Strawberry Alarm Clock
Strawberry Alarm Clock is a psychedelic rock band formed in 1967, originating in Glendale, California, a city about ten miles north of downtown Los Angeles. The band is best known for its 1967 hit single "Incense and Peppermints." Their music is categorized as acid rock, psychedelic pop, and sunshine pop, and they charted five songs in the United States and Canada, including two Top 40 hits.
Career
1966–1967: Formation and early success
A history of the band written by George Bunnell states that "The Strawberry Alarm Clock came about by parts of two bands, Thee Sixpence and Waterfyrd Traene, morphing into one." The group, originally named Thee Sixpence, initially consisted of Ed King, Michael Luciano, Lee Freeman, Gary Lovetro, Steve Rabe, and Gene Gunnels. Randy Seol and Mark Weitz joined to replace the departing Gunnels, Rabe, and Luciano just as the name change to Strawberry Alarm Clock was occurring. Seol eventually brought in songwriters Bunnell and Steve Bartek, who participated in the writing and recording of Strawberry Alarm Clock's first album.The inception of Strawberry Alarm Clock, aside from Thee Sixpence, is not well documented, largely because none of the latter band's recordings were released. However, according to Bunnell, many Strawberry Alarm Clock songs came from the band he had formed previously with Seol, Bartek, Randy Zacuto, Fred Schwartz, and Criss Jay, which performed under the names Waterfyrd Traene, Public Bubble, and Buffington Rhodes. There were two recording sessions with some of these personnel: one with Dave Hassinger at the Recording Factory and one with Bill Lazarus at Sunset Sound. There were probably ten songs in all that were recorded, but Bunnell stated that both masters were stolen. The post-Strawberry Alarm Clock incarnation broke up before any success was realized.
The first and most famous single by Strawberry Alarm Clock was "Incense and Peppermints", produced by Frank Slay. The song was initially released as a B-side by Thee Sixpence on All American Records, which was owned by Bill Holmes, the band's manager and producer. The band was not impressed by the vocals of songwriter John Carter, so Slay chose Greg Munford, a 16-year-old friend of the band from another group called Shapes of Sound, to sing lead on the track. The Uni Records subsidiary of MCA picked up the record for national distribution, and the single was re-released in May 1967 with "Incense and Peppermints" as the A-side. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the week ending November 25, 1967. The band made a cameo appearance performing the song in the Richard Rush film Psych-Out.
Slay refused to give Weitz and King credit for writing the song, stating that they did not write either the melody line or lyrics, even though the song was built on an instrumental by Weitz with a bridge by King. This instrumental was originally intended as a B-side to "The Birdman of Alkatrash", which ultimately became the B-side to "Incense and Peppermints". The single spent one week at No. 1 and remained on the charts for a total of 16 weeks. A gold disc was awarded for sales of one million copies by the Recording Industry Association of America on December 19, 1967.
Shortly after recording "Incense and Peppermints", the band added Bunnell before making their first album. Also titled Incense and Peppermints, it reached No. 11 on the US album chart in late 1967. Bunnell would also become their main songwriter. Some early Strawberry Alarm Clock songs were written by Bunnell with Bartek. The latter played flute on the first two Strawberry Alarm Clock albums and would remain involved with the band's later lineups. Bartek later joined The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo and orchestrated Boingo frontman Danny Elfman's film scores.
In November 1967, and again in April 1968, Strawberry Alarm Clock toured on a bill with the Beach Boys and Buffalo Springfield. During the April leg of the tour, several dates in the South were canceled following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. Ed King said that the band all acquired handguns after King's death for the remaining shows in the South, and that he carried his in his waistband onstage.
In their early days of touring, the band members would often sit on "magic carpets" as their roadies carried them to the stage. Drummer Seol would rig up wrist gas jets to give the illusion that he was playing the bongos and vibes with his hands on fire, until the gimmick became too dangerous.
1968–1969: Lineup changes
During Strawberry Alarm Clock's short lifespan, the band underwent numerous lineup changes. As Bunnell became the primary songwriter, he began playing more of the bass parts, as he was already familiar with the songs. Original bassist Lovetro gradually transitioned into the role of road manager, but was eventually bought out of the group after conflicts with the others before the release of the second album, Wake Up...It's Tomorrow. The album’s single, "Tomorrow", was a minor hit and their only other Top 40 appearance, reaching No. 23 in early 1968. The second album also benefited from vocal coach Howard Davis, who was brought in to help the members elevate the harmony singing featured on Incense and Peppermints to new levels of sophistication.Later 1968 singles included "Sit with the Guru" and "Barefoot in Baltimore". The latter song was especially popular in its namesake city of Baltimore, Maryland, in the counterculture neighborhood of Mount Vernon-Belvedere. The tune received considerable airplay on local Baltimore radio stations and was even occasionally used as a theme song for the city's image in later decades.
