The Peppermint Rainbow | |
|---|---|
 The Peppermint Rainbow (1968) | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Baltimore, Maryland, USA |
| Genres | sunshine pop |
| Years active | 1967-1970 |
| Past members | Bonnie Lamdin Patty Lamdin Doug Lewis Anton Corey Skip Harris |
The Peppermint Rainbow was an American sunshine pop [1] group from Baltimore, Maryland, known for their song "Will You Be Staying After Sunday".
The group formed in 1967 under the name "New York Times" playing to local gigs in the mid-Atlantic states. It was signed to Decca Records in 1968 at the behest of talent agent Alan White at Action Talents in NYC, who brought it to New York and showcased it for producer Paul Leka who saw the group play and sing both a medley of the Mamas and the Papas and the 5th Dimension tunes. [2] The group changed its name to "The Peppermint Rainbow" following its signing by Leka.
Under Decca the group was produced by Paul Leka; its first single "Walking in Different Circles" b/w "Pink Lemonade" did not chart. The second single, "Will You Be Staying After Sunday", [3] reached No. 4 on KHJ on April 2, 1969. [4] Nationally, it spent 14 weeks on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 32 on May 3, 1969, [5] selling over one million copies and receiving a gold disc. [6] The song also reached No. 21 on the Cash Box Top 100, [7] and in Canada it peaked at No. 19.
The group made an appearance on the 2 May 1969 episode of The Generation Gap television quiz show [8] from which the promotional clip of the song originates. As with most similar clips of the period, the performance is a lip-and-finger sync, noted mainly by the fact that none of the electric instruments is plugged in. The group's third release, "Don't Wake Me Up in the Morning, Michael", spent nine weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached No. 54 on July 26, 1969, [9] while reaching No. 21 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart. [10] The LP, Will You Be Staying After Sunday, barely missed the Top 100 of Billboard's albums chart, peaking at No. 106. [11]
After recording three more post-album singles which also did not chart, including "Walking in Different Circles" (which had some minor airplay in the UK), and "You're the Sound of Love", the band split up in 1970, after which the chorus of the latter tune would come to be re-arranged and re-recorded in the early 1970s as "We're the Sound of Love" and used as an ID jingle for a number of radio stations featuring love songs prominently on their playlist.
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada RPM Adult Contemporary [12] | 7 |
| Canada RPM 100 [13] | 19 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [6] | 32 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [7] | 21 |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening [14] | 22 |
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada RPM Adult Contemporary | 24 |
| Canada RPM 100 | 47 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [6] | 54 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100 | 50 |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening [15] | 21 |
"The Weight" is a song by the Canadian-American group the Band that was released as a single in 1968 and on the group's debut album Music from Big Pink. It was their first release under this name, after their previous releases as Canadian Squires and Levon and the Hawks. Written by Band member Robbie Robertson, the song is about a visitor's experiences in a town mentioned in the lyric's first line as Nazareth. "The Weight" has significantly influenced American popular music, having been listed as No. 41 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time published in 2004. Pitchfork Media named it the 13th best song of the 1960s, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named it one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. PBS, which broadcast performances of the song on Ramble at the Ryman (2011), Austin City Limits (2012), and Quick Hits (2012), describes it as "a masterpiece of Biblical allusions, enigmatic lines and iconic characters" and notes its enduring popularity as "an essential part of the American songbook."
"But You Know I Love You" is a song written by Mike Settle, which was a 1969 pop hit for Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, a group that included Settle and Kenny Rogers. The song also became a major country hit by Bill Anderson in 1969. In 1981, a cover version of "But You Know I Love You" by singer Dolly Parton topped the country singles charts.
"Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" is a song written by Kris Kristofferson that was recorded in 1969 by Ray Stevens before becoming a No.1 hit on the Billboard US Country chart for Johnny Cash.
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"There's a Kind of Hush" is a popular song written by Les Reed and Geoff Stephens. Originally recorded by Stephens' group the New Vaudeville Band in 1967 as a neo-British music hall number, this version of the track became a hit in Australia and South Africa. However, in the rest of the world, a near-simultaneous cover was a big hit for Herman's Hermits. The song was a charted hit again in 1976 for The Carpenters.
"Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)" is a 1965 pop ballad by Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas. A rare ballad for the group, whose forte was reportedly uptempo soul dance numbers including "Dancing in the Street" and "Nowhere to Run", the b-side to the group's single, "You've Been in Love Too Long", although the song only peaked at #70 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and #22 on the Billboard Hot R&B singles chart, it was number one on many American urban radio playlists. Also the song was Top 10 at a number of Top 40 radio stations in major cities like Los Angeles(KHJ-KRLA-KFWB-KBLA), San Francisco(KYA-KEWB), San Diego(KGB-KCBQ ), San Antonio(KONO), and Atlanta(WQXI-WPLO). Also beside being a B-Side originally the airplay and success the song achieved in the early part of 1966 bumped up against a new release My Baby Loves Me (Martha and the Vandellas song). With the limited airplay in the Southwest, Midwest, South and on the East Coast and competing against a new single caused the song to peak as low as it did on the national charts. The song, written and produced by Holland–Dozier–Holland, has the narrator explain why love makes her do things she later regrets. Cash Box described it as a "plaintive, slow-shufflin’ heart-throbber with a nostalgic years-back sound."
Alfred Jesse Smith, better known as Brenton Wood, is an American singer and songwriter known for his three 1967 hit singles, "The Oogum Boogum Song", "Gimme Little Sign", and "Baby You Got It".
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"Do You Love Me" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by the Contours in 1962. Written and produced by Motown Records owner Berry Gordy Jr., it appeared twice on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching numbers three in 1962 and eleven in 1988.
"Wake Up Little Susie" is a popular song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and published in 1957.
"Don't Leave Me This Way" is a song written by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff and Cary Gilbert. It was originally released in 1975 by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass, an act signed to Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International label. "Don't Leave Me This Way" was subsequently covered by American singer Thelma Houston in 1976 and British duo the Communards in 1986, with both versions achieving commercial success.
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Paul Leka was an American songwriter, record producer, pianist, arranger, and orchestrator, most notable for co-writing the 1960s hits "Green Tambourine" and "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", the latter of which has become a standard song at sporting events.
"I Don't Know Why" is a song by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, from the 1968 album For Once in My Life. It was released as a single on January 28, 1969, with "My Cherie Amour" on the B-side. A few months later, the single was re-issued with sides reversed because of the growing popularity of "My Cherie Amour", which became a Top Ten hit.
"Until It's Time for You to Go" is a song from the 1965 album Many a Mile by Canadian singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. Sainte-Marie included a French-language reworking of the song, "T'es pas un autre", on her 1967 album Fire & Fleet & Candlelight. French translation was made by Quebecer songwriter Claude Gauthier.
The singles discography of Elvis Presley began in 1954 with the release of his first commercial single, "That's All Right". Following his regional success with Sun Records, Presley was signed to RCA Victor on November 20, 1955. Presley's first single with RCA, "Heartbreak Hotel", was a worldwide hit, reaching the No. 1 position in four countries and the top 10 in many other countries. Other hit singles from the 1950s include "Don't Be Cruel", "Hound Dog", "Love Me Tender", "Too Much", "All Shook Up", "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear", "Jailhouse Rock", "Don't", "Hard Headed Woman" and "A Big Hunk o' Love". On March 24, 1958, Presley entered the United States Army at Memphis, Tennessee, and was stationed in Germany. He left active duty on March 5, 1960.
"Cry Like a Baby" is a 1968 song written by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham, and performed by The Box Tops. The song reached No.2 in April 1968 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a position it held for two weeks. It was kept out of the top spot by Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey", which stayed at No.1 for five weeks. "Cry Like a Baby" also reached No.2 on Cashbox for one week. It stayed on the Hot 100 for 15 weeks and Cashbox for 14 weeks. It was awarded a gold disc for selling over one million copies in the United States.
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