116-495: The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band (WCPAEB) was an American psychedelic rock band formed in Los Angeles, California , in 1965. The group created music that possessed an eerie, and at times sinister atmosphere, and contained material that was bluntly political, childlike, and bizarre. Representing different musical backgrounds among band members, the group, at times, resembled a traditional Byrds -esque folk rock ensemble, but
232-774: A bass -heavy sound, with melodic vocals, and 'retro' production, it was pioneered by the Californian bands Kyuss and Sleep . Modern festivals focusing on psychedelic music include Austin Psych Fest in Texas, founded in 2008, Liverpool Psych Fest, and Desert Daze in Southern California. There were occasional mainstream acts that dabbled in neo-psychedelia , a style of music which emerged in late 1970s post-punk circles. Although it has mainly been an influence on alternative and indie rock bands, neo-psychedelia sometimes updated
348-471: A folk musician and actor before dying on the set of Saving Mr. Banks from a heart attack on October 1, 2012. Morgan helped found Three Dog Night (though left before they found commercial success) and joined the Electric Prunes for their album Just Good Old Rock and Roll . He died in 1989 aged 44. Psychedelic rock Psychedelic film Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that
464-683: A greatest hits album , singles album or box set. Compilation albums may employ traditional product bundling strategies. According to sound technician Richard King , classical music compilations "may require more processing to match tracks coming from various sources and recording venues, as well as the different sizes of ensembles." In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau said, "While compilation albums by album artists (as opposed to stylistically unified singles specialists) are often useless, sometimes they present themselves as events", citing as examples
580-408: A Rock ". The album itself featured songs that exhibited a wide-ranging stylistic variety, including Byrds -esque folk rock , garage rock , and Baroque pop . The song "I Won't Hurt You" was one of two compositions (the other being "If You Want This Love") from the group's debut album re-recorded for Part One , where it was given a much more subdued atmosphere and a heartbeat rhythm. Shaun Harris sang
696-484: A beach house he purchased in Los Angeles. He produced Jim Stallings ' (J. J. Light) European hit " Heya " and the album of the same name before vanishing from the music business. According to various accounts by band members and Fowley, in 1972 Markley had evaded imprisonment and kept a low-profile after an incident involving two underage girls. Markley sporadically contacted his former bandmates; however, Fowley recollected
812-556: A chart-topping version of Dylan's " Mr. Tambourine Man " in the summer of 1965. On the Yardbirds, Unterberger identifies lead guitarist Jeff Beck as having "laid the blueprint for psychedelic guitar", and says that their "ominous minor key melodies, hyperactive instrumental breaks (called rave-ups ), unpredictable tempo changes, and use of Gregorian chants" helped to define the "manic eclecticism" typical of early psychedelic rock. The band's " Heart Full of Soul " (June 1965), which includes
928-466: A conversation with Stallings in 1992: "He [Stallings] told me that Bob had been sitting in this rowing boat on a lake near Las Vegas - he was like a recluse. It got loose from its moorings and he drifted off alone for a day and a half. He was already pretty messed up, but he got very badly dehydrated. When they eventually found him he was taken to some hospital and placed on a life-support system, unable to speak or think". Markley died on September 9, 2003, in
1044-685: A distinctive brand of electronic rock , known as kosmische musik , or in the British press as " Kraut rock". The adoption of electronic synthesisers , pioneered by Popol Vuh from 1970, together with the work of figures like Brian Eno (for a time the keyboard player with Roxy Music ), would be a major influence on subsequent electronic rock. Psychedelic rock, with its distorted guitar sound, extended solos and adventurous compositions, has been seen as an important bridge between blues-oriented rock and later heavy metal . American bands whose loud, repetitive psychedelic rock emerged as early heavy metal included
1160-500: A distorted guitar riff that replicates the sound of a sitar , peaked at number 2 in the UK and number 9 in the US. In Echard's description, the song "carried the energy of a new scene" as the guitar-hero phenomenon emerged in rock, and it heralded the arrival of new Eastern sounds. The Kinks provided the first example of sustained Indian-style drone in rock when they used open-tuned guitars to mimic
1276-500: A hospital in Gardena, California ; he was 68. At age 20, Curb appointed Lloyd vice-president of MGM Records . In the 1970s, he became a successful record producer for teen idols , including the Osmonds , Shaun Cassidy , and Leif Garrett . In 1986, he was music supervisor for the soundtrack of the film Dirty Dancing , and has been involved in several other movie soundtracks well into
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#17330857803961392-509: A household word in New York and Los Angeles ... Echard writes that in 1966, "the psychedelic implications" advanced by recent rock experiments "became fully explicit and much more widely distributed", and by the end of the year, "most of the key elements of psychedelic topicality had been at least broached." DeRogatis says the start of psychedelic (or acid) rock is "best listed at 1966". Music journalists Pete Prown and Harvey P. Newquist locate
1508-608: A live favorite with Los Angeles hippies at venues such as the Other Place and Wild Thing. The group shared the bill with the Mothers of Invention , the Seeds , Iron Butterfly , and the Yardbirds, among others. According to Ware, the group's performances were "the ultimate street happening for a while"; highlighted by their ambitious psychedelic light show , which was operated by Buddy Walters, who also arranged light shows for Jimi Hendrix and
1624-413: A more extreme variation that was heavier, louder, relied on long jams , focused more directly on LSD, and made greater use of distortion. Music critic Richie Unterberger says that attempts to "pin down" the first psychedelic record are "nearly as elusive as trying to name the first rock & roll record". Some of the "far-fetched claims" include the instrumental " Telstar " (produced by Joe Meek for
