Strawberry Alarm Clock discography
Listings of the group’s album and singles. By title(s)/label/catalog number/year/peak chart position on Billboard.
View the Strawberry Alarm Clock albums page.
SAC albums:
“Incense and 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 13112 — 2012
“The Best of Strawberry Alarm Clock” UNI 73074 — 1970
“Changes” Vocalion VL 73915 — 1971
SAC singles:
“Incense and Peppermints” bw “Birdman of Alkatrash” All American 373 — 1967
“Incense and Peppermints” bw “The Birdman of Alkatrash” UNI 55018 — 1967 #1
“Tomorrow” bw “Birds in My Tree” UNI 55046 — 1967 #23
“Pretty Song From Psych-Out” bw “Sit With the Guru” UNI 55055 — 1968 #65
“Barefoot In Baltimore” bw “Angry Young Man” UNI 55076 — 1968 #67
“Sea Shell” bw “Paxton’s Back Street Carnival” UNI 55093 — 1968
“Stand By” bw “Miss Attraction” UNI 55113 — 1969
“Good Morning Starshine” bw “Me and The Township” UNI 55125 — 1969 #87
“Desiree” bw “Changes” UNI 55158 — 1969
“Starting Out the Day” bw “Small Package” UNI 55185 — 1969
“I Climbed the Mountain” bw “Three” UNI 55190 — 1970
“California Day” bw “Three” UNI 55218 — 1970
“Girl From the City” bw “Three” UNI 55241 — 1970
Sundazed Music reissues:
“Incense and Peppermints” Sundazed 5308
“Wake Up … It’s Tomorrow” 5439 and 5439-CLR
“The World in a Sea Shell” 5440
“The Best Of” 5441
— Compiled by Jeff Ziemer
Links to Amazon product page if title is available
I’ve researched that “Incense and Peppermints” went gold as a single just a little after it hit number one on Billboard,but I can’t find any certifications for the album.Did it ever achieve gold status maybe later in the sixties or in the early seventies?
It has by now, I’m sure. The I&P LP reached #11 on Billboard’s album chart, and as I recall they told us we had to buy the gold record awards if we wanted them….they were like 60.00…none of us did it.
Who were the fiends that wanted to virtually extort you for proper certification of the album, the RIAA or UNI records? The whole thing’s a sin! The album must have earned gold back when it was charting. It hung on to that #11 spot for three straight weeks and the top ten at the time boasted four future HAll of Fame acts. (Beatles,Supremed,Stones,Doors) And another dreadful injustice. Was the failure of the subsequent lps to chart the result of UNI not even having them properly audited by the RIAA?
I’m not really sure who the extorter was…..probably both.
The major error was between UNI and our manager and producer regarding the subsequent LP’s.
What they so miserably failed to do was to cull follow up singles from the I&P LP. Instead they had us rush to record a new song, Tomorrow, written by Mark Weitz and Ed King. Why?, because Mark and Ed were denied writers credit for the first single, Incense and Peppermints. This was a way to make up for that travesty. What it did instead was pull the plug on the momentum of the I&P LP and prematurely promote the 2nd LP which would not be released for months to come. Wake Up It’s Tomorrow was released in early 1968. The single, Tomorrow was released at the end of 1967. Tomorrow did reach #23 on Bilboard’s Hot 100. Even more curious was that the flip side of Tomorrow was Bird’s in My Tree, from the first album!
UNI did little to promote the 2nd album. The urgency of an album to be supported by a single was lost as Tomorrow had already peaked…the album was left to forage on it’s own and died.
The third LP, The World in a Seashell suffered in many ways from the failure of the 2nd album. At this point UNI and our producer and manager had basically blamed the band for writing bad and overly indulgent material. The fix was to bring in outside writers like Carol King, Bob Stone, Roy Freeman and even John Carter and Tim Gilbert who got the full writing credit for Incense and Peppermints. That was another slap in the face for Weitz and (Ed) Kiing. Even curiouser than before the SECOND single from the 3rd LP was Seashell written by Carter and Gilbert and on the flip side is Paxton’s Backstreet Carnival from the 1st LP!
Randy Seol and I left the band after that third long player.
We were on good terms with the band for the most part, but at odds with the manager.
I believe we would have had a better shot at longevity without all the ill fated decision making, and we haven’t even touched on the greed factors involved. The band ended up having to fire the manager and discontinued working with the producer prior to recording the 4th and final LP, Good Morning Starshine.