Bunnell and Seol left the band in late 1968 at the end of the sessions for The World in a Sea Shell due to disagreements over their manager Bill Holmes' mishandling of the band's business affairs. Bunnell, Seol, and Bartek then formed a new band, Buffington Rhodes. Holmes was fired by the remaining members, but he retaliated by creating an alternate version of Strawberry Alarm Clock and sending them on tour. The band responded with an injunction against Holmes, and the Los Angeles County Superior Court subsequently barred him from using the band's name to start a rival group.
Drummer Marty Katon then joined, along with new lead singer/guitarist Jimmy Pitman, and the band shifted to a more blues rock style. King moved to bass, as he had been playing many of the bass parts in the studio. In early 1969, original "Incense and Peppermints" drummer Gunnels rejoined Strawberry Alarm Clock, replacing Katon. Pitman left in July 1969 after the Good Morning Starshine album failed to sell. He was succeeded by Paul Marshall, who would stay with the group until they disbanded temporarily in 1971. The title track, "Good Morning Starshine", peaked at No. 87 in 1969 but was eclipsed by Oliver's more successful version. Weitz quit in December 1969, and the group continued as a quartet with King, Freeman, Gunnels, and Marshall.
1970–1981: Breakup and brief reunion
In 1970, the band appeared in the Russ Meyer cult classic film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. By this time, their popularity had waned considerably, but they continued touring the South in 1970 and 1971, with an unknown Florida band called Lynyrd Skynyrd opening for them. In late 1971, with no record label and internal conflicts over musical direction, the group decided to disband. Lead guitarist King chose to relocate to the South, while Gunnels joined the backup band for the Everly Brothers, along with Waddy Wachtel and Warren Zevon. During the tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd, King had expressed interest in joining the band to vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, and he accepted an invitation to join in November 1972. King would later compose the classic opening riff to the band's biggest hit, "Sweet Home Alabama", released in 1974.Strawberry Alarm Clock briefly reunited in 1974–1975 with Bunnell, Seol, and Bartek. The trio performed a few shows and contributed the theme song to the late-night 1970s televised rock concert series ABC in Concert. They also appeared on one of the smaller stages at the first California Jam on April 6, 1974.
1982–2001: Reunion and alternate lineup
Strawberry Alarm Clock reunited once again in 1982 after guitarist Freeman spotted a newspaper ad promoting an appearance by the group at a Los Angeles club, The Music Machine. Freeman knew nothing about this gig and went to the club to investigate. There he discovered that the advertisement had actually been a plot by the club's owners to get the real band to reunite. At this point, Freeman, Bunnell, Weitz, and Gunnells reformed as Strawberry Alarm Clock. They were joined in 1983 by singer Leo Gaffney and Freeman's brother, Doug.By 1983, the Strawberry Alarm Clock lineup was Freeman, Bunnell, Peter Wasner, and James Harrah. "Incense and Peppermints" was re-recorded the same year with a lineup of Freeman, Bunnell, Harrah, Bartek, and Clay Bernard, with Bob Caloca on lead vocals. The remake was produced by Dennis Dragon, who also played percussion on the track.
Freeman, Bunnell, Harrah, and Bernard continued on, with Seol rejoining. Seol left again in 1984, and Harrah and Bernard were replaced by actor/musician Jon Walmsley. Bruce Hubbard, who had earlier played with Bunnell in Buffington Roads, took over percussion duties. Walmsley was out by 1986, replaced by guitarist Howie Anderson along with a returning Bernard. Anderson also handled keyboard parts via his synth guitar after Bernard left once again, this time to relocate to New Mexico at the end of the 1980s.
The band began performing on oldies concert tours during the 1980s, often alongside other late-1960s acts such as Moby Grape, the Seeds, and It's a Beautiful Day. The Freeman/Bunnell/Hubbard/Anderson lineup became their longest-lasting, continuing from 1989 to 2001. During this period, members worked on new material, made occasional concert appearances, and pursued other individual careers.
Meanwhile, in 1982, late-1960s Strawberry Alarm Clock member Pitman was performing with a band called Thunderchicken in Salt Lake City, Utah, and decided to form his own version of Strawberry Alarm Clock. He teamed up with Preston Kofoed, Mordecai Noble, Dave Stone, and Dave "Plumb" Derrick. This version of the group played a benefit for the Veterans of the Vietnam War at New Faces Roadhouse and toured extensively throughout the western US before disbanding a few years later in Jackson, Wyoming.