1740-672: A musical manifesto. By the end of the 1960s, psychedelic rock was in retreat. Psychedelic trends climaxed in the 1969 Woodstock Festival , which saw performances by most of the major psychedelic acts, including Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. LSD had been made illegal in the United Kingdom in September 1966 and in California in October; by 1967, it was outlawed throughout
1856-466: A specialist in comedy and novelty records , responded to the Beatles' requests by providing a range of studio tricks that ensured the group played a leading role in the development of psychedelic effects. Anticipating their overtly psychedelic work, " Ticket to Ride " (April 1965) introduced a subtle, drug-inspired drone suggestive of India, played on rhythm guitar. Musicologist William Echard writes that
1972-416: Is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording techniques, extended instrumental solos, and improvisation. Many psychedelic groups differ in style, and the label is often applied spuriously. Originating in the mid-1960s among British and American musicians,
2088-553: Is notable for possessing a darker sound and subject matter than many contemporary psychedelic albums, which would become very influential to the later Gothic rock movement. Aided by the No. 1 single, " Light My Fire ", the album became very successful, reaching number 2 on the Billboard chart. In February 1967, the Beatles released the double A-side single " Strawberry Fields Forever " / " Penny Lane ", which Ian MacDonald says launched both
2204-407: Is regarded by critics and fans as the group's most lackluster album release. Lloyd negotiated with Curb to distribute the group's fifth and final album on Forward Records. Released in 1970, Markley insisted the album, originally self-titled, should be released under the name Markley, A Group . The album benefited from the full involvement and production experience of Lloyd, who sang the majority of
2320-456: The Amboy Dukes and Steppenwolf . From England, two former guitarists with the Yardbirds, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page , moved on to form key acts in the genre, The Jeff Beck Group and Led Zeppelin respectively. Other major pioneers of the genre had begun as blues-based psychedelic bands, including Black Sabbath , Deep Purple , Judas Priest and UFO . Psychedelic music also contributed to
2436-754: The Grateful Dead , the Steve Miller Band and Country Joe & the Fish . Helms and San Francisco Mime Troupe manager Bill Graham in the fall of 1965 organised larger scale multi-media community events/benefits featuring the Airplane, the Diggers and Allen Ginsberg. By early 1966 Graham had secured booking at The Fillmore , and Helms at the Avalon Ballroom , where in-house psychedelic-themed light shows replicated
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#17330857803962552-733: The Merry Pranksters ) helped thousands of people take uncontrolled trips at Kesey's Acid Tests and in the new psychedelic dance halls. In Britain, Michael Hollingshead opened the World Psychedelic Centre and Beat Generation poets Allen Ginsberg , Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Gregory Corso read at the Royal Albert Hall . Miles adds: "The readings acted as a catalyst for underground activity in London, as people suddenly realized just how many like-minded people there were around. This
2668-654: The Revolver sessions, was the first pop recording to contain reversed sounds. Together with further studio tricks such as varispeed , the song includes a droning melody that reflected the band's growing interest in non-Western musical form and lyrics conveying the division between an enlightened psychedelic outlook and conformism. Philo cites "Rain" as "the birth of British psychedelic rock" and describes Revolver as "[the] most sustained deployment of Indian instruments, musical form and even religious philosophy" heard in popular music up to that time. Author Steve Turner recognises
2784-634: The album Volume One in 1966 on the small FiFo record label . In the early years of the group, much was made of the WCPAEB's elaborate psychedelic light shows , which became the focal point of their live performances in Los Angeles. Following the release of Volume One , the WCPAEB signed with Reprise Records , recording three albums with the company, including arguably their most accomplished work Volume 3: A Child's Guide to Good and Evil in 1968. Two additional albums, Where's My Daddy? and Markley, A Group , were distributed on independent labels before
2900-519: The tambura on " See My Friends " (July 1965), which became a top 10 hit in the UK. The Beatles' " Norwegian Wood " from the December 1965 album Rubber Soul marked the first released recording on which a member of a Western rock group played the sitar. The song sparked a craze for the sitar and other Indian instrumentation – a trend that fueled the growth of raga rock as the India exotic became part of
3016-408: The "English pop-pastoral mood" typified by bands such as Pink Floyd , Family , Traffic and Fairport Convention , and English psychedelia's LSD-inspired preoccupation with "nostalgia for the innocent vision of a child". The Mellotron parts on "Strawberry Fields Forever" remain the most celebrated example of the instrument on a pop or rock recording. According to Simonelli, the two songs heralded
3132-491: The "peak years" of psychedelic rock between 1966 and 1969. In 1966, media coverage of rock music changed considerably as the music became reevaluated as a new form of art in tandem with the growing psychedelic community. In February and March, two singles were released that later achieved recognition as the first psychedelic hits: the Yardbirds' " Shapes of Things " and the Byrds' " Eight Miles High ". The former reached number 3 in
3248-555: The 13th Floor Elevators in October that year. It was one of the first rock albums to include the adjective in its title, although the LP was released on an independent label and was little noticed at the time. Two other bands also used the word in titles of LPs released in November 1966: The Blues Magoos ' Psychedelic Lollipop , and the Deep 's Psychedelic Moods . Having formed in late 1965 with
3364-682: The 1970s, including Pink Floyd, Soft Machine and members of Yes . The Moody Blues album In Search of the Lost Chord (1968), which is steeped in psychedelia, including prominent use of Indian instruments, is noted as an early predecessor to and influence on the emerging progressive movement. King Crimson 's album In the Court of the Crimson King (1969) has been seen as an important link between psychedelia and progressive rock. While bands such as Hawkwind maintained an explicitly psychedelic course into