So in other words,while SAC and cohorts were doing everything they could to spread love,music and good will,The Man insisted on having his devious corporate ways with you anyway.Sickmaking.Was there ever consideration on incorporating yourselves as the Beatles did with Apple.At least with the problems they had there,they could say it was their own wrongdoing and not the falacy of some unwanted interloper.
After the first album we had all agreed to first let go of Gary Lovetro. Then after the third album it was brought to our attention that Bill Holmes, our manager and co-producer was undermining us financially. There were bad dealings going on to the extent that law suits were being brought against us without our knowledge. Worse than that, our hard earned touring profits were being pilfered. We had a band meeting where we all agreed to fire Holmes. Then out of left field he tells us he has cancer and only six months to live and begs us not to fire him. Three band members felt beholding to him and said we can’t go through with it. It was at that point Randy Seol and I quit the band. Bad decisions all around. We had wanted to be a better band. We were all of the same mind to move forward as a cohesive unit without the interlopers.
It was not meant to be.
When the remaining members crawled from the wreckage and picked up the pieces they had a renewed urgency….they did finally fire Holmes and the other producer, Frank Slay. Mark and Ed produced the fourth and final album. They enlisted Jimmy Pitman as the front man and main songwriter and brought back the Incense and Peppermints drummer, Gene Gunnels.
They tried in earnest to regain the momentum that once was, but without the support of their record company and an abandoned audience they floundered. They would have had a fighting chance if UNI had promoted the single and album title song, Good Morning Starshine, as much as Oliver’s record company promoted his version of the song.
Who wrote the lyrics to “Barefoot in Baltimore”?
While anticipating the new album from Strawberry Alarm Clock, there are a couple of things I always wanted to know about the earlier SAC releases and hope you could shed some light on this matter.
I’ve been told though it’s doubtful that one of the SAC albums from 1967 – 1969 was issued with an alternate stereo mix. My question is, are any of these album, “Incense and Peppermints”, “Wake Up It’s Tomorrow”and “The World in a Seashell” of having more than one released stereo mix (whether on subsequent vinyl pressings or CD)?
I think some of the confusion there is because the single of Incense and Peppermints was originally released in mono….and the subsequent “stereo” version was I believe, simulated stereo. I can’t remember if the first album had a mono version as well….hmmm….I think maybe there was.
I’ve always loved the instrumental track played during the party scene in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. I believe it’s called Toy Boy. Is it available anywhere? if not is there any chance it could be made available on the web site?
“Toy Boy” is one of my favorite pieces of music from that movie. I’ve been trying to find a decent copy of it for years! Any chance at all?
Doesn’t look like we’re going to get an answer to this one… Maybe we were mistaken, maybe SAC didn’t do this track after all.
I was out of the band by then, but as far as I know, Toy Boy is not SAC.
SAC did Girl From the City, Incense and I’m Coming Home.
Thanks…
Still don’t understand why it never made it onto the soundtrack album..?
I guess that it will always be the one that got away?
Great that you guys are back together again. Loved the new album. Can’t wait for the next one.
thanks Kevin…we’re writing and recording new material….having a blast!
How come I can’t find “I’m Coming Home” on any list of your recordings anywhere? Was this a cover? I thought it was an excellent song.
Hey Robbie D
I wrote “I’m Coming Home” shortly after joining SAC. I think the only available recorded version is the one they used in the movie. There’s a soundtrack of Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls” available that includes it.
According to allmusic.com it is available on this cd
http://www.allmusic.com/album/songs-for-the-jet-set-vol-2-mw0000047081
I was listening to “Incense and Peppermints” on you tube and saw different lyrics on several postings and none of them were the lyrics as I remembered them, though mine could by way off as well. Is there a site that has the correct lyrics or do you have them listed here somewhere?
Good sense, innocence, cripplin’ mankind
Dead kings, many things I can’t define
Occasions, persuasions clutter your mind
Incense and peppermints, the color of time.
Who cares what games we choose?
Little to win, but nothing to lose.
Incense and peppermints, meaningless nouns
Turn on, turn in, turn your eyes around.
Look at yourself, look at yourself, yeah, girl
Look at yourself, look at yourself, yeah, girl, yeah!
To divide a cockeyed world in two
Throw your pride to one side, it’s the least you can do.
Beatniks and politics, nothing is new
A yardstick for lunatics, one point of view
Who care what games we choose?
Little to win, but nothin’ to lose.
Good sense, innocence, cripplin’ mankind
Dead kings, many things I can’t define.
Occasions, persuassions clutter your mind
Incense and peppermints, the color of time.
Who cares what games we choose?
Little to win, but nothin’ to lose.
