respect the artistry.
I was a little kid in the 60's and this is one of those songs that left an indelible mark as I sat in the back seat and listened to that speaker at ear level between the seats in my dad's '64 Thunderbird. Fantastic interview. didn't know there never was a stereo mix. I just love all the tempo changes in this song, kind of Brian Wilson-esque, also loving the harmonies, the keyboards, . Come to think of it Good Vibrations was another of those songs hearing back then that left an indelible mark, also I believe the first major hit to go over the 3 minute mark. The standard to that point was if it was over 3 minutes, DJ's wouldn't play it.
Incense and Peppermints will always be on my deserted island list! Thanks again Adam and Mark.
Being born in 1955 I am thankful for being immersed in 3 decades of the greatest music written. From the birth of rock and roll to the beginning of disco in the 70's. The development of the transistor gave us pocket radios in the 60's where we could take our music everywhere. I still love do-wop and everythying that came after. The memories that are triggered by certain songs make me smile, sad, and every emotion in between. I remember that red haired girl who was my first love, cruising, hot summer nights, driving up highway 1 in the rain to my first Army duty station. The sights, sounds, and smells of places and events fill my mind when I hear these songs. It was a magical time to grow up.
This song reminds me of my Junior prom, they played it multiple times. What a great time to be young! 😊
Awesome!
I wish they played it at our dances.
Brother Adam, this song has is a significant emotional event for me. My mom had just died from an OD of reds, and this song stirred me in a happy way. Believe it or not, the hook for me was the snare/open high hat, break. My favorite karaoke song to sing, I always love the audience reaction, because I nail it every time. You are, by far, the best at this keep on rocking brother. Thank you very much.
I'm sorry to hear about your mom.
I was born in 1951 and this music causes such a rush of joy when I hear it. Along with the two other songs you mentioned, I would put at the top of my playlist several more. I remember dancing to "light my fire" in the school gym the first night it came out and then "born to be wild," "crimson and clover," "magic carpet ride," and I could go on. To this day the sensations, sounds, and even the smells and textures of that decade of music still come to me and reminds me how mind blowing it all was. . . . and still is. Love the show.
I am OBSESSED with seeing photos from back then of department stores, malls and dime stores!!! I collect toys from that period too ! So my DREAM is to see someone that ran around with a camera - in supermarkets (I collect vintage cereal boxes and kids food products like Fizzies and Pop Tarts And Quisp and Quake cereal) , toy stores , record stores , etc....
I was in high school in Southern CA when this song was popular, and I remember Strawberry Alarm Clock coming to our school (Monroe High School) to play for some event. It was "totally groovy man!" 😊
This was an exemplary episode Adam. Thank you so much.
Thanks for watching!
I didn't think I'd watch.........I did right to the end.....very good.
I was born in '67 so I was too young to remember this when I came out. But I remember the song on AM radio that my folks listened to. It is quite infectious even for kids. Enjoyed the interview. It's nice to get back stories from bands that are now largely forgotten yet played a role in the development of rock, no matter how minor it may have been.
Thanks for sharing Greg!
You’re right. One will still be singing the melody for hours afterward.
Unlucky I was born 66 so remember it clearly!
68. I lived my first two years in the 60s. Don't remember a thing. I think my mom spiked my milk.
This song really captures the psychedelic sound and while the lyrics are unusual, it is very catchy. I also associate it with the opening scenes in the first Austin Powers movie where he was dancing to it prior to being frozen. The back stories to these songs are always very interesting.
I had the pleasure of visiting Ed at his home about 5 months before he passed. I miss having coffee in the morning and reading his Facebook posts! He was hilarious. We’d been friends for years. He taught me the rhythm to I Need You because I just couldn’t get it by ear. His solo in MCA is wicked! Damn I miss him…….