3480-440: The 1970s, most dropped the psychedelic elements in favour of wider experimentation. The incorporation of jazz into the music of bands like Soft Machine and Can also contributed to the development of the jazz rock of bands like Colosseum . As they moved away from their psychedelic roots and placed increasing emphasis on electronic experimentation, German bands like Kraftwerk , Tangerine Dream , Can , Neu! and Faust developed
3596-481: The 1971 Ray Charles LP A 25th Anniversary in Show Business Salute to Ray Charles , The Kink Kronikles (1972), and Changesonebowie (1976). Common types of compilation include: For multi-artist compilations, royalties are usually prorated. In most cases, each artist's per-record royalty rate (typically 12–14% in 1999) is divided by the number of artists on the album. Some record companies simplify
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3712-654: The 1990's Elephant 6 collective bands such as The Olivia Tremor Control and The Apples in Stereo mixed the genre with lo-fi influences. Later according to Treblezine ' s Jeff Telrich: " Primal Scream made [neo-psychedelia] dancefloor ready. The Flaming Lips and Spiritualized took it to orchestral realms. And Animal Collective —well, they kinda did their own thing." Compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks , which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one performer or by several performers. If
3828-440: The 2000s. Shaun Harris collaborated with Lloyd to release Harris's self-titled debut solo album in 1973, which explored his country rock influences. Later on, he became the president of Barry Manilow 's publishing company and most recently Harris has written a play about his life. Although Danny Harris was initially disillusioned with the music industry, he recorded the gospel album Thank Him Every Day in 1980. He also worked as
3944-595: The Animals ) and the Who, whose The Who Sell Out (December 1967) included the psychedelic-influenced " I Can See for Miles " and " Armenia City in the Sky ". Other major British Invasion acts who absorbed psychedelia in 1967 include the Hollies with the album Butterfly , and The Rolling Stones album Their Satanic Majesties Request . The Incredible String Band's The 5000 Spirits or
4060-491: The Animals . In a review of a gig in 1967, the Los Angeles Free Press commended the WCPAEB's musicianship, but was critical of Markley for his "hypster" attitude and non-rhythmic tambourine playing. Although his bandmates did not like his pretentious on and off-stage antics, Markley did manage to negotiate a three-album deal with talent scouts of Reprise Records who had attended WCPAEB's performances. In May 1967,
4176-604: The Bangles and Rain Parade . In the late '80s in the UK the genre of Madchester emerged in the Manchester area, in which artists merged alternative rock with acid house and dance culture as well as other sources, including psychedelic music and 1960s pop. The label was popularised by the British music press in the early 1990s. Erchard talks about it as being part of a "thread of 80s psychedelic rock" and lists as main bands in it
4292-536: The Beatles employed several techniques in the years up to 1965 that soon became elements of psychedelic music, an approach he describes as "cognate" and reflective of how they, like the Yardbirds , were early pioneers in psychedelia. As important aspects the group brought to the genre, Echard cites the Beatles' rhythmic originality and unpredictability; "true" tonal ambiguity; leadership in incorporating elements from Indian music and studio techniques such as vari-speed, tape loops and reverse tape sounds; and their embrace of
4408-471: The Beatles had employed feedback in " I Feel Fine ", their sixth consecutive number 1 hit in the UK. According to AllMusic , the emergence of psychedelic rock in the mid-1960s resulted from British groups who made up the British Invasion of the US market and folk rock bands seeking to broaden "the sonic possibilities of their music". Writing in his 1969 book The Rock Revolution , Arnold Shaw said
4524-538: The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (May 1967) and the staging of the Monterey Pop Festival in June. Sgt. Pepper was the first commercially successful work that critics recognised as a landmark aspect of psychedelia, and the Beatles' mass appeal meant that the record was played virtually everywhere. The album was highly influential on bands in the US psychedelic rock scene and its elevation of
4640-413: The Beatles' brand of Romanticism as a central tenet of psychedelic rock. Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow (February 1967) was one of the first albums to come out of San Francisco that sold well enough to bring national attention to the city's music scene. The LP tracks " White Rabbit " and " Somebody to Love " subsequently became top 10 hits in the US. The Hollies psychedelic B-side "All
4756-401: The Beatles' success in conveying an LSD-inspired worldview on Revolver , particularly with " Tomorrow Never Knows ", as having "opened the doors to psychedelic rock (or acid rock)". In author Shawn Levy 's description, it was "the first true drug album, not [just] a pop record with some druggy insinuations", while musicologists Russell Reising and Jim LeBlanc credit the Beatles with "set[ting]
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-574: The Billboard charts in the US. Influenced by Aldous Huxley ’s The Doors of Perception , and with lyrics referencing LSD, it contributed to bringing psychedelia to the mainstream. The Beach Boys' October 1966 single " Good Vibrations " was another early pop song to incorporate psychedelic lyrics and sounds. The single's success prompted an unexpected revival in theremins and increased the awareness of analog synthesizers . As psychedelia gained prominence, Beach Boys-style harmonies would be ingrained into
4988-724: The Doors , there were three categories of US psychedelia: the "acid jams" of the San Francisco bands, who favoured albums over singles; pop psychedelia typified by groups such as the Beach Boys and Buffalo Springfield ; and the "wigged-out" music of bands following in the example of the Beatles and the Yardbirds, such as the Electric Prunes , the Nazz , the Chocolate Watchband and the Seeds . The Doors' self-titled debut album (January 1967)
5104-566: The Fire Escape . In August 1967, just prior to recording sessions for the WCPAEB's second Reprise album, Shaun Harris took a hiatus from the band. His departure was partly due to his disillusionment with the group, primarily with the WCPAEB's lack of success, and it served as a waiting period while his brother, Danny, was being treated for depression . He formed the California Spectrum with Danny, Lloyd, and Jimmy Greenspoon. The group toured
