Good Morning Starshine (Strawberry Alarm Clock album)

Last updated

Good Morning Starshine
Good Morning Starshine album.jpg
Studio album by
Strawberry Alarm Clock
ReleasedMay 1969
Recorded1969
Genre
Length41:21
Label Uni
Producer Strawberry Alarm Clock
Julius Zabadak (track 6)
Strawberry Alarm Clock chronology
The World in a Sea Shell
(1968)		Good Morning Starshine
(1969)		The Best of the Strawberry Alarm Clock
(1970)
Singles from Good Morning Starshine
  1. "Miss Attraction"
    Released: 1969
  2. "Good Morning Starshine"
    Released: 1969

Good Morning Starshine is the fourth album by American psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock, released in 1969 on Uni Records (see 1969 in music). It featured a considerably altered lineup and a departure from the sound on the group's past psychedelic pop works, toward blues rock. The album itself failed to chart, but a single, "Good Morning Starshine", peaked in the lower reaches of the Billboard Hot 100.

Contents

Background

Lineup changes within Strawberry Alarm Clock began with drummer Randy Seol and bassist George Bunnell, who were both aboard for the group's first three albums, but departed after the release of their third album, The World in a Sea Shell , near the end of 1968. However, ex-manager Bill Holmes, who was fired for incompetency, offered the two former members, along with three other musicians, a deal to form another Strawberry Alarm Clock and tour under that moniker. After multiple legal disputes, in which Holmes eventually withdrew his version of the band, promoters were confused over which incarnation of the group was authentic, and refused to book either one. [1] In the meantime, the band found replacements in singer/guitarist Jimmy Pitman and drummer Marty Katin. Pitman assumed duties as lead guitarist and Ed King moved over to bass guitar, which he had already played on some material on Strawberry Alarm Clock's second and third albums. Katin was unable to gel with the group and, without recording with the band, was replaced by Gene Gunnels, who had appeared on the number one hit "Incense and Peppermints". [2]

Good Morning Starshine was the first album produced by the band members. According to keyboardist Mark Weitz, "It was the first time Ed and I produced an album without any help. I say Ed and I because we were interested in doing it, and worked well together, right down to the mixdowns. It was the first time either of us had the chance of really controlling the sound from beginning to end". [2] With Pitman at the helm as one of the prime songwriters, the band began to branch out from their closely associated brand of psychedelic pop to a hard-edged take on blues rock. Pitman's twangy instrumentals and soulful vocals were, in part, a reason for their direction change. More importantly, the band had been lacking a hit single and had hopes that expressing their versatility would appeal to their fan base. Strawberry Alarm Clock did not totally depart from the sound featured on their past albums, as evident with the tracks "Small Package", "(You Put Me On) Stand By", and "Dear Joy". [3]

Upon release, Good Morning Starshine failed to chart, though their title single managed to peak at number 87 on the Billboard Hot 100, but was severely out-charted by Oliver's version, which had reached number three. [4] It was the only track not produced by the group, originating from the counterculture musical, Hair . As Weitz explains, "[UNI's] attitude at the time was, 'Let's give them one more chance to squeeze out a hit. If they fail, then it's over.' I think it was a miscalculation on 'Good Morning Starshine.' We played well on the music track, we all personally disliked the song as not being our style – that's an understatement – [but] recorded it anyway. Oliver's version came out before ours, and we were killed! That was the end of the line". [2] Strawberry Alarm Clock released several additional non-album singles throughout 1969 and 1970, and appeared in the film, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls , but could never match their past popularity and disbanded from 1971 through 1974. [5]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Ed King, Gene Gunnels, Jimmy Pitman, Lee Freeman, Mark Weitz; except where indicated.

