Strawberry alarm clock

Early years

The group formed in Glendale, San Francisco, and was called Thee Sixpence. It was played by Lee Freeman (vocals, rhythm guitar), Ed King (lead guitar), Mike Luciano (vocals), Steve Rabe (guitar), Gary Lovetro (bass) and Gene Gunnels (drums). The band released several singles on All American Records. They did not have their own songs, and they performed only famous hits. In 1967, keyboardist Mark Weitz and drummer Randy Seol came to them. They released the single Weitz Heartful of Rain song in 1967. This was their first song. Mark Weitz also wrote the song Birdman of Alkatrash, known to all fans of the group. And they decided to record the instrumental composition of King and Weitz Incense & Peppermints on the bi-side of this single. Frank Slay, the producer, liked the song, but told them that she needed a good text. The group tried to write the text, but nothing came of it. Then Slay advised them of his authorial duet - John Carter and Tim Gilbert. Carter wrote a text for her, but Gilbert was also contributed to the authorship. There were problems with her recording too. Lee Freeman did not like the song, and he flatly refused to sing it. Sang her Greg Manford, a 16-year-old kid loitering around the studio. Due to disputes with the authorship, only Carter and Gilbert wrote the songs as authors. No one objected, because it was a song only for b-side, but it was the radio DJs who liked it the most and became the band’s only hit.

Strawberry Alarm Clock

Soon the group switched to the UNI records label. By then, George Bunnell had joined them, becoming their second bass player, and Steve Bartek , a 15-year-old guy who played the guitar and flute. The label demanded a new name from them, more suitable. The guys thought about the name for a long time. Someone suggested the name Strawberry, probably referring to The Beatles ' Strawberry Fields Forever . When they unsuccessfully came up with a name, their attention was drawn to the usual alarm clock, making very stupid sounds. They simultaneously looked at him, and so the name Strawberry Alarm Clock was born. Frank Slay liked the name, and he wrote it down.

First album

With the advent of George Bunnell and Steve Bartek, the Strawberry Alarm Clock repertoire included several new songs, such as The World's on Fire, Strawberries Mean Love, Birds in My Tree, and Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow. The first album, called Incense & Peppermints , was released in November 1967 and hit the 11th spot on the Billboard charts. Strawberry Alarm Clock could not repeat more of this success. The material on the album was mostly written by George Bannel and Steve Bartek, most of the songs were sung by Randy Seol. Incense & Peppermints has become a classic of the psychedelic genre.

Further History

At the end of 1967, the group starred in the movie Psycho-Out , where the song “Pretty Song from Psych-Out” was presented to the public. In December 1967, the single "Tomorrow" / "Birds in My Tree" was released. He reached line 23 on the charts. After him, the band released the album Wake Up ... It's Tomorrow. Due to the fact that the label hesitated with its release, the album sold very poorly. In addition, former bassist Gary Lovetro sued them, sued $ 25,000 and left the band. Later they released the album The World in a Seashell , the recording of which the label took up personally, which is why almost the entire first side of the record was clogged with instrumental music, and the authors included left-wing people. The album was also commercially disastrous.

Decay

The failure of The World in a Seashell album negatively impacted the band’s further history. George Bunnell and Randy Seol left and started another project, also called the Strawberry Alarm Clock, which caused the promoters to be confused and this interrupted the concert activity of both groups. Then Ed King switched to the bass, Jimmy Pitman became the frontman, and Marty Caton, later replaced by Gene Hannels, stood up for the drums. In this composition they recorded the fourth album. It was written for the most part by Pitman, was completely unlike their old recordings and contained mainly blues material. It also failed, and after its publication, Pitman and Weitz left. Instead of Pitman, Paul Marshall stood on his guitar. The group recorded several singles, none of which hit the charts, starred in the Russ Meyer movie Outside of the Puppet Valley , but ceased to exist after King left in Lynyrd Skynyrd .

Reunion

Stawberry Alarm Clock reunited several times in the seventies and eighties. In 1982, the group was reunited by Freeman and Bannel. Weitz, Seol, Bartek and Hannels returned to the group. In 1986 they were joined by new guitarist Howie Anderson . During this period, they gave many concerts at which new material was presented. In 2010, Lee Freeman died. The post of frontman was firmly entrenched in Seol. In 2012, the band released a new album, Wake Up Where You Are , consisting of both old hits and new material. Strawberry Alarm Clock continues to perform today. On October 21, 2012, they performed at the Love ride 29 festival.

Current

• Gene Gunnels - drums (1966, 1969-1971, 1983-present)
• George Bunnell - bass , guitar , electric mandolin (1967-1968, 1974-1975, 1982-present)
• Randy Seol - drums , vocals , percussion , vibraphone (1967-1968, 1974-1975, 1983-present)
• Steve Bartek - guitar , flute (1967-1968, 1974-1975, 2006-present)
• Howie Anderson - lead guitar (1986-present)
• Mark Weitz - organ (1967-1969, 1982-1983, 2006-present)

Former

• Lee Freeman - vocals , rhythm guitar , sitar , harmonica (1966-1971, 1974-1975, 1982-2010)
• Ed King - lead guitar , bass (1966-1971, 2007)
• Gary Lovetro - bass guitar (1966-1967)
• Jimmy Pitman - Guitar (1969)
• Paul Marshall - guitar (1970-1971)
• Marty Caton - drums (1968-1969)

Albums

• Incense & Peppermints UNI 3014 (Mono) & 73014 (Stereo) - 1967 # 11
• Wake Up ... It's Tomorrow UNI 73025 - 1968
• The World In a Seashell UNI 73035 - 1968
• Good Morning Starshine UNI 73054 - 1969
• Wake Up Where You Are GRA Group - 2012

1. Incense and Peppermints / The Birdman of Alkatrash (UNI 55018 - 19 May 1967) # 1
2. Tomorrow / Birds in My Tree (UNI 55046 - Dec 1967) # 23
3. Sit With the Guru / Pretty Song From Psych-Out (UNI 55055 - Mar 1968) # 65
4. Barefoot in Baltimore / An Angry Young Man (UNI 55076 - Aug 1968) # 67
5. Sea Shell / Paxton's Back Street Carnival (UNI 55093 - Oct 1968)
6. Stand By / Miss Attraction (UNI 55113 - Feb 1969)
7. Good Morning Starshine / Me and the Township (UNI 55125 - Apr 1969) # 87
8. Desiree / Changes (UNI 55158 - Sep 1969)
9. Starting Out the Day / Small Package (UNI 55185 - 1969)
10. I Climbed the Mountain / Three (UNI 55190 - Dec 1969)
11. California Day / Three (UNI 55218 - Apr 1970)
12. Girl from the City / Three (UNI 55241 - Jul 1970)
13. Mr. Farmer (2012)

1. Psych-Out OST (UNI 1968)
2. Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)

1. The Best of Strawberry Alarm Clock (UNI 73074 - 1970)
2. Changes (Vocalion VL 73915 - 1971)
3. Antology (1993)
4. Step by Step as Thee Sixpence

• Group at allmusic.com
• Group at rhapsody.com
• Group on billboard.com
• Group at psychedelicsight.com
• Double star series
• Lee Freeman's death
• Murrells, Joseph. The Book of Golden Discs. - 2nd. - London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd, 1978. - P. 231. - ISBN 0-214-20512-6 .
• Official site
• Interview
• Group at livemusicmagazine.com
• Discography