5220-425: The LP format benefited the San Francisco bands. Among many changes brought about by its success, artists sought to imitate its psychedelic effects and devoted more time to creating their albums; the counterculture was scrutinised by musicians; and acts adopted its non-conformist sentiments. The 1967 Summer of Love saw a huge number of young people from across America and the world travel to Haight-Ashbury, boosting
5336-517: The Laughing Wind, was made by Markley, who envisioned the band as a west coast counterpart to the Velvet Underground . Looking to have something tangible to represent the band, in 1966, the WCPAEB released their debut album on Markley's FiFo label, Volume One . Much of the album was recorded at Lloyd's personal studio and a rented store-front on La Cienega Boulevard , before Markley joined
5452-755: The Layers of the Onion (July 1967) developed their folk music into a pastoral form of psychedelia. Many famous established recording artists from the early rock era also fell under psychedelia and recorded psychedelic-inspired tracks, including Del Shannon 's "Color Flashing Hair", Bobby Vee 's "I May Be Gone", The Four Seasons ' " Watch the Flowers Grow ", Roy Orbison 's "Southbound Jericho Parkway" and The Everly Brothers ' "Mary Jane". According to author Edward Macan, there ultimately existed three distinct branches of British psychedelic music. The first, dominated by Cream ,
5568-490: The Merry Pranksters. Their stage performance involved the use of strobe lights to reproduce LSD's "surrealistic fragmenting" or "vivid isolating of caught moments". The Acid Test experiments subsequently launched the entire psychedelic subculture . Psychedelia. I know it's hard, but make a note of that word because it's going to be scattered round the in-clubs like punches at an Irish wedding. It already rivals "mom" as
5684-521: The Midwest with Markley's state-of-the-art light show, and released two singles in its brief recording career, "Sassafras" (the same version featured on Volume One ) and a cover of the Left Banke 's "She May Call You Up Tonight", none of which were met with much attention. When Harris returned to the WCPAEB in 1968, he touted a completely different line-up, and promoted the California Spectrum with his column in
5800-567: The Moody Blues , Pink Floyd, Procol Harum and the Nice , was influenced by the later music of the Beatles. Several of the post- Sgt. Pepper English psychedelic groups developed the Beatles' classical influences further than either the Beatles or contemporaneous West Coast psychedelic bands. Among such groups, the Pretty Things abandoned their R&B roots to create S.F. Sorrow (December 1968),
5916-633: The Morgan-Markley composition " Smell of Incense " was issued just ahead of Vol. 2 (Breaking Through) , but it failed to chart. The Dallas psychedelic pop group Southwest FOB covered the song in 1968, which reached No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 . Among its ten tracks, the album included the politically satirical "In the Arena", possibly inspired by the Watts riots . Vol. 2 (Breaking Through) also features
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#17330857803966032-687: The New Dimensions and later the AlleyKats. The group entered Stereo Masters studio to record three albums , during which time Lloyd first became acquainted with Fowley. While attending the Hollywood Professional School , Lloyd befriended the Harris brothers, who recorded the regional hit "Ski Storm" with rival act the Snowmen. In early 1965, Shaun Harris collaborated with Lloyd in his newly formed band
6148-589: The Peppermints, Bobby Rebel, and Sonny Knight on Markley's own local record labels . In attendance at Markley's party were dozens of journalists, deejays , and various individuals of the "in-crowd", as well as live performances by Al Kooper followed by the Yardbirds . Producer Kim Fowley introduced Markley to Michael Lloyd , and brothers Shaun and Danny Harris, members of the group the Laughing Wind. Lloyd began his music career in 1962 in an instrumental surf rock band which included Jimmy Greenspoon , known as
6264-520: The Poorest of People Have Money", the title track, and "Ritual #2". In addition, Volume 3' s front cover design showcased the "butterfly mind" artwork of John Van Hamersveld , who also is credited with the covers of Crown of Creation , Exile on Main St. , and Magical Mystery Tour . Like the WCPAEB's earlier albums, Volume 3 failed to sell in sufficient quantities to reach the U.S. charts, and Reprise dropped
6380-612: The Rogues, releasing the Harris-Lloyd composition "Wanted: Dead or Alive", on Fowley's Living Legend label. Shortly thereafter, with Danny Harris and drummer John Ware in the fold, Lloyd and Shaun formed the Laughing Wind, which recorded the single "Good to Be Around" for Tower Records later that year. Recordings made or produced by these pre-WCPAEB acts were collected years later on the compilation album , The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band Companion in 2011. Markley became motivated by
6496-507: The Stone Roses , Happy Mondays and Inspiral Carpets . The rave -influenced scene is widely seen as heavily influenced by drugs, especially ecstasy ( MDMA ), and it is seen by Erchard as central to a wider phenomenon of what he calls a "rock rave crossover" in the late '80s and early '90s UK indie scene, which also included the Screamadelica album by Scottish band Primal Scream . In
6612-779: The Tornados in 1962) and the Dave Clark Five 's "massively reverb-laden" " Any Way You Want It " (1964). The first mention of LSD on a rock record was the Gamblers ' 1960 surf instrumental "LSD 25". A 1962 single by the Ventures , " The 2000 Pound Bee ", issued forth the buzz of a distorted, "fuzztone" guitar, and the quest into "the possibilities of heavy, transistorised distortion" and other effects, like improved reverb and echo, began in earnest on London's fertile rock 'n' roll scene. By 1964 fuzztone could be heard on singles by P.J. Proby , and
6728-458: The Turkish rock scene with artists such as Cem Karaca , Mogollar , Barış Manço and Erkin Koray. In Brazil, the Tropicalia movement merged Brazilian and African rhythms with psychedelic rock. Musicians who were part of the movement include Caetano Veloso , Gilberto Gil , Os Mutantes , Gal Costa , Tom Zé , and the poet/lyricist Torquato Neto , all of whom participated in the 1968 album Tropicália: ou Panis et Circencis , which served as