Great episode!! I always love when the artist plays a bit of their classic like Mark Weitz just did. Never knew how hard the SAC to work to get their single on the airwaves, amazing too it was never recorded in stereo yet it sounds like it. To think a young guy who was just sitting in took the lead vocals. Great episode professor! This song definitely captures the whole summer of love feel.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I am surprised at the fact that it wasn’t recorded in stereo. It’s the quintessential psychedelic 60s song.
@@ProfessorofRockí ok I'll I'll ll3³333
I thought for a while the song was going to be The Letter by the Box Tops. The lead singer of the Box Tops was 16 when The Letter was released.
That was my first thought as well.
@@bradhogue2029as Prof said my Dad also shared the 60s with me and all the great music and TV shows. It's really groovy to be a Millennial and know what it means to be groovy
Such young bands back then!
Me too.
He sure didn’t sound like it!
This is my favorite of your videos. Mainly because you mentioned Paul C. Buff. He was a friend: we had some great conversations, but I didn't know him in his sound days. We didn't even meet in person until I interviewed for the chief engineer position at his photographic equipment company. He was such a character, and is sorely missed.
I was born in '62, so a lot of the first music I ever heard was from that decade. I loved the clear sound of the songs. If you paid attention you could hear the vocals clearly, each instrument. For me for a long time it was all about the lyrics and the vocals, the instruments were great accompaniment but I listened to the vocals. I still focus mostly there but musician friends coerced me into at least trying to listen to the instrumentals too. Music was often my best escape from things. I think I was around ten when I got my first pocket radio and I'd carry it everywhere with the earplug constantly in one ear. In junior high I would bring one to school in a jacket pocket, didn't listen to it at school, but often on the bus or the final walk from the bus to home. I also missed the bus quite frequently, really really hated getting up that early, so I ended up walking to and sometimes from school - and of course the radio was my companion.
The moment I heard this song on the radio I raced down to the "five and dime" and bought the 45-single, and then played the grooves off of it. I was in eighth grade and loved the psychedelic sound that was infiltrating EVERYTHING (including toothpaste commercials). I wasn't fully knowledgeable about the term "psychedelic" yet... just give me another year to get the full meaning.
Supposedly "mind manifesting"coined by Dr Timothy Leary.
But that's delusory. Psyche is the Muse or goddess of thought, and Delphi, from whic he extracted delic,
Was the Temple of Apollo where priestess would interpret your dreams and make Oracular statements.
Upon the marquee of the doorway was carved
" Know Thyself"
BUT,
As i learned surfing and in ballet,
The struggle to mastery is the route through which you WILL know yourself.
Annold sculptor told me, one day when i was wandering, broken: " The Universe is contained in ANYTHING you do.'
Just as my old yoga teacher told me: he took lsd, and found he felt nor saw anything different.
Neither, later, did I.
Your Dreams are you at pure Play.
Make a practice of contemplating your dreams, and you will experience the same.
This is fact, although of course, you must apply concentration and Attention to find what your inner Play is About.
Great interview Adam!! Always good to hear from the musicians who created it!!
I was born in 1950... The 60's & 70's were absolutely the best two decades of rock music to ever exist!
What fun...This program never disappoints! Thank you!
Certainly a 60’s psychedelic theme song, and the lyrics completely match the arrangement. It’s always the studio last minute, make or break stories that change the course of music history. And a nod to Ed King, dude was a master. Thanks Adam!
Thanks for watching!
I love the picture that this song paints.
Great song. Couldn't do a sound track of the 60s without this song.
During the 60’s there were many great songs. I remember many of them and have them in my jukebox and play them often. Many remind me of different things in my life at the time. I got my first pocket size transistor radio in 1957. I remember the song ”Suspicion” by Terry Stafford, breaking up with my first steady girlfriend. A few years later driving my 1966 Chevelle SS396 Convertible, top down playing “I Get Around” by The Beach Boys, what a great time. Etc……. Most records bring back some fond memories about, girls, cars, friends, times……….I can go on and on!