Side one

  1. "Me and the Township" (Jimmy Pitman) – 3:14
  2. "Off Ramp Road Tramp" – 4:15
  3. "Small Package" – 3:58
  4. "Hog Child" – 5:06
  5. "Miss Attraction" – 4:27

Side two

  1. "Good Morning Starshine" (Galt MacDermot, Gerome Ragni, James Rado) – 2:20
  2. "Miss Attraction" – 2:39
  3. "Write Your Name in Gold" (Jimmy Pitman) – 3:32
  4. "(You Put Me On) Standby" – 2:20
  5. "Dear Joy" (Jimmy Pitman) – 3:15
  6. "Changes" – 5:15

1997 Japanese CD reissue

The 1997 Japanese CD reissue contained seven extra tracks, mostly derived from non-album singles.

  1. "Desiree" (Mark Weitz, Jimmy Pitman) – 3:03
  2. "I Climbed the Mountain" (Carl Friberg, Ira Gasman) – 3:02
  3. "Three" (Ed King, Lee Freeman) – 2:19
  4. "Starting Out the Day" (Jimmy Pitman) – 2:41
  5. "California Day" (Tom Jackman) – 2:46
  6. "Girl from the City" (Paul Marshall) – 2:36
  7. "Good Morning Starshine" [mono 45 mix] (Galt MacDermot, Gerome Ragni, James Rado) – 2:23

Personnel

Related Research Articles

Strawberry Alarm Clock

Strawberry Alarm Clock is a psychedelic rock band formed in 1967 with origins in Glendale, California, a city about ten miles north of downtown Los Angeles. They are best known for their 1967 hit single "Incense and Peppermints". Strawberry Alarm Clock, who have been also categorized as acid rock, psychedelic pop, and sunshine pop, charted five songs, including two Top 40 hits.

<i>The Age of Aquarius</i> (album) 1969 studio album by The 5th Dimension

The Age of Aquarius is the fourth album by American pop group The 5th Dimension, released in 1969.

Gerome Ragni was an American actor, singer and songwriter, best known as co-writer of the 1967 musical Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical.

<i>Suitable for Framing</i> 1969 studio album by Three Dog Night

Suitable for Framing is the second studio album by American rock band Three Dog Night. The album was released on the Dunhill record label on June 11, 1969 and was the first of two albums released by the band that year.

<i>Captured Live at the Forum</i> 1969 live album by Three Dog Night

Captured Live at the Forum is the third album by American rock band Three Dog Night, released in 1969.

<i>Incense and Peppermints</i> 1967 studio album by Strawberry Alarm Clock

Incense and Peppermints is the debut album by psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock. Released in October 1967, the album reached No. 11 on the Billboard 200 album charts and included the band's No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit "Incense and Peppermints". In addition to the six official members of the band, the album also featured the flute playing of Steve Bartek, who co-wrote four songs on the album with bass player George Bunnell.

<i>Hawaii Five-O</i> (album) 1969 studio album by The Ventures

Hawaii Five-O is an instrumental album by the Ventures. It is named for the popular 1968 television series, and featured the theme song from the series composed by Morton Stevens as its title track. It was released in 1969 on Liberty Records LST-8061 and reached #11 on the Billboard Top LP chart, staying for 24 weeks. The album was certified gold by RIAA on July 21, 1971. The popularity of the album was propelled by the hit title track, which reached #4 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart.

<i>Roman Wall Blues</i> 1969 studio album by Alex Harvey

Roman Wall Blues is the first solo album by Alex Harvey made after the Soul Band, and his time in the Hair pit band. This album was released in 1969 and contains one song from Hair ("Donna"), plus some Harvey originals, ; that he would later re-record with The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. The title track was a couplet sonnet by W.H. Auden about the life of a Roman soldier.

Mark Stephen Weitz is an American musician. A keyboard player for the 1960s psychedelic rock group Strawberry Alarm Clock, Weitz was the principal composing member of the band.

<i>The Everly Brothers Show</i> 1970 live album by The Everly Brothers

The Everly Brothers Show is a live album by the Everly Brothers, released in 1970.

<i>Stages</i> (Elaine Paige album) 1983 studio album by Elaine Paige

Stages is an album by Elaine Paige, released in 1983 on the Warner Music and K-tel labels and has been re-issued on CD. The album charted in the UK album charts at #2 in 1983.