6844-435: The UK and number 11 in the US, and continued the Yardbirds' exploration of guitar effects, Eastern-sounding scales, and shifting rhythms. By overdubbing guitar parts, Beck layered multiple takes for his solo, which included extensive use of fuzz tone and harmonic feedback. The song's lyrics, which Unterberger describes as "stream-of-consciousness", have been interpreted as pro-environmental or anti-war. The Yardbirds became
6960-630: The US and reached the top 30 in the UK. Contributing to psychedelia's emergence into the pop mainstream was the release of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (May 1966) and the Beatles' Revolver (August 1966). Often considered one of the earliest albums in the canon of psychedelic rock, Pet Sounds contained many elements that would be incorporated into psychedelia, with its artful experiments, psychedelic lyrics based on emotional longings and self-doubts, elaborate sound effects and new sounds on both conventional and unconventional instruments. The album track " I Just Wasn't Made for These Times " contained
7076-473: The US top ten, and three platinum albums. While psychedelic rock wavered at the end of the 1960s, psychedelic soul continued into the 1970s, peaking in popularity in the early years of the decade, and only disappearing in the late 1970s as tastes changed. Songwriter Norman Whitfield wrote psychedelic soul songs for The Temptations and Marvin Gaye . Many of the British musicians and bands that had embraced psychedelia went on to create progressive rock in
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#17330857803967192-407: The United States. In 1969, the murders of Sharon Tate and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca by Charles Manson and his cult of followers , claiming to have been inspired by The Beatles' songs such as " Helter Skelter ", has been seen as contributing to an anti-hippie backlash. At the end of the same year, the Altamont Free Concert in California, headlined by the Rolling Stones, became notorious for
7308-541: The WCPAEB also, within the same body of work, recorded avant-garde music marked by multi-layered vocal harmonies . Aspiring musician and scenester Bob Markley managed to join the group the Laughing Wind in exchange for his connections in the music industry and substantial bankroll. The original five-piece line-up consisted of Michael Lloyd ( rhythm guitar , vocals ), Shaun Harris ( bass guitar , vocals), Danny Harris ( lead guitar , vocals), John Ware ( drums ), and Markley ( tambourine , vocals). The band debuted with
7424-496: The World Is Love" (February 1967) was released as the flipside to the hit single " On a Carousel ". Pink Floyd's " Arnold Layne " (March 1967) and " See Emily Play " (June 1967), both written by Syd Barrett , helped set the pattern for pop-psychedelia in the UK. There, "underground" venues like the UFO Club , Middle Earth Club , The Roundhouse , the Country Club and the Art Lab drew capacity audiences with psychedelic rock and ground-breaking liquid light shows . A major figure in
7540-408: The Yardbirds and Hendrix, was founded on a heavy, electric adaptation of the blues played by the Rolling Stones, adding elements such as the Who's power chord style and feedback. The second, considerably more complex form drew strongly from jazz sources and was typified by Traffic, Colosseum , If , and Canterbury scene bands such as Soft Machine and Caravan . The third branch, represented by
7656-405: The aim of spreading LSD consciousness, the Elevators commissioned business cards containing an image of the third eye and the caption "Psychedelic rock". Rolling Stone highlights the 13th Floor Elevators as arguably "the most important early progenitors of psychedelic garage rock". Donovan 's July 1966 single " Sunshine Superman " became one of the first psychedelic pop/rock singles to top
7772-435: The anti-war song "Suppose They Gave a War and No One Comes", the full version of "Smell of Incense", and a rare instance of Markley singing is found on "Unfree Child". The WCPAEB's fourth album Volume 3: A Child's Guide to Good and Evil was released in July 1968. The album represented a creative leap forward for the band and is often considered their most accomplished work. Band biographer Tim Forster described Volume 3 as
7888-483: The approach of 1960s psychedelic rock. Neo-psychedelia may include forays into psychedelic pop, jangly guitar rock, heavily distorted free-form jams, or recording experiments. Some of the scene's bands, including the Soft Boys , the Teardrop Explodes , Wah!, Echo & the Bunnymen , became major figures of neo-psychedelia. In the US in the early 1980s it was joined by the Paisley Underground movement, based in Los Angeles and fronted by acts such as Dream Syndicate ,
8004-426: The area's population from 15,000 to around 100,000. It was prefaced by the Human Be-In event in January and reached its peak at the Monterey Pop Festival in June, the latter helping to make major American stars of Janis Joplin , lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company , Jimi Hendrix , and the Who . Several established British acts joined the psychedelic revolution, including Eric Burdon (previously of
8120-450: The avant-garde. In Unterberger's opinion, the Byrds , emerging from the Los Angeles folk rock scene, and the Yardbirds, from England's blues scene , were more responsible than the Beatles for "sounding the psychedelic siren". Drug use and attempts at psychedelic music moved out of acoustic folk-based music towards rock soon after the Byrds, inspired by the Beatles' 1964 film A Hard Day's Night , adopted electric instruments to produce
8236-428: The backside: "Every song in this album has been written, arranged, sung and played by the group. No one censored us. We got to say everything we wanted to say, in the way we wanted to say it". For the first time, each track was credited either in whole or in part to members of the WCPAEB; however, Markley's manic narratives and questionable lyrical content (particularly young girls) dominate the record. An edited version of
8352-453: The band recorded and released their first album for Reprise, Part One . By the time recording sessions began, Markley had assumed absolute control of the WCPAEB's publishing rights, which explains his unusual selection for the A-side of the album's singles : a "spoken rap" composition "1906", co-penned with session musician Ron Morgan, and a cover of the Mothers of Invention 's song " Help, I'm