Hey Adam. Thanks so much for reacting to this one! I always loved the so-called "Psychedelic Pop" genre even though some of my friends looked down their nose at this music. "Incense and Peppermints" really did define a certain period of time that I was part of, so I must give it its due. Several years ago I was in a discount store and I found a CD called "Psychedelic Pop,12 Spaced-out 60's Classics" and of course "Incense and Peppermints was on it along with some other great tunes of the era. (I still have that CD and still listen to it, by the way!) It has songs by The Electric Prunes, The Blues Magoos, Fever Tree, and Vanilla Fudge, among others. As always, the back story on these songs is really interesting and shout out to you for taking the time to uncover the facts. Keep doing what you're doing! Peace.
Love this episode Prof. I've always loved the bands from the 60's that were heavy on electric organs and synthesizers.
So cool! Enjoy! Who else that fit that description?
@@ProfessorofRock Rascals, Doors, Procol Harum, Zombies, The Animals
Iron Butterfly, speaking of 'Heavy'
@@Lam_3-22-23
60s psychedelic and garage rock is my jam!
B-3 Organ.
Great show and interview. I appreciate his humbleness and truths. Incense & Peppermint was and still is a catchy tune.❤👍🏼☺️
As a sophomore in HS in 1967, my school won a contest sponsored by the local radio station, KMEN in San Bernardino, CA. It was a "school spirit" contest and the school that submitted the most signatures to the radio station would win a concert featuring a "known" band. We all flipped out when we heard that SAC was coming to our gymnasium to play. I'll never forget it, they played through their entire song list and had to play Incense & Peppermint a second time! Great memories!
I have this on my iPod. Listened to it on a road trip last week. I was 7 in 1967 and I don't think I ever figured out the lyrics until I was an adult, but I always loved the bouncy tune and the harmonies. And the names are groovy. 😄
Loved Strawberry Alarm Clock
Their music helped define that 60s sound.
I remember seeing them in the movie Psych Out with Jack Nicholson as well as several other television shows.
Very cool episode.
Thank you for this.
👍✌️🙏
Thanks for watching!
I just watched the video of Incense and Peppermint with Jack Nicholson in it the other day.
@@DDKaraokeOutlaw Excellent!!!!!
Good stuff. ✌️
@@ritchhine6255 It is. 👍
I have not seen that movie!
I remember when this song aired on the local radio station! I grew up listening to a wide variety of music but with an emphasis on country & western. And then one day I heard this song on the radio, totally blew me away. All forms of rock became my go-to from then on. And altho I'm more into jazz today, my heart still belongs to rock, especially psychedelic rock. And all because of Strawberry Alarm Clock.
1967, a very seminal time for a nascent teenager. So much happened that year. The music was incredible. Jefferson Airplane, Cream, Animals, Byrds, Doors, Strawberry Alarm Clock. What a time.
Hi Professor - I like your podcast and of course I LOVE, love, love MUSIC. I'M OLDER and I was lucky to have had a boyfriend from Orange County, Southern Cali, and a young girl that had only lived in Texas. I moved to Cali and that is where I got to hear some live "GREAT MUSIC" in Los Angeles. SANTANA BAND; JANIS JOPLIN (Blues), B.B.King (blues); other bands that were not known yet from 1960's-1970's. I was young after high school graduation. But it was "heaven" for me. I just discovered your podcast. Will continue to be a fan. "THANKS A MILLION"! 🎶❤️
I bought this single when it first came out ... one of my all-time favorites. SAC also had a hit with "Tomorrow", but it wasn't anywhere near the success of "Incense and Peppermints" and I bought that single as well. Still have them both, although they have seen plenty of wear. I ended up being the kid who used his record collection to play DJ for school dances, and this song was hugely popular at the school, along with Music Machine's "Talk Talk" and ? and the Mysterians "96 Tears". Incredible times, and incredible memories. Thanks for sharing this story and interview. I instantly knew the song from just the title of this vid ... I remember the story well, but hadn't seen the inteerview.