Incense and peppermints
Incense and peppermints
Sha la la
Sha la la
Sha la la
Sha la la
Sha la la
Sha la la
Yes there are two versions of Incense & Peppermints: A mono and a stereo and I got them both
Re there any signifant differences between the aforementioned stereo and mono recordings.I scooped up an original copy of the first L.P.,but I honestly can’t remember what format it was offered in.I had always just assumed that it was all just stereo,failing to keep in mind that mono,although fading in the eye of publicn preference at the time,WAS still still being pressed although probably in incrementally smaller numbers.
Thanks for listing the lyrics to I&P. Now I know them, and they did not disappoint. I actually hear a few words differently (no offense).
As teens in the seventies, myself and a buddy had a 45 we played continuously with the record loader up. The mood change at the end was perfect transition for the restart organ. It was literally over, over, over again, six, eight, twelve hours, as background to whatever else we we’re doing in the basement. Nothing tawdry; we were nerds. After that summer, your song was printed deep in my memory. If I focus, I hear it. Always lifts my mood. Great song with highly layered meaning.
Greetings SAC!Been listening to pieces from “Wake Up It’s Tomorrow” on the internet.Wonderful musical explorations going on there.For this one not to chart on Billboard to me only indicates EXTREMELY poor promotion.Everything I’ve heard sounds like you were really tuned in to the expectations of the psych-prog-rock audiences of the times.Also,I read a description of SAC on the net that labeled what you’re doing now as “World Music”.Do you agree with this distinction or still consider yourselves merely a new millennium version of the old musical guard?
Thanks Mark…
I’m not sure what World Music is….hopefully not New Age….YIKES!
I think your latter description is more fitting.
For us, we just play what we hear and want to hear….Then we get into the sub phase of our craft….the mix!
The whole process of writing, jamming, recording and mixing it down is the most rewarding part of being a band….the live performance phase is another craft altogether.
We then have to put together a live set of then and now and rehearse like crazy to get it all right in that fleeting moment on stage….no take two’s…and after all that rehearsing and prep it can come down to the sound man or equipment malfunctions or just about anything.
The reward there of course is the immediate audience reactions…good or bad.
I’d just say we enjoy being a band and creating new music as well as bringing some of our old songs back to life….we remain raw…no pre-recorded tracks….just a band playing and singing like the old days.
George: The song They Saw The Fat One Coming from your second album is such a wonderful haunting song – the harmonies are just magical the lyrics vague and the mood of the piece is unforgettable. That song is a stand out track on that album. What was the inspiration for that song? And do you remember the mood in the studio while recording it and did you feel that it was a special track?
I too have always loved that track. It was written and sung by Lee Freeman and Ed King.
They were in a writing groove at the time.
One cool thing that happened during that session was Mark Weitz going to a chord change too soon….but when the engineer played it back we all loved the effect it had on the mood of the song so we left it in.
My favorite thing about the song is Ed’s slide guitar solo….It’s a lilting, seamless thing of beauty. I never get tired of hearing it…Quite the contrary…I look forward to it coming.
The lyrics were loosely about Roy Freeman (no relation to Lee) who brought in to write lyrics for us. He wrote the lyrics to Barefoot in Baltimore and Sit With The Guru. He was a nice guy but we despised having an outside writer brought in. (he was the “Fat One”)
The reason was that his words made more sense than ours and you could easily follow his stories. But, that’s not what we were about. We were more subtle and fluid. We left a lot to the imagination and half the time we had no idea what we were writing about.
But like many of our songs the inspirations came from more than just one thing. Most of the time it was tongue in cheek. Especially in this song.
Ed and Lee also wrote Pretty Song From Psych Out and The Black Butter Trilogy during that period.
When you say SAC’s writing approach was more “subtle” is this a hint that you went about the task with a touch of surrealism?I myself am I HUGE fan of this style that was so eloquently purveyed by works such as Arthur Lee and LOVE’S “House Is Not A Motel” and “The Red Telephone” and,of course,the Dylan catalogue.
I guess that’s a pretty good description of the way we wrote most of the time. Some of our songs were based in the real world….like Tomorrow.
But I know for a fact that the songs Steve Bartek and I wrote on the first album had an esoteric surrealistic flare to them.
They usually started out innocently enough but once we started to color them in they became abstracts.
Hello, SAC! I want to ask you: Is “Little green bag” your song?
I just bought “Wake Up Where You Are”, having somehow missed it for the year or so it’s been out, and it’s marvellous – the sound and spirit are clearly still there. Great video for Mr. Farmer, too. Thanks chaps, hope you keep it up.