8468-415: The band's preceding works were replaced by a closely-miked sound. The album loosely possessed the components of a concept piece , narrated through the eyes of a young homeless girl named "Poor Patty" as she journeys through the chaos of post- Summer of Love Los Angeles. However, Where's My Daddy? , as well as its accompanying single "Free as Bird", failed to reverse the WCPAEB's commercial fortunes, and it
8584-480: The band. Late in 1968, Jimmy Bowen established his label Amos Records and signed the group the following year. While the band worked on the Where's My Daddy? album, Danny Harris rejoined and Lloyd returned to provide backing vocals and co-write "Where's My Daddy?", "Where Money Rules Everything", and "Coming of Age in L.A." with Markley. It became apparent on the album, however, that the echoing vocal harmonies found on
8700-670: The centre of influence had moved from London to California by 1967, it was British acts like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones that helped inspire and "nourish" the new American music in the mid-1960s, especially in the formative San Francisco scene. The music scene there developed in the city's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in 1965 at basement shows organised by Chet Helms of the Family Dog ; and as Jefferson Airplane founder Marty Balin and investors opened The Matrix nightclub that summer and began booking his and other local bands such as
8816-569: The development of British psychedelia was the American promoter and record producer Joe Boyd , who moved to London in 1966. He co-founded venues including the UFO Club, produced Pink Floyd's "Arnold Layne", and went on to manage folk and folk rock acts including Nick Drake , the Incredible String Band and Fairport Convention. Psychedelic rock's popularity accelerated following the release of
8932-399: The earlier 1960s psychedelic rock musicians were based in folk , jazz , and the blues , while others showcased an explicit Indian classical influence called " raga rock ". In the 1960s, there existed two main variants of the genre: the more whimsical, surrealist British psychedelia and the harder American West Coast " acid rock ". While "acid rock" is sometimes deployed interchangeably with
9048-580: The early 1960s experimented with unusual recording techniques, including backwards tapes, and novel instrumental accompaniment including flute and sitar. His nineteen-minute "The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party" "anticipated elements of psychedelia with its nervy improvisations and odd guitar tunings". Similarly, folk guitarist Sandy Bull 's early work "incorporated elements of folk, jazz, and Indian and Arabic -influenced dronish modes". His 1963 album Fantasias for Guitar and Banjo explores various styles and "could also be accurately described as one of
9164-441: The early 1960s work of Davy Graham , who adopted modal guitar tunings to transpose Indian ragas and Celtic reels. Graham was highly influential on Scottish folk virtuoso Bert Jansch and other pioneering guitarists across a spectrum of styles and genres in the mid-1960s. Jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane had a similar impact, as the exotic sounds on his albums My Favorite Things (1960) and A Love Supreme (1965),
9280-399: The equation and pay a rounded-off rate, either as a percentage or as a set amount, regardless of the total number of artists on the record. As of 1999 , these rates were around 0.5% to 1% or 15–16 cents per record. When a compilation album includes a track from a different record company, the royalties are split between the artist and the original record company. Unless specifically limited by
9396-505: The essence of psychedelic rock. Music historian George Case recognises Rubber Soul as the first of two Beatles albums that "marked the authentic beginning of the psychedelic era", while music critic Robert Christgau similarly wrote that "Psychedelia starts here". San Francisco historian Charles Perry recalled the album being "the soundtrack of the Haight-Ashbury , Berkeley and the whole circuit", as pre-hippie youths suspected that
9512-539: The fatal stabbing of black teenager Meredith Hunter by Hells Angels security guards. George Clinton 's ensembles Funkadelic and Parliament and their various spin-offs took psychedelia and funk to create their own unique style, producing over forty singles, including three in the US top ten, and three platinum albums. Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, Peter Green and Danny Kirwan of Fleetwood Mac and Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd were early "acid casualties", helping to shift
9628-422: The first British band to have the term "psychedelic" applied to one of its songs. On "Eight Miles High", Roger McGuinn 's 12-string Rickenbacker guitar provided a psychedelic interpretation of free jazz and Indian raga , channelling Coltrane and Shankar, respectively. The song's lyrics were widely taken to refer to drug use, although the Byrds denied it at the time. "Eight Miles High" peaked at number 14 in
9744-480: The first example of a psychedelic rock opera. The US and UK were the major centres of psychedelic music, but in the late 1960s scenes developed across the world, including continental Europe, Australasia, Asia and south and Central America. In the later 1960s psychedelic scenes developed in a large number of countries in continental Europe, including the Netherlands with bands like The Outsiders , Denmark, where it
9860-646: The first use of theremin sounds on a rock record. Scholar Philip Auslander says that even though psychedelic music is not normally associated with the Beach Boys, the "odd directions" and experiments in Pet Sounds "put it all on the map. ... basically that sort of opened the door – not for groups to be formed or to start to make music, but certainly to become as visible as say Jefferson Airplane or somebody like that." DeRogatis views Revolver as another of "the first psychedelic rock masterpieces", along with Pet Sounds . The Beatles' May 1966 B-side " Rain ", recorded during
9976-727: The focus of the respective bands of which they had been leading figures. Some groups, such as the Beatles, the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream, broke up. Hendrix died in London in September 1970, shortly after recording Band of Gypsys (1970), Janis Joplin died of a heroin overdose in October 1970 and they were closely followed by Jim Morrison of the Doors , who died in Paris in July 1971. By this point, many surviving acts had moved away from psychedelia into either more back-to-basics " roots rock ", traditional-based, pastoral or whimsical folk,