<i>Wake Up...Its Tomorrow</i> 1968 studio album by Strawberry Alarm Clock

Wake Up...It's Tomorrow is the second album by the American psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock, released by Uni Records in 1968. It came as the group was challenged with continuing the success of their debut single, the psychedelic classic and number one hit, "Incense and Peppermints" and the LP that followed. Their second effort would expand upon the arrangements of its predecessor's unique blend of vocal harmonies, psychedelia, and pop music. In addition, the band's atypical lineup, which featured two bassists, would be altered to address studio and performing issues.

<i>Walking in Space</i> 1969 studio album by Quincy Jones

Walking in Space is a 1969 studio album by Quincy Jones. The album was recorded for A&M who released the album with a cover photo of Jones taken by Pete Turner. Vocalist Valerie Simpson is featured on the title track, an arrangement of a song from the hit rock musical Hair. "Dead End" is also from Hair and "Killer Joe" features Ray Brown on bass and Grady Tate on drums.

<i>The World in a Sea Shell</i> 1968 studio album by Strawberry Alarm Clock

The World in a Sea Shell is the third album by Strawberry Alarm Clock, released in November 1968 on the Uni label. The album was not a chart success, and was the final LP to include the classic Strawberry Alarm Clock lineup.

<i>I Got Love</i> (album) 1970 studio album by Melba Moore

I Got Love is the 1970 debut album by American singer Melba Moore. Noted as her debut album, Moore was nominated for the New Artist award at the 13th Annual Grammy Awards in 1971. The album was arranged and conducted by Charlie Calello.

<i>Get Together with Andy Williams</i> 1969 studio album by Andy Williams

Get Together with Andy Williams is the twenty-fourth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams which was released on October 6, 1969, by Columbia Records and contained covers of recent hits. The one new song was "You Are", which was written by Mac Davis.

<i>Hair</i> (Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording) 1967 cast recording

Hair is the cast recording of the original, Off-Broadway cast of the musical Hair: An American Tribal Love-Rock Musical. It was released in 1967 by RCA Victor. Hair premiered Off-Broadway at the Public Theater on October 17, 1967, and the cast album was recorded two weeks later. The lead roles were played by Walker Daniels as Claude, Gerome Ragni as Berger, Jill O'Hara as Sheila, Steve Dean as Woof, Arnold Wilkerson as Hud, Sally Eaton as Jeanie and Shelley Plimpton as Crissy.

<i>Hair</i> (Original Broadway Cast Recording) 1968 cast recording

Hair is a 1968 cast recording of the musical Hair on the RCA Victor label. Sarah Erlewine, for AllMusic, wrote: "The music is heartening and invigorating, including the classics 'Aquarius,' 'Good Morning Starshine,' 'Let the Sunshine In,' 'Frank Mills' ... and 'Easy to Be Hard.' The joy that has been instilled in this original Broadway cast recording shines through, capturing in the performances of creators Gerome Ragni and James Rado exactly what they were aiming for — not to speak for their generation, but to speak for themselves."

<i>Good Morning Starshine</i> (Oliver album) 1969 studio album by Oliver

Good Morning Starshine is the first studio album by pop rock singer Oliver released in 1969.

<i>Hair</i> (Stan Kenton album) 1969 studio album by Stan Kenton

Hair is an album by bandleader Stan Kenton featuring big band versions of tunes from the rock musical Hair recorded in 1969 for Capitol Records.

References

  1. ↑ "Good Morning Starshine (CD booklet)". Universal Records. 1997.Missing or empty |url= (help)
  2. 1 2 3 Unterberger, Richie. "LINER NOTES FOR THE STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK'S GOOD MORNING STARSHINE". richieunterberger.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Good Morning Starshine (1969 album)". unwindwithsac.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  4. ↑ Planer, Lindsay. "Good Morning Starshine – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  5. ↑ Eder, Bruce. "Strawberry Alarm Clock – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.