Was WUIT issued in mono ?
No. “Incense and Peppermints” was the only SAC album released in mono.
What are the official lyrics for “Sitting on a Star” and “Nightmare of Percussion” from Wake Up…It’s Tomorrow? I’m having trouble finding lyrics for these online, plus I can barely understand what’s being sung.
I’ve often heard or read that ‘The World’s On Fire’ was such a dark tune and do agree to certain point especially after it was featured in the film Psych-Out during a terrifying scene involving a bad trip. That was my first introduction to this great tune and the effect was profound. Recently, I listened to words more closely than ever before and now believe it’s such happy love filled song recorded during the ‘Summer Of Love’. Am I anywhere near the ballpark with my new assessment?
I love the sleeve art on “The World In a Sea Shell”- The cover and liner illustrations are probably the most, in my opinion, beautiful covers to ever come out of the psychedelic era, the liner one being especially “trippy”. Did the band have any input on the artwork itself or was it mostly the illustrators?
this would be a queston.. was there a lyric “don’t you know I love you so” or maybe run run don’t you run in any strawberry alarmclock lyrics? also at one point a yell from the singer. this a bit vague I realize but of interest to me. any hint would be appreciated.
Hello SAC!
I am a massive fan of your music and its a shame that these modern kids aren’t into psychedelia anymore. To me you guys are one of the best bands to have came out of the 60s. Anyway i’ve done alot of research about SAC band history and i never found the exact reason why Gary Lovetro left the band. I heard that after “Incense and Peppermints” album came out, Ed King started to take over the bass parts, so there was no need for a second bass player. I also heard that there was a band meeting where he was elected out of the band. Was he on bad terms with you guys or was it something else? I’m hoping that one of you guys could shine some light on this for me. It would be much appreciated. Thanks for making the music. Keep up the amazing work.
OOPS! Hi Michael, sorry for the LATE response.
The Gary saga starts before I entered the picture. Gary and Lee and Ed and Gene all knew each other as kids. There’s a long history there. They already had a disdain for him before myself, Randy Seol or Mark Weitz joined the group.
It was all probably over petty stuff in retrospect, but they kept him in the band because he owned a PA and his parents had a nice house in the hills of Glendale where the band was allowed to rehearse. He also had a big black Cadillac…I forget if it was a limo. I know we all packed into it a few times.
Anyway, Ed had previously been a bass player and tried teaching Gary bass parts but he had little patience for it so he would just take over in the studio.
Then Gene Gunnels abruptly quit the band right after he played drums on the basic track of Incense and Peppermints. Also at this point Randy Seol was helping them with harmonies on that song. (Randy and I and Steve Bartek were all in another band called Waterfyrd Traene.) So they asked Randy to be their drummer. He accepted but told them he wanted to bring in HIS bass player. (Me). But first they needed original songs to complete their debut album of which Steve and I had a Cache.
When Steve and I went to their band rehearsal and played our songs they said YES lets record them all. Ed played bass on some and so did Gary, and they asked me to play on the rest because I knew them. Steve played flute on a couple of them. Right at that point they asked Steve and I to join the band. Two bass players? Anyway, we did do some double bass playing. I used fuzz bass on a couple and also did some weird sound effects by pulling strings and making them stick to the pick-ups. I also played guitar, mini mando and percussion. After the first album Ed was I guess fed up with Gary and wanted him off stage and in a different capacity. So they made him the road manager. He would front the gigs and collect the money, etc.
Then on one occasion at a girls Catholic school The head nun asked if she could pay us after the show. At that he opened up his briefcase and let her see his revolver. She freaked out and so did the band. Shortly thereafter he was fired. Then he sued us for breach of contract and won. At that point we all had disdain for him. No one more than Mark though, because after all was said and done he was the only one of us that owned a home and had something for Gary’s lawyer to go after. Eventually we all paid our share but it caused a lot of grief within the band.
That’s why you never really see him mentioned around here.
I just wanted to say thank you for some great music that will be around as long as we have ears to listen with. Personally, Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow is my favorite track. Keep rocking and we will keep listening. Take care.
Who is sitting second from the right on the I&P album? Looks like me in college one year later. Wait — maybe it was me!
I was just listening to Incense and Peppermints. That song and 8 Miles High are the most beautiful psychedelic hits.They’re like essential oil-something profound, like ylang ylang, just sitting in the bottle/pure flower power. … Great band you guys,
I’m a little surprised Fred got no credits for writing any of the Songs. Am I wrong about that?