Knitting Factory - Hollywood, CA - Dec 28, 2007. Photo by Jan (editor)
Strawberry Alarm Clock was a psychedelic rock band from Los Angeles, known for their 1967 hit "Incense and Peppermints". They are often thought of as a "one-hit wonder", although they charted two Top 40 songs, and five Top 100 songs.
The group originally consisted of Ed King (lead guitar), Mark Weitz (keyboards), Lee Freeman (rhythm guitar), Gary Lovetro (bass), and Randy Seol (drums). On their first and most famous single, "Incense and Peppermints", none of the band wanted to sing songwriter John Carter's lyrics, so lead vocals were sung by Greg Munford, a 16-year-old friend of the band, although the regular vocalists sang backup. The song reached #1 on the Billboard pop singles chart in late 1967. Mark Weitz and Ed King were denied songwriting credit by the band's producer because they did not write the melody line or the lyrics, though the song was built on an instrumental by Weitz with a bridge by King originally intended as a B-side to "Birdman of Alkatrash," which ultimately became the B-side to "Incense and Peppermints." The original composition that became "Incense and Peppermints" was titled "The Happy Whistler."
After that success the band added George Bunnell (bass and rhythm guitar) before making their first LP in 1967, also titled Incense and Peppermints, which hit #11 on the album charts. Bunnell would also become their main songwriter. Some early Strawberry Alarm Clock songs were penned by George Bunnell and Steve Bartek (who would much later join Oingo Boingo, as well as orchestrate Danny Elfman's film scores). Bartek played flute on the first two albums, but could not join the band because of school.
Knitting Factory, Hollywood, CA - 12/28/07
Knitting Factory, Hollywood, CA - 12/28/07
Knitting Factory, Hollywood, CA - 12/28/07
Sky Saxon Memorial - 07/24/09
Sky Saxon Memorial - 07/24/09
Sky Saxon Memorial - 07/24/09
All content posted here on Psychedelic Central, excluding public domain graphics, youtube videos and other forms of public domain material, is copyright protected and may not be copied or used for any purpose without prior writen authorization and consent from the legal copyright holders.