10092-402: The genre in its American form represented generational escapism , which he identified as a development of youth culture's "protest against the sexual taboos, racism, violence, hypocrisy and materialism of adult life". American folk singer Bob Dylan 's influence was central to the creation of the folk rock movement in 1965, and his lyrics remained a touchstone for the psychedelic songwriters of
10208-534: The genre include: The term "psychedelic" was coined in 1956 by psychiatrist Humphry Osmond in a letter to LSD exponent Aldous Huxley and used as an alternative descriptor for hallucinogenic drugs in the context of psychedelic psychotherapy . As the countercultural scene developed in San Francisco, the terms acid rock and psychedelic rock were used in 1966 to describe the new drug-influenced music and were being widely used by 1967. The two terms are often used interchangeably, but acid rock may be distinguished as
10324-698: The group disbanded in 1970. The group was formed in August 1965 when Los Angeles playboy Bob Markley , a wealthy law graduate and adopted son of an oil tycoon, organized a party at his home in Beverly Hills . Markley previously hosted the television program Oklahoma Bandstand in 1958, until he was signed by a Warner Bros. Records executive, and purchased a luxury mansion in Los Angeles. He released two commercially unsuccessful singles , "Will We Meet Again" and "Summer's Comin' On", between 1960 and 1961, and produced recordings for some musical acts, including Lucifer and
10440-405: The group's "most extraordinary achievement", one which utilized a "bizarre fusion of innocence and malice" heavily affected by the "exuberance of the British Invasion , folk rock, and flower power -era" being "swept away in a tide of bad drugs, paranoia, and protest". The album also saw Morgan experimenting with the droning quality of the electric sitar , featured prominently on "Ritual #1", "Until
10556-460: The group; however, tracks such as "Don't Break My Balloon" and "If You Want This Love" indicate he had some influence over the later sessions for the album's development. While Volume One did feature a small selection of original material, the majority of the album was cover versions including " Louie Louie ", " You Really Got Me ", and " It's All Over Now, Baby Blue ". The WCPAEB embarked on their first tour in June 1966, establishing themselves as
10672-501: The large crowd a rock band like the Yardbirds attracted, particularly the number of teenage girls, and proposed he would finance and secure a recording contract for the Laughing Wind, in exchange for his inclusion into the group. Impressed and slightly seduced by the much older Markley's wealth and entourage, the band accepted his offer. The decision to record as the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, rather than
10788-556: The late 1960s. Virtuoso sitarist Ravi Shankar had begun in 1956 a mission to bring Indian classical music to the West, inspiring jazz, classical and folk musicians. By the mid-1960s, his influence extended to a generation of young rock musicians who soon made raga rock part of the psychedelic rock aesthetic and one of the many intersecting cultural motifs of the era. In the British folk scene, blues, drugs, jazz and Eastern influences blended in
10904-457: The latter influenced by the ragas of Shankar, were source material for guitar players and others looking to improvise or "jam". One of the first musical uses of the term "psychedelic" in the folk scene was by the New York-based folk group The Holy Modal Rounders on their version of Lead Belly 's ' Hesitation Blues ' in 1964. Folk/avant-garde guitarist John Fahey recorded several songs in
11020-404: The lead vocals, provided keyboards , and organized the orchestral arrangements. Danny Harris was a key influence on the album, writing half of its tracks. However, although the album is generally considered an improvement over Where's My Daddy? , the group could no longer cope with Markley's erratic behavior, and disbanded soon after the album's release. Markley continued his playboy lifestyle at
11136-567: The loss of some key individuals, and a back-to-basics movement led surviving performers to move into new musical areas. The genre bridged the transition from early blues and folk-based rock to progressive rock and hard rock , and as a result contributed to the development of sub-genres such as heavy metal . Since the late 1970s it has been revived in various forms of neo-psychedelia . As a musical style, psychedelic rock incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording effects, extended solos, and improvisation. Features mentioned in relation to
11252-438: The newer psychedelic pop. In 1967, psychedelic rock received widespread media attention and a larger audience beyond local psychedelic communities. From 1967 to 1968, it was the prevailing sound of rock music, either in the more whimsical British variant, or the harder American West Coast acid rock. Music historian David Simonelli says the genre's commercial peak lasted "a brief year", with San Francisco and London recognised as
11368-404: The origins of glam rock , with Marc Bolan changing his psychedelic folk duo into rock band T. Rex and becoming the first glam rock star from 1970. From 1971 David Bowie moved on from his early psychedelic work to develop his Ziggy Stardust persona, incorporating elements of professional make up, mime and performance into his act. The jam band movement, which began in the late 1980s,
11484-416: The recordings are from one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for release together as a single work, but may be collected together as a greatest hits album or box set . If the recordings are from several artists, there may be a theme, topic, time period, or genre which links the tracks, or they may have been intended for release as a single work—such as a tribute album . When
11600-434: The reworked version of "I Won't Hurt You", rather than Lloyd, who, aside from some backing vocals on the album, would not sing lead on a WCPAEB release until the 1969 album Where's My Daddy? . Markley and Lloyd did not get on, which led to the latter leaving the group and Morgan joining full-time. According to Lloyd, Markley became increasingly overbearing on the WCPAEB's creative output, and "he started to believe that he
11716-492: The songs were inspired by drugs. Although psychedelia was introduced in Los Angeles through the Byrds, according to Shaw, San Francisco emerged as the movement's capital on the West Coast. Several California-based folk acts followed the Byrds into folk rock, bringing their psychedelic influences with them, to produce the " San Francisco Sound ". Music historian Simon Philo writes that although some commentators would state that
