Country Joe & the Fish, the Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Strawberry Alarm Clock

Country Joe & The Fish

Country Joe & The Fish were a Californian band who were famous for their anti-Vietnam War stance in the 1960s, and lead singer 'Country' Joe McDonald's solo acoustic version of I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag, at the 1969 Woodstock Festival, remains an iconic moment in rock and popular music.

The band's name came from 'Country' Joe McDonald and lead guitarist Barry 'The Fish' Melton, and they were one of the pioneers of psychedelic music, especially with their 1967 album, Electric Music For The Mind And Body. Country Joe & The Fish also played the prestigious Monterey Pop Festival of 1967.

The Peanut Butter Conspiracy

With a name redolent of the '60s, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy were an LA psychedelic rock and pop group.

Coming out of The Ashes (literally, the latter being a folk rock combo) in 1966, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy consisted of, initially, Lance Baker Fent on guitar, John Merrill on guitar and vocals, Alan Brackett on bass and vocals, Jim Voigt on drums (Ashes drummer Spencer Dryden had gone off to join Jefferson Airplane), and Barbara 'Sandi' Robison on vocals.

Their most enduring song, Turn On A Friend (To The Good Life) made little impression chartwise, though it was one of the best psychedelic songs of 1967. Their 1966 single, produced by Gary Usher, It's A Happening Thing just sneaked into the Billboard Top 100. Curiously, Glen Campbell was one of the session musicians the band used on their first album, the wittily titled The Peanut Butter Conspiracy Is Spreading. The band undertook a final tour before splitting in 1970.

Strawberry Alarm Clock

Strawberry Alarm Clock were famous for their hit single, Incense And Peppermints, and the album of the same name.

From Los Angeles, Strawberry Alarm Clock tapped into the spirit of the time, with their psychedelic rock sound, and the song 'Incense And Peppermints' always seems to find itself on any documentary about the 'Swinging Sixties'. It was a number one in the US in 1967. Notably, lead singer Greg Munford was only 16. The other members of Strawberry Alarm Clock at this time consisted of Ed King on lead guitar, Randy Seol on drums, Gary Lovetro on bass, Mark Weitz on keyboards, and Lee Freeman on rhythm guitar. George Bunnell (bass/rhythm guitar) then joined the band just before the recording of their debut album, Incense And Peppermints, in 1967. The album did well, reaching a high of 11 in the US charts. Bunnell wrote several songs for Strawberry Alarm Clock with flautist Steve Bartek, but Bartek was still at school, so was too young to join the band! Though he did play on Strawberry Alarm Clock's first two albums.

Also in 1967, Strawberry Alarm Clock's second album, 'Wake Up... It's Tomorrow', was released, which spawned their only other US Top 20 hit - Tomorrow. Often being pushed into recording material they didn't like, Strawberry Alarm Clock also featured in the vile Russ Meyer's Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls movie.

After a helluva lot of line-up changes, Strawberry Alarm Clock split in 1971. Ed King went on to join Lynyrd Skynyrd, and there were several reunions in the 1980s - the first coming about after a clever ploy by LA music club owners, who had put in an advert in a newspaper about a Strawberry Alarm Clock reunion - on the off chance that some band members would turn up to investigate, which rhythm guitarist Lee Freeman did!