I wish my school played songs like this at our prom, instead of just trap music.
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 I understand. ASs a former drummer, and experiencing these songs and groups as they emerged, I can tell you that it's been one hell of a great ride. There were some composers & musicians with whom I grew up, and I highly recommend listening to their creations. It was big fun to live it.
@@chadbennett7873 The 60s had it all. Some of the very best groovy songs ever crafted.
Music Machine has a LOT of better songs than "Talk Talk". worth a DEEP DIVE into their SECOND lp and later songs ! Pretty amazing !
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 Totally agreed ... I was there. It built a love of music in me that has carried me through my life.
Great band to know for trivia contests. It is also one of my go to 60s songs. I LOVE the psychedelic era!!
Same! Such a great song!
Me too. Great time to be alive.
I am 72+ and all we had was AM radio in our cars back then. I still think I have the 45 I bought back then. I have around a 3 ft. stack of all my 45's from that period. Great times. That song was too hard for my band to even think about playing. The illusion, Have you seen her eyes was another one hit wonder in my mind, I think that was 1969. The Rugbys "You and I was another one that I remember.
I was asked once how I remember all of the 50's and 60's songs, my edge was I grew up in a family that lived music, in particular rock and roll. My grandmother loved Elvis Presley as well.
Mark Weitz mentioning "You don't want to sound lousy on stage" reminds me of my dad (RIP) telling me about when he went to see Steppenwolf in concert in the late 60s or very early 70s, and he though they were drunk and/or high (although listening to Mark, likely also tour fatigue issues, I would assume), and it apparently showed badly in how they sounded...
Sounds like a disaster to me!
I kind of like that there is no stereo version of IP because it has authentic sound. That's the way we heard it on the radio and it really takes me back to my 12 year old self hearing it, dancing to it and loving it!
Wow! Another cool story dude! I have always loved this song since I was kid. I remember my older sister blasting it when it came on the radio. She was 7 years older than me, but her taste in music was great! She worked 2 jobs in HS. She drove a bus and then worked at a Snack Bar at a 5 and Dime called Roses. They had records there. She bought them. The Guess Who, 3 Dog Night, Rare Earth, Led Zeppelin, Tommy James and the Shondells, J Geils Band, Elvis, Jackson 5, The Grass Roots, Beatles, The Monkees, CSN, and many others that I could keep going on about...
I guess it was like Woolworths lunch counter ?
Song that defines the 60's for me is by the band "Young Bloods" I believe they're called, "come on people now, smile on your brother everybody get together try to love one another right now"
I loved this song so much when I was young. My boyfriend and I played this incessantly.
I always loved Strawberry Alarm Clock. It's woven into the tapestry of my young teen years, along with CSN, Jefferson Airplane and the like. It was a fantastic time to be young!
I'll bet! Thanks for sharing!
The free lovin’ 60s!
Great interview Adam. I always liked this song and remember it playing on the radio in my childhood in the 60's. Ed King. What needs to be said about such a great guitar player and gentleman. Sweet Home is iconic and a testament to Ed's talents. I was fortunate enough to see Ed play a few times when he rejoined Skynyrd in the late 80's and into the 90's. Sadly, I didn't get to see Skynyrd before the crash. They played within 2 hours of me several times but at 14-16 years old, I couldn't drive and no way my parents would have let me go anyway. I saw them 8 times after they reunited in 1987. One of my all-time favorite bands.
I would have snuck in a ticket or two…just sayin’.
I saw them after the crash in 1987 or 1988. Lead vocals by the youngest Van Zant (Johnny). They did Freebird as an encore with no vocals, just as an instrumental as a tribute to the departed Ronnie Van Zant. It was strange, but powerful.