11832-456: The sound of psychedelic rock invokes three core effects of LSD: depersonalization , dechronicization (the bending of time), and dynamization (when fixed, ordinary objects dissolve into moving, dancing structures), all of which detach the user from everyday reality. Musically, the effects may be represented via novelty studio tricks, electronic or non-Western instrumentation, disjunctive song structures, and extended instrumental segments. Some of
11948-458: The stage for an important subgenre of psychedelic music, that of the messianic pronouncement". Echard highlights early records by the 13th Floor Elevators and Love among the key psychedelic releases of 1966, along with "Shapes of Things", "Eight Miles High", "Rain" and Revolver . Originating from Austin, Texas, the first of these new bands came to the genre via the garage scene before releasing their debut album, The Psychedelic Sounds of
12064-404: The teen zine Tiger Beat until the group disbanded sometime in early 1969. In late 1967, the WCPAEB released their third album, Vol. 2 (Breaking Through) , which was the band's most ambitious, albeit less consistent than its predecessor, work to date. The album featured a peculiar cover photo of Markley and the Harris brothers sitting bare-chested in a silver bathroom, and a bold declaration on
12180-408: The term "psychedelic rock", it also refers more specifically to the heavier, harder, and more extreme ends of the genre. The peak years of psychedelic rock were between 1967 and 1969, with milestone events including the 1967 Summer of Love and the 1969 Woodstock Festival , becoming an international musical movement associated with a widespread counterculture before declining as changing attitudes,
12296-425: The tracks are by the same recording artist, the album may be referred to as a retrospective album or an anthology . Songs included on a compilation album may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for release together as a single work, but may be collected together as
12412-398: The two key cultural centres. Compared with the American form, British psychedelic music was often more arty in its experimentation, and it tended to stick within pop song structures. Music journalist Mark Prendergast writes that it was only in US garage-band psychedelia that the often whimsical traits of UK psychedelic music were found. He says that aside from the work of the Byrds, Love and
12528-539: The very first psychedelic records". Barry Miles , a leading figure in the 1960s UK underground , says that " Hippies didn't just pop up overnight" and that "1965 was the first year in which a discernible youth movement began to emerge [in the US]. Many of the key 'psychedelic' rock bands formed this year." On the US West Coast, underground chemist Augustus Owsley Stanley III and Ken Kesey (along with his followers known as
12644-526: The visual effects of the psychedelic experience. Graham became a major figure in the growth of psychedelic rock, attracting most of the major psychedelic rock bands of the day to The Fillmore. According to author Kevin McEneaney, the Grateful Dead "invented" acid rock in front of a crowd of concertgoers in San Jose, California on 4 December 1965, the date of the second Acid Test held by novelist Ken Kesey and
12760-454: The wider experimentation of progressive rock, or riff-based heavy rock. Following the lead of Hendrix in rock, psychedelia influenced African American musicians, particularly the stars of the Motown label. This psychedelic soul was influenced by the civil rights movement , giving it a darker and more political edge than much psychedelic rock. Building on the funk sound of James Brown , it
12876-522: Was also the year that London began to blossom into colour with the opening of the Granny Takes a Trip and Hung On You clothes shops." Thanks to media coverage, use of LSD became widespread. According to music critic Jim DeRogatis , writing in his book on psychedelic rock, Turn on Your Mind , the Beatles are seen as the "Acid Apostles of the New Age". Producer George Martin , who was initially known as
12992-441: Was influenced by the Grateful Dead 's improvisational and psychedelic musical style. The Vermont band Phish developed a sizable and devoted fan following during the 1990s, and were described as "heirs" to the Grateful Dead after the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995. Emerging in the 1990s, stoner rock combined elements of psychedelic rock and doom metal . Typically using a slow-to-mid tempo and featuring low-tuned guitars in
13108-454: Was like, you know, the real deal, as opposed to the guy who doesn't sing and doesn't really have any musical thoughts and stuff like that. He wasn't content anymore just being the guy who ended up with the girls that he could get from it". Lloyd remained in Los Angeles and participated in a number of studio projects with Fowley and Mike Curb such as October Country , the Smoke, St. John Green , and
13224-1012: Was pioneered by Steppeulvene , Yugoslavia, with bands like Kameleoni , Dogovor iz 1804. , Pop Mašina and Igra Staklenih Perli , and Germany, where musicians fused music of psychedelia and the electronic avant-garde. 1968 saw the first major German rock festival , the Internationale Essener Songtage [ de ] in Essen , and the foundation of the Zodiak Free Arts Lab in Berlin by Hans-Joachim Roedelius , and Conrad Schnitzler , which helped bands like Tangerine Dream and Amon Düül achieve cult status. A thriving psychedelic music scene in Cambodia , influenced by psychedelic rock and soul broadcast by US forces radio in Vietnam,
13340-671: Was pioneered by artists such as Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Serey Sothea . In South Korea, Shin Jung-Hyeon , often considered the godfather of Korean rock, played psychedelic-influenced music for the American soldiers stationed in the country. Following Shin Jung-Hyeon, the band San Ul Lim (Mountain Echo) often combined psychedelic rock with a more folk sound. In Turkey, Anatolian rock artist Erkin Koray blended classic Turkish music and Middle Eastern themes into his psychedelic-driven rock, helping to found
13456-580: Was pioneered from about 1968 by Sly and the Family Stone and The Temptations . Acts that followed them into this territory included Edwin Starr and the Undisputed Truth . George Clinton 's interdependent Funkadelic and Parliament ensembles and their various spin-offs took the genre to its most extreme lengths, making funk almost a religion in the 1970s, producing over forty singles, including three in
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