Louise, from Surrey, England, was a very short-live eccentric psychedelic band. They formed in 1966 & broke up the year after. They only recorded two songs which were released on a 45 single, both (especially Toymaker Shop) arguably being some of the most psychedelic music ever created. The songs were recorded on a Revox half-track reel to reel tape machine in early 1967. Their music, deemed "a bit too crazy" from one A&R executive, most likely prevented the band from getting a permanent recording contract.
RECOMMENDED SONG: Toymaker Shop (song video below)
Lexington Avenue (originally known as The Plague) was a short-lived Thunder Bay, Canada band formed in 1967 & disbanded in 1968. During this time they released 3 pleasant 'Sunshine Pop' sounding singles.
The Lemon Fog were one of the first American garage rock/psychedelic rock bands from Houston, Texas. They began in 1963 as a surf rock/soul pop band called the Bar Eights. By 1965 they changed their name to Lemon Fog and eventually went on to release 2 singles in 1967 and 1968. They broke up in 1970. As with many singles-only bands of the era, it would be several decades later (2011) that we would finally see the release of "The Psychedelic Sound Of Summer With The Lemon Fog," a compilation of singles, outtakes and demos, which aroused interest in the band.
RECOMMENDED SONG: Echoes of Time (song video below)
The Lemon Drops, from Illinois, USA, were established by seven High School students in 1966. While active they released three singles in 1967, garnering regional success & airplay around Chicago. By 1968, record companies were expressing an interest in the band. The first offer by Uni records was refused by the band. The second deal couldn't be completed because the label Buena Vista went bankrupt before signing. Finally a third attempt went awry when the band would partake in an acid party the night before contract signing. However it would take nearly two decades before a compilation album of singles, rarities, outtakes and demos would re-invigorate interest in the band. Today the Lemon Drops are highly praised by record collectors.
Lazy Smoke was a psychedelic rock band from Haverhill, Massachusetts, formed in 1967. The band garnered some attention due to lead vocalist John Pollano sounding eerily similar to John Lennon. Their one-and-only album, 'Corridor of Faces,' was released before their breakup in 1969. The album, who's songs seemlessly weave into one another, is considered by many to be a psych masterpiece. With only 500 copies pressed, the record has become a prized possession amongst collectors.
Kaleidoscope (US band, not to be confused by the UK band of the same name), was a psychedelic folk & ethnic (middle eastern influenced) band based in Los Angeles, California. They self-proclaimed themselves as a democratic band, one without a "leader." From 1966 to 1969, they released four albums (one reaching #139 on the billboard charts) and 5 singles. It's said that Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page once referred to Kaleidoscope as his favorite band of all time. Members of the band reunited and recorded albums twice, in 1976 & 1990.
RECOMMENDED SONG: Keep Your Mind Open (song video below + lyrics)
Kaleidoscope (UK band, not to be confused by the US band of the same name) was an English psychedelic rock & pop band from London. Having released several melodic singles & two albums from 1967 to 1969, they received critical acclaim but overall poor sales. In 1970 they changed their name to Fairfield Parlour with similar praise & further lack of results. A third previously unreleased F.P. album was finally issued in 1990. They disbanded in 1972.
RECOMMENDED SONG: Kaleidoscope (song video below + lyrics)
Heavy on flange & quite trippy at times, July was a very British sounding psychedelic rock & pop band from London, active between 1968 & 1969. They began in the early 1960's as The Dreamers (soon thereafter renamed The Tomcats), influenced by the Everly Brothers & The Shadows. As July, they had virtually shed 100% of their roots and gone completely psychedelic! Their 1 album & 3 singles (all released in 1968) failed to chart & the band broke up in 1969. They briefly re-formed in 2009. In recent years, their records have become increasingly sought after by record enthusiasts.
Recommended Song: I See (song video below + lyrics)
Jennifer's Friends formed in New Haven, Connecticut (USA) in May 1967. Originally called Zyme, they decided to change their name in honor of Jennifer, a female friend & guest of the band. Despite recording a handful of tracks early-on, the band only released one single, "Land of Make Believe," which garnered some mainly local airplay. The B-side, "Visions," is a jarring flange-laden psychedelic ride. Afterwards, they were given the opportunity to record a track called "What's the Worst That Can Happen," which they decided to pass on - it would later be recorded & become a #1 hit by a band called 'Brooklyn Bridge.'
RECOMMENDED SONG: Land of Make-Believe (song video below)
Jason Crest were a Tonbridge, Kent (England) based psychedelic pop group, active from 1967 to 1970. In all they released five singles to little fanfare. However, like many bands of the era, their street cred has grown over time & elevated the band to cult status. By 1970, band leader Terry Clark departed. Without him they recorded six radio session songs (unreleased) before changing their name to High Broom.
RECOMMENDED SONG: A Place In the Sun (song video below + lyrics)
The Ivy League formed in the 1964, comprising of three session singers all having great vocal range. They managed four top 50 hits in the UK in 1965 and 1966. By 1967, their material had evolved into early sunshine pop before splitting. Members of the band soon thereafter transitioned into the unit 'Flowerpot Men' who's melodies were similar to the Ivy League, but more psychedelic-pop oriented, and spawning a worldwide hit "Let's Go to San Francisco."
RECOMMENDED SONG: Four and Twenty Hours (song video below)
Hailing from Wilmington, Delaware (USA) the Ides recording career was brief & to the point. Their only obscure single, the upbeat "Psychedelic Ride," was released in 1967.
RECOMMENDED SONG: Psychedelic Ride (song video below)
Not much known about Ice, except they were a British psychedelic pop band, formed at the University of Sussex. They only released two singles in 1967 & 1968. The second, "Ice Man," was the more memorable piece of psychedelia of the two.
RECOMMENDED SONG: Ice Man (song video below + lyrics)
To say The Hooterville Trolley's career was short would be an understatement. Hailing from Albuquerque, New Mexico, their one-and-only 1968 single "No Single Bird" would be both a solid introduction & encore to their psychedelic rock career. On their resume they can at least say they once opened for Buffalo Springfield, and The Seeds.
RECOMMENDED SONG: No Silver Bird (song video below + lyrics)
The Holy Mackerel were a late 60's Los Angeles, USA, psychedelic & country pop band comprised of seasoned musicians (one formerly of Jefferson & another from the Turtles). Headed by Paul Williams (future hit songwriter for acts such as Three Dog Night, The Carpenters & Helen Reddy) and given a helping hand from Roger Nichols, the band recorded just one self-titled record in 1968, released after the band had already broke up. That's unfortunate because upon release Billboard Magazine had labeled it as their "Special Merit Pick."
RECOMMENDED SONG: Wildflowers (song video below + lyrics)
Lyrics: Wildflowers
I walk blindly through a field of wildflowers
Searching now and long and endless hours
For the meaning of, the simple meaning of, the wildflowers
Wandering aimlessly i feel a strange force call me
While tripping to the call i turn and stumble
And i fall upon by mere chance upon, one special flower
One special flower, that to my surprise, won't be in my eyes
Standing out from all the others
Flower's there something rare it lives and shows it
Its beauty is its power and it knows it
To love and free itself
To know and be itself, a wildflower
One special flower, no longer all alone
A better way is shown, through this field of wildflowers
Hearts aglow ill walk i know like rainbows bursting
With colours in the air for rainbows bursted
I find the air is new, my love will guide me through, the wildflowers
Hog Heaven was a short-lived band. Basically they were four members of Tommy James & the Shondells minus the leader Tommy James. In 1971 they recorded just one country spiced psychedelic album, from which two singles were released to little notoriety.
The Hobbits, primarily a project of Jimmy Curtiss (a promising yet unsuccessful singer/songwriter since the late 1950's), were a soft psychedelic, folk pop band from Queens, New York City, formed in 1965. They were primarily a studio project rather than a live band with Curtiss himself describing their music as "vocals with instrumental accompaniment." During the 1967 to 1968 timeframe, they released 2 albums & 4 singles but were met with virtually no commercial success. By 1969, now primarily a Jimmy Curtiss solo project, they were renamed The New Hobbits & reappeared with a new album "Back From Middle Earth," a then obscure but now highly sough-after collectible.
RECOMMENDED SONG: Let Me Run My Fingers Through Your Mind (song video below)
New York born David Hess was a man of many talents - actor, singer, songwriter, and director. He recorded & released a variety of records from 1956 to 1971 & two more albums in the 2000's. His late-60's stab at making sunshine pop was greatly underrated. From 1972 onward he is best known for Acting & film. He died in 2011 at age 75.
RECOMMENDED SONG: The Closer She Gets (song video below)
The Herd were an English rock band, founded in 1965 with 16-year-old Peter Frampton joining as lead singer & guitarist a year later. They record one album and had three UK top 20 hits in 1967 to 1968, including "From the Underworld," a song based on the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The band had completely dissolved by 1970. Frampton had left the group in late 1968 and went on to huge solo success in the 1970's.
RECOMMENDED SONG: From the Underworld (song video below + lyrics)
Hearts and flowers were a Los Angeles, California (USA) eclectic folk rock band which added a touch of psychedelia. In 1967 & 1968 they released two albums & three singles, all of which sold poorly.
RECOMMENDED SONG: Ode To a Tin Angel (song video below)