The AI brought me to your channel. I grew up in the 60s, a Vietnam War veteran. Came home couldn't find a job, who hires x special forces veterans who are mentally lost? Rock bands looking for stage security. Quite journey through the 60s and 70s. I met a lot of famous people and made a lot friends. It's amazing world back stage.
I grew up in New Orleans in the 60's. It was a magical time for music. There was a SOUND to the time.
Thanks so much for documenting all this rock history for us and future generations of music lovers.
I'm still learning about this genre. I liked it, but my parents had different tastes from me; Dad liked classical, Mom like talk radio & folk music. Rock was pretty much forbidden in the house.
Agreed!! Being born in the 70's, when you hear that song on oldies radio, that is definitely one of those songs that is completely different from anything you might have heard in the previous hour or so. Even without the rock history lesson, you know that thing doesn't quite fit on a playlist featuring the Beach boys or the Troggs.
This song is in a league of its own compared to the Troggs and Beach Boys.
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 yes indeed! That was my whole point, God bless.
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 so what the heck is my point, I know. That even without knowing your rock history, how sharply you can hear the psychedelic shift change in the sounds packed into this semibubble gum song. Definitely a huge step forward in them days.
There should be a ONE HIT WONDER HALL OF FAME …OR AWARD. I lLOVE one hit one bands. ….They have precisely ONE more hit than I ever had! Cheers.
I was at Lathrop junior high in Santa Ana, California, living in a big apartment complex. In one of the apartments were The Chantays, high on their surf hit. they were smoking $100 bills. They played lunchtime at my junior high once and the tickets cost $.10 each. The opening song rift captured the spirit of surf music and I will always remember the thrill of “being there “.
"Incense and Peppermints" has always been one of my favorites. Typically, I combine it with "I had too much to dream last night" , "white rabbit" and "Lather".
To go back to the 60's, I also add "Pipeline". I have collected over 200 versions of "Pipeline" and only a few covers (like the Humans) measure up to the original. Wild arrangements like the Bombay Beach boys prove how versatile the song is.
The Chantays original will always be my favorite.
Every time I hear this song I can't help but remember a Psychedelic Alarm Clock that my uncle kept in his office, back in the early 70's! Wish that was still around!
Very cool!
Was it a strawberry alarm clock? 🍓
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 It was a pinkish body and the face was that plastic that is wavy when you look at it at different angles with reddish stripes on it. The hands where red and numbers black. Wish it would have survived.
@@mypl510 I can kind of picture this.
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 Just imagine the lines being a bit wavy and fuzzy! LOL!
I was in first grade during the 60's and it was a great time to be alive.
Professor, your enthusiasm really fuels these guys to expand on their stories.
Possibly one of the most influential songs of its time and a reason why 60s psychedelic is one of my favorite genres ever, alongside 80s new wave. The whole atmosphere of the song is intended to mimic the effects of taking psychedelic drugs, as I’ve seen it.
Did you change your pic?
@@ProfessorofRock Yes. My sister and I adore My Melody.
"Turn on, tune in, turn your mind around" - NOT about psychedelics? C'mon...
I always liked the song because it had a positive happy energy and very good vocal harmonies. I was surprised to see in a photo shown in this video that two of the members are both holding bass guitars.
I remember hearing this song when I was about seven as L.A. station KHJ blasted out of the little speaker in our Midnight Blue 1966 Ford Galaxie 500. Man, what a car!! My sister is a few years older than I am, so she always cranked up the tunes. Thanks, sis!! Ha ha!! 😁😁😁
I grew up with this song and now at 70, I still get nostalgic when I hear it played!
This record, and Bubble Puppy's "Hot Smoke and Sassafras" are standout pop-psyche records in my jukebrain.
How about Journey to the Center of the Mind?
If you ever swung a flying V around your body, had the strap break and watched your expensive guitar fly through the wall… You will absolutely love the content of this channel!!!
Oh wow!
😅
love love love this interview, and beautifully painting the picture of that time. ❤”thats us.. on the radio